Blackjack Strategy
What is 'basic strategy'? What is 'card counting'? Will they help me to always win a hand of Blackjack?
Will these strategies help me to always win?
No. They won't.
Using basic strategy and card counting is not a fool-proof method to win a hand of Blackjack. The idea behind these strategies is based on statistical outcomes, but you still need a bit of luck. However, learning basic strategy and card counting might help you to have more fun!
What is Basic Strategy?
If you search for 'blackjack basic strategy' you might see something like this:
All of these images are representations of the choices you might statistically make to improve your chances of winning a particular hand of Blackjack. They vary based on many factors such as the particular game rules you are playing, the number of decks of cards in play, etc.
In a strategy table, the face-up card the dealer could be dealt is generally displayed across the top, from 2 to Ace. The two cards you, the player, could been dealt are generally displayed down the left hand side, from 2 to 21.
By cross referencing the dealer's card with the total of your two cards you will find the action that, statistically speaking, is the most likely to result in a win. This action is usually one of Hit, Stand, Split or Double, but other actions also exist depending on the rules you are playing.
What is Card Counting?
Counting cards is a strategy which involves keeping track of the values of cards that have already been dealt. This will give you an idea of how many high or low cards remain in the deck. There are many variations of this strategy, again depending on various factors, but one such strategy is called the Hi-Lo Strategy:
- The count starts at zero.
- For any card dealt of value 2-6, add 1 to the count.
- For any 10, picture card or Ace, subtract 1 from the count.
The idea behind this strategy is the player might have an advantage when there are more high cards remaining to be dealt, so a high 'count' can be considered beneficial the player.
Customise your Strategy
As mentioned above, the particular strategy to use for both basic strategy and card counting can depend on many factors, including:
- The number of card decks in play.
- Whether you are allowed to re-split Aces.
- Whether the dealer will hit or stand on 17.
- and so on...
For this reason there is no one size fits all strategy. If you want to practice a particular strategy, Blackjack Joe allows you to customise the actions for any combination of dealer card and player cards.
For example in the image above, Dealer:2 vs Player:20 suggests you should Stand. If you prefer to Double in this scenario, simply click the cell and change it. Once a customisation has been made, all aspects of Blackjack Joe will respect your new strategy, including Free Play and Challenge Mode!
With Blackjack Joe you can create and practice your own blackjack strategy!
Disclaimer
Blackjack Joe is a game. It is just for fun. Do not use the App, this website or any related content as a strategy for gambling. You remain entirely responsible for any losses incurred before, during or after using this website or the Blackjack Joe App.