Four Situations: Hit, Stand, Split, & Double

Blackjack Introduction Getting Started The Dealer Take A Chance Basic Strategy Intermediate Strategy Advanced Strategy Blackjack Extras Back to the beginning

There are four different types of situations or possibilities that can occur in a blackjack hand. The strategies and reasoning behind each comes from more than 40 years of research done by mathematicians, probability experts, and professional gamblers.

Julian Braun, Dr. Edward Thorp, Lawrence Revere, Stanford Wong, Arnold Snyder, Peter Griffin, and Don Schlesinger, are the major theorists and innovators of the blackjack world over the last half-century, and their legacy has contributed to the strategies and explanations listed here.

The blackjack universe, in a simplified sense, can be looked at, in terms of understanding and complexity, as those who want to play the game, but don't want to put any effort into learning it, so they guess or go by hunches or "feelings." This player can only rely on, ultimately, on the luck of the draw and chance to win.

The next level of player is interested in the game enough so that he or she is willing to learn what we call a "basic strategy." By learning basic strategy, the player elevates the level of play and greatly enhances the possibility of winning,

The third level of player assigns numerical values to each card in an attempt to separate the cards that have been played already to determine the cards that remain, and the mathematical odds of winning the remaining hands. This procedure is called card counting and is a whole world unto itself.

For our purposes, we will consider how to elevate from the first group: the "guessers," into the second: those who have a basic understanding of how to win.

All of the strategies listed are considering two factors: your two cards compared to the dealer's upcard, the one that is showing. How you proceed is directly related to both factors. One note: the basic strategies discussed and noted here are for multiple decks, rather that single or double.

Basic Hitting and Standing Strategies: The Hard Hands

In blackjack we talk of hard hands and soft hands. This has nothing to do with the type of work one does for a living. A hard hand or total is one that does not involve an Ace, while a soft hand means that one of your cards is an Ace. This requires special consideration.

The important number to remember here is 17. It is the cutoff point for deciding whether to ask the dealer for more cards or not. Each numerical card is counted as its printed value, i.e. a 2 of clubs is counted as a 2. A 7 of hearts is counted as a 7. Suits are not considered of any importance. It is the numerical value that counts.

All face cards count as 10s, with no exceptions. It doesn't matter whether the card is a Jack of hearts, a Queen of spades or a King of clubs. The problem child here is the Ace, which can be counted as either a 1 or 11. This card can lead to a great deal of confusion (see "soft hands").

Dealer has a 7-10 showing

Suffice to say that a 17 remains your cutoff. Requesting a card or a hit on 17 or above will do two things: it will mark you as a rank amateur and will send all of the other players at your table fleeing in abject terror.

If 17 is your cutoff, you need to remember that 6 is the cutoff for the dealer's upcard in determining how you play it, with the deuce or 2 being the exception to the rule (see The Terror of the Twos). Remember: everything is relative to the card that the dealer is showing.

If the dealer has a 3-6, you have a better chance of winning than if the dealer is showing a 2, 9, 10 (or face card) or Ace. Seven and eight fall in the middle.

General blackjack theory says that 18.3 is the calculated average hand needed to win. In other words, anything less than a 19 (since you can't possibly get fractions in blackjack), is a potentially losing hand. So here it is in a nutshell: if the dealer is showing a 7, 8,9, or 10-value card, you will need to take a card if you have less than a 17.

With a 17, you are between a rock and a hard place. The math of the game says you can't take a card, but now, all you can do is sit tight and hope that the dealer has a 10 if the dealer is showing a 7. In this case you tie, or "push." You don't win, but you don't lose. From this hand, you escape.

If the dealer has an 8, 9, or 10-value card, you have to hope that there is a 4, 5,6, or 7 in the hole. That will make the dealer need to take a third card and this might put his/her hand over the total of 21, with a busted hand.

When you receive a hard 17, 18, 19, or 20, there is nothing to do except sit back and hope that the dealer's hand isn't as good. You merely indicate to the dealer that you don't want a card and want to stand. Obviously, with a 21 or blackjack, you're sitting on top of the world.

See chart on right for reference