Blackjack- Basic Strategy and Card Counting

Basic Blackjack Strategy

Blackjack has long been a dazzlingly popular casino game, and continues to me within the online gambling industry. It is an easy enough game to play, but like most casino games it is ultimately a game of chance. It is important, when playing, to keep in mind a few simple essentials. The first is what people refer to as "Blackjack basic strategy"; it is where players attempt to reduce the advantage of the house and the value of their losses. "Basic Blackjack strategy" are the rules a player should follow so as not to lose everything from the start. Like most casino games Blackjack is a game of mathematical probabilities and players must always search for ways to optimise their chances against the house.

The first person to document these probabilities and techniques is Roger Baldwin in 1956. He managed to outline some recommendations to reduce the advantage to the house, but this was not, yet, the best method. In 1962 professor Edward Thorp improved it. His book "Beat the House" was a best seller in 1963. His techniques were so efficient that casinos began panicking and changing the rules for blackjack, to counter the method. However, a positive for the casinos was that the game became even more popular, following the publication of his book. The "Basic Blackjack Strategy", sometimes referred to as the "Monte Carlo Technique", it is founded on the analysis of thousands of combinations in which the cards can be dealt. In any case, however, it is important to realise that for Blackjack, practice makes perfect.

The following table should be kept at hand when playing Blackjack, this is especially easy when playing online but probably illegal to bring into an actual casino, but you maybe able to memorise them quite easily.

ST= Stand
H= Hit
D/H= double and hit
D/ST= double and stand
SP= split

 

 Click here for link to a glossary of terms for the above table

Card Counting Strategy:

When the croupier begins dealing the cards, the card counting player should begin his count at zero, he must add 1 if he is dealt a 2,3,4,5 & 6 and minus one if he is dealt a 10, Ace, King, Queen or Jack, 7,8 & 9 are worth 0. The quantity of cards from 2 to 6 is equal to the quantity of cards from 10 to Ace. A neutral card game is zero. This process allows the player to determine if the remaining are favourable to him. If the first player receives a 3 and a 9 (+1, 0), if the second player receives a 10 and a 5 (-1, +1), the third player receives a 7 and a 2 (0, +1) and the croupier is dealt an Ace (-1) for his shown card, the count will be +1.

The card counter must simply add or minus 1 and remember what the count number is. To practice take a pack of cards and turn each one over one at a time and assign their counting value to them; adding, subtracting or keeping neutral. At the end of the deck, the value of the cards should be 0. At the Blackjack table, a good card counter will chose the last position which gets dealt, so if the croupier deals from left to right, they will sit at the far right. He does this, obviously, so that he can view and count all the cards that are dealt. This system is really easy, and if you manage to master it you can obtain some really excellent results.

The principle is that a deck of cards that still has a high proportion of high cards (i.e. 10 to Aces) is good for the player, so if you have a card count of +1, the cards will be in your favour. If however there is a high proportion of low value cards left, the advantage goes to the house, so if you have a count of -1, the cards are not in your favour. There are some more complex methods for card counting, which refine the probability even greater- but more on this another time!