All about blackjack strategies cards

There are two main blackjack strategies that are rather useful for improving players' game results without blackjack cheating, so it is really worth to spend some time in order to learn how they work.

Basic strategy

There are several options among which players are free to choose when it comes to making bets. These blackjack moves are namely hitting, standing, doubling, splitting pairs and surrendering. The choice which action to undertake should be made grounded on the value of the initial two cards that players have.

According to blackjack basic strategy in case of hard hands, when gamblers have no ace or they should regard an ace as 1 point worth in order not to bust, there are two strict recommendations that players are always advised to follow:

  • hit if you have 8 points or less;
  • stand if you get 17 points or more;

For the rest of situations, which actually comprise 8 cases, the choice is left up to gamblers and they are recommended to play according to their risk attitude, the quantity of blackjack deposit bonus and casino odds that are proposed by certain table.

If players have cards of total from 12 to 16 points they are called stiff hands. Such situations are regarded as not very profitable because it often appears that the cards are not able to beat the dealer's combination but there is a high probability of busting if taking another card.

Card combination which provides from 9 to 11 points is known as potential double hands and as it is clear from its name the best advice here is to double.

In case of soft hands gamblers have an ace and are less likely to bust due to the rule that they could value the ace value 1 or 11 points. There are no 'potential' situations, such as stiff hands, because here you could hit and if exceed 21 points just choose to value an ace as 1 point worth and, thus, play as hard hands.

Players are recommended to stand if they have 18 points or higher, and hit in case of 17 or lower.

Splitting pairs strategy, which is possible when gamblers get two cards of equal rank, provides an opportunity either to divide the cards into two separate hands or not to divide them and play as a hard hand. The basic recommendations here are always to split aces and 8's, 5's and 10's.

Card counting

Blackjack card counting is usually considered as one of the most sophisticated blackjack strategies and demands deep knowledge of the basic strategy and its charts firstly.

The main principle of card counting states that the cards of high value, which are left in the deck, are more favorable for players, while low-ranked cards are better for the dealer. The only thing a player needs to do is to count which cards have not played yet and make bets according to the situation.