Card counting course, step one
Basic strategy, five lessons
Learn the plays before you learn the count. These are the same five lessons pinned in Lowballers HQ. Get them down at the table above, then move on to the Counting Room.
Basic strategy first
- Always split Aces and 8s.
- Never split 10s or 5s.
- Double down on 11 against any dealer card.
- Stand on hard 17 or higher.
- Hit a soft 17 (Ace-6).
Get these down before you think about counting. None of it is secret. It is the stuff most people never bother to learn.
Hard hands: let the dealer bust
- Stiff hand (hard 12 through 16) and the dealer shows 2 through 6: stand. The dealer has to keep hitting and busts more here than anywhere else. One exception: hit a 12 against a 2 or 3.
- Dealer shows 7 through Ace: hit. Standing on 16 against a 10 feels safe. It loses more often than hitting does.
- Hard 17 or higher: always stand.
- Hard 11 or less: you cannot bust, so never stand.
Doubling: more money out when you are the favorite
- 11: double.
- 10: double against a dealer 2 through 9.
- 9: double against a dealer 3 through 6.
- Soft hands (an Ace counted as 11): double A-2 and A-3 against 5 and 6, A-4 and A-5 against 4 through 6, A-6 and A-7 against 3 through 6.
If the table will not let you double, hit. The one exception is A-7, which stands.
Pairs: when to split
- Aces and 8s: always split.
- 10s and 5s: never split. Two 5s is a 10, so play it like one and double it.
- 2s, 3s and 7s: split against a dealer 2 through 7.
- 6s: split against a dealer 2 through 6.
- 9s: split against a dealer 2 through 9, except a 7. Stand against 7, 10 and Ace.
- 4s: split only against a 5 or 6.
This assumes you can double after a split, which most tables allow.
Two things that cost more than any misplay
- Insurance: never take it. It is a side bet that the dealer has a 10 in the hole, and it pays less than the true odds. That includes "even money" on your own blackjack.
- 6 to 5 tables: walk past them. A blackjack should pay 3 to 2: $15 on a $10 bet, not $12. That one rule adds about 1.4% to the house edge, more than basic strategy leaves the house with in the first place.
Practice all of this with play chips at the table above before you sit down with real money. 21+.
