Blackjack Strategy

Much of the blackjack strategy you will employ is based on a number of basic principles. One of them involves what your objective is. Many people who are new to the game believe that the object of blackjack is to get closer to the total of 21 than the dealer. While doing this will win for you, it is not the only way you can win. In blackjack, you can also win by staying under the total of 21 while the dealer goes over, or "busts." Let's add some procedural rules to what we listed above. The dealer does not have the same "options" that are available to the player. There are restrictions. For example, the dealer, in most blackjack games, must hit all 16's and stand on all 17's. The dealer cannot split pairs, cannot double and cannot stand when you have a weak hand. Some of this can lead to the dealer busting, through moves that you would not make as a player. If you have not busted already, you will win when the dealer busts. So the objective of the game, articulated more accurately, is to beat the dealer, any way you are able to.

Blackjack operates in such a way that every time a card is removed, it changes the dynamic of the cards remaining. It is NOT a game that operates on the basis of independent trials, although in the online game it is more likely than not governed by a random number generator. Regardless, it is a game based on mathematics, and for that reason, there is going to be an optimum play for each situation. These player actions are known, and have been compiled into something called the "Basic Strategy," which is simply a set of rules that indicates the best possible play for each Player vs. Dealer situation. The Basic Strategy will call for players to do things differently than some people might consider logical. You will hit a lot of hands that are likely going to bust, but you will do it because it brings a better result than not doing it. You will sometimes be making plays not to win more, but to lose less. You will be standing quite a bit against weak dealer upcards, also known as "stiff" upcards, and you will double and split rather aggressively. If you commit yourself to employing the Basic Strategy as the absolute foundation of your play, you cannot vary from it with hunches, because it will cost you money.