Blackjack Strategy
The blackjack basic
strategy is a simple set of rules that tells you,
the player, the correct way to play your hands.
Basic strategy reveals when to hit, stand, or
double by taking into account only two factors:
your cards and the dealer's up card. Basic
strategy allows you to win more and lose less.
Splitting pairs
If your two cards are the same value, you can
'split' them into two separate hands. The catch is
that you also have to make two bets (one for each
of the hands you now hold). Each split pair can be
split again, for a total of four hands. If you
split on an ace, you can only take one hit, but
for all other cards you can take as many hits as
you want. Double
Down The player is
allowed to double the bet on his first two cards
and draw one additional card only to improve his
hand. The advantage of doubling down is that the
player is allowed to raise his bet after he has
seen his first two cards and the dealer's up card.
The disadvantage is that he cannot draw more than
one card. Soft Hand
Rules Most casinos
allow an ace to be played as either a 1 or 11,
whichever value is most beneficial to the holder.
When a player has an ace that is being used as an
11, it's referred to as a "soft hand". These hands
are played differently as the player cannot draw
to a soft hand and bust (the player just revalues
the Ace to count as 1 instead of 11). |