Blackjack Strategies

Basic Blackjack Strategy

My friend Ross D. Streit has to cross a lot of streets on his way to his office. Most of them are pretty busy streets and cars are constantly whizzing by. He decided to run a simulation of when to cross this particular intersection, to get an idea of when things were safest.

He entered into the computer every single solitary piece of data about that street comer over the past twenty two years. It included the total number of cars and trucks that went past, the speed of each, how many accidents occurred, and the weather on the day of the hazards.

After three million runs on his computer, it was determined that the best time to cross the street was 8 A.M. on a Tuesday, but only if it was snowing. Of all the luck. Ross D. Streit couldn't be happier. Today was Tuesday, he would be getting to that spot precisely at 8 A.m. and the snow was coming down in large flakes.

No car or truck was involved in any accident under those conditions in the twenty two years he ran his computer check. He rushed to the spot, checked his watch, and it was exactly 8 A.M. Ross D. Streit stepped off the curb and was run over by a snow plow. Tough luck. The computer forgot to tell him that this was a definite hazard.

That is my complaint with computer runs. The decision they give out on these blackjack hands are based on what could happen over the course of 159 plus years. I don't care what's gonna happen down the road. I wanna know what is the best move to make in the exact fraction of an instant that I am confronted with these situations.

That is what my basic strategy does. It is not based on any computer run at all. It is based on a logical (see the Little Three) move that should be made, as soon as you check your hand against the dealer's cards. I vehemently disagree with a lot of the normal (?) basic strategy decisions and these will be addressed in later chapters, along with the reasons that I suggest you make these changes. Please understand that some of the situations you will face may not come up again for hundreds of hands. You may agree with my changes or you may throw them out. That is your decision, but at least take the time to see where I am going with the explanations, which are based on logial table play. I have been screaming about some of these for years, and the comments and letters I receive from those who have made the change prove that knowledgeable blackjack players are readily accessible to intelligent changes.

At the end of this article you will find my Basic Strategy chart. Study it, memorize it, and put it to use. It is a conservative approach, designed to hold losses down and based on two basic theories:
When dealer is strong with any of the power cards, play cautiously!When dealer is weak with any of the five weak cards, play aggressively!The 2 and 8 in the hands of the dealer is approached conservatively, but you will receive options with those two cards in certain situations.