Blackjack Basic Strategy

Unlike popular belief, basic strategy in blackjack is very specific. It is nothing more than a chart of what decision to take when playing Blackjack. Thanks to computer aid, all possible combinations of hands have been calculated. So, basic strategy can help you decide what to do for whatever card combination you have in relation to the dealer's hand.

There are a few things to consider while using basic strategy in blackjack:

• how many decks of cards are used in the game
• on what card total will the dealer stand, and on what will he hit
• are you allowed to double down
• are you allowed to double down a split hand
• are you allowed to surrender

On the left side of the blackjack basic strategy chart all your card combinations are displayed. On top, all the dealer's possible card combinations are displayed All these numbers and letters from the top and from the left intersect in the chart. There you will see a letter: S - Stand, H - Hit, D - Double, Y - Yes, split, N - No, don't split.

Pair Splitting
PAIRS	Dealer's Up card
Your Cards	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	T	A
(A,A)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
(T,T)	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(9,9)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	N
(8,8)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
(7,7)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	S	N
(6,6)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N
(5,5)	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(4,4)	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N
(3,3)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N
(2,2)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N

Soft Totals
SOFT TOTALS	Dealer's Up card
Your Cards	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	T	A
(A,9)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
(A,8)	S	S	S	S	Ds	S	S	S	S	S
(A,7)	S	Ds	Ds	Ds	Ds	S	S	H	H	S
(A,6)	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,5)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,4)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,3)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,2)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H

Hard Totals
HARD TOTALS	Dealer's Up card
Your Cards	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	T	A
17	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
9	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
8	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H