Basic Blackjack Strategy

An understanding of basic blackjack strategy is imperative for any player of blackjack, whether you are playing blackjack online or in casinos. Blackjack strategy is comprised of several factors but the most important thing to know is when to hit and when to stay.

In the game of blackjack you are dealt two cards at the start, face-up. The objective is to obtain a hand made up of cards that have a value of as close to 21 as possible, without going over 21. Your hand must also be higher than the dealer’s hand. For this reason, it is good to have a blackjack strategy that takes the dealer’s blackjack cards into consideration as well as your own blackjack cards.

The blackjack dealer must hit if his cards total 16 or less. Therefore, if the dealer shows a card that makes it likely that he will bust with a hand greater than 21 then it is a good idea to stay. When the blackjack dealer has an exposed card value between four and six there is a 40% chance that he is going to bust, which means that it is a good move strategically for you to stay if you have a hand over 11. However, if the blackjack dealer shows a good card such as a face card, 10, 9 or 8 then he is unlikely to bust and you should hit on any card under 17.

These rules of blackjack strategy are guaranteed to improve your blackjack game.