Blackjack Standard Strategy Rating: 6,8/10 2079 reviews

Hi-lo Card Counting Strategy This blackjack card counting technique works by assigning a value of either -1, 0 or 1 to each card dealt face up. You'll often hear the word 'tag' being used in card. A standard basic strategy chart can only provide you with the strategy for one set of rules, such as dealer hits on soft 17, limiting your mastery to just one game. Our Blackjack Basic Strategy Engine.

One of the things you need to do, when you plan on playing the game of blackjack, is to make sure you are educated on the game and have a good idea of how it works.

Not only will you want to be sure you are familiar with the basics and understand how the game is played in general, but you will also want to take a look at this blackjack strategy chart.

A blackjack strategy chart is very important for professional players, it can help them to make the absolute best decisions, with regards to knowing when to: Hit, Stand, Double Down, Split, or Surrender, while playing a game of blackjack.

If a player wishes to use just one blackjack strategy chart, then it would be wise for them to try to memorize as much of it as they can, and, try to eventually memorize the entire chart.

In order for players to properly utilize the charts, they need to be sure they have a full understanding of how to use them.

The left column is where the players will see the values of their hand.

The horizontal column, located at the top, will show the values of the dealer’s hand.

Blackjack strategy trainer

Players will need to locate the correct play, by making sure to line up the columns.

Players will see abbreviations and these abbreviations will tell them what they should do.

Strategy

Here are the abbreviations and what each one of them means:

  • S – Stand
  • H – Hit
  • P – Split
  • DD – Double Down
  • H/R – Surrender if it’s an option, otherwise hit
  • H/P – Split if able to double after split, if not hit

Blackjack Charts: How to Use Them?

Depending on what type of player you are, you will need to use them slightly differently, however, anyone that wants to get the most out of their blackjack games won’t want to minimize the importance of using a blackjack strategy chart.

New players, will be the player’s who want to make the most use of them, as being new to the game, you may want to limit trial and error.

A basic blackjack strategy chart will walk players through the various hands and let them know what they should do in most basic blackjack situations.

Many players choose to print the blackjack strategy chart, so they can keep it somewhere they can refer to it.

As players use the chart, they will definitely see an improvement in their game and notice that they enjoy more wins.

Bear in mind, that the blackjack strategy chart can only help so much, and it will in no way take away from the house edge. It will however, definitely increase a player’s chances of winning when compared to them not using one.

Some good news for blackjack players who can’t seem to memorise the blackjack strategy chart, is that a lot of casinos do allow the players to bring them in and refer to them while they are playing at the table.

The blackjack strategy charts can be purchased and will be of a size which makes them simple for players to use at the tables, they are generally no bigger than a credit card.

This said, it isn’t the best etiquette at a table if you are constantly staring at a blackjack chart whilst the game is in play.

This is why we would still definitely advise memorising them before you enter a casino.

For a beginner to the game, who wants to use blackjack strategy charts, what we would suggest is to play at home on your own, pull the cards for yourself and refer to the chart as you do this. Then gradually you will get into the mental routine of being able to do it without it.

If you are still using a blackjack chart, we wouldn’t recommend going in at the deep end at a real-life casino, nor a live dealer online blackjack table for real money. Mainly because if you haven’t got it committed to memory, there is still a margin for error and it can be time-consuming.

As such, if you are keeping other players waiting while you scan the chart, you won’t be very popular with the other players, nor the dealer sat at the table.

As well as this, although some casinos are lax with these charts, not all are, so you need to be careful. Plus, even if a casino lets you use one, too much reliance on it won’t be appreciated and could get you in a trouble.

What we can recommend, if you are tired of playing for nothing, is that you get involved in a virtual blackjack game, which has a computerised dealer.

There will be no qualms about you using it in that scenario, for obvious reasons, and there are no time restraints on each hand, so you can quite happily sit there, refer to the chart and make the wisest bet for you.

Besides, once you have done the same play a few times and you see the results in the form of cold hard cash, you won’t need to keep checking it, as by then it should be pretty stuck in your mind.

If you are a seasoned blackjack player, you won’t need to use the basic strategy chart, as you will probably already know and have all the correct plays in your mind already.

This said, if you are venturing into a new style of play in blackjack, then it is well worth getting one that reflects the new game you are playing, so as to get an idea of the best hands. As, no matter how experienced you are, drastic rule changes in blackjack will naturally affect how the plays work too.

We would never recommend going into a new game style blind, and a blackjack strategy chart is ideal for any player who is trying a new variation.

It can save you a lot of time and more importantly, it can save you a lot of money, as, if you have a blackjack chart there, you will immediately know what the best moves to play are and when to play them right from the get-go.

Even more basic blackjack strategy charts aren’t just for new players though, as they can also improve more experienced players game too.

It isn’t uncommon, even for players who have been playing for some time, to make the same mistake repeatedly, unbeknownst to them.

Then, it is only when they look at a chart, they realise the mistake they have been making time and time again and then they kick themselves for the unneeded cash losses they have suffered.

Standard Blackjack Strategy Card

It is never too late for you to learn the error of your ways though, and by simply taking a look at a blackjack chart, you may see your wins improve drastically in very little time at all.

As Blackjack charts are so easily accessible online, experienced players need not even purchase a book full of ‘useful information’ and instead, can just pick and choose the chart most suited to them.

This said, if you are an experienced player, the strategy charts are not the be all and end all to successful blackjack gameplay, and you may even find that they’re not needed for you. Indeed, certain players have made enormous amounts of cash without ever looking at one and that is fine.

Here we simply want to indicate what works for most players, most of the time.

Types of Blackjack Strategy Charts

Blackjack charts couldn’t be simpler to use either, the only problem comes when you are playing at a different style table, one which has different rules and vastly different gameplay.

Chart

This is also when blackjack charts become most useful to players however, including experienced ones.

For example, the strategy chart you would get for Blackjack Switch is different to any others, quite simply due to the fact that it will be reflective of the switch rules.

And so, it would need to be completely secular to any other chart and be used only for that game, as you won’t find the information you need on any standard basic strategy chart.

Most likely, in this case, you may even need two blackjack strategy charts, one to tell you when to switch and another that indicates basic play – like the one you can see above, as well as the one our on our Blackjack Switch page!

There are various types of blackjack game, so you may need a few charts on hand depending on how diverse the blackjack selection is at your chosen venue.

The best blackjack charts will also tell you when to double down and split, if it is allowed, and give guidance about what to do if the option is not available, so you can adapt to the situation.

One very useful blackjack chart to get your hands on is one that tells you when to surrender.

This is because when this is in play, the playing options available to you are much more diverse and you may need much more guidance, especially when you are starting out.

You can find a surrender blackjack chart on our Blackjack Surrender page, so you are all set in this instance.

Luckily for you, more common variations in the Blackjack gameplay, things like deck size and payout size, will not affect how the charts work.

This is because they are to be used reflective of your hand, rather than the number of cards in play.

So, there is no need to get a folder consisting of blackjack 6 deck or 8 decks, or the need for a blackjack 2-1 payout or a blackjack that pays out 3 to 2 chart, because it really is a case of one size fits all.

This said, if you get yourself a blackjack book, it will most likely consist of a whole variety of different blackjack charts, so you if you have access to one of these, you won’t need to search very far to find the option for your specific blackjack game chart.

Our site has a selection of blackjack charts for you to utilise so as you are here already, you should look at our blackjack guides to find ones for the type of game you are playing, or are looking to play.

Are Blackjack Strategy Charts Cheating?

Blackjack charts are definitely not cheating, think of them more as a textbook to help you learn or improve your game.

They don’t give you an uneven edge, they simply give you the guidance to put you on a level playing field with other players, as well as casinos.

Many casinos benefit a lot from amateur players struggling to get their head around the game and the strategy chart simply makes you not waste unnecessary money making silly mistakes.

Printable Blackjack Basic Strategy Card

Essentially, every move dictated on the strategy chart is of course, completely fine to use in gameplay and has been used countless times before. They are simply a helping hand from other players to you, to show you how to make the most of your gameplay and make the least losses you can, mathematically.

Conclusion

Overall, we can’t recommend the use of strategy charts more.

Whether you are new to the game or not, everyone has something to gain by using them, for the simple reason that they display the most fruitful ways to play blackjack.

Blackjack Strategy Card

New players will, of course, benefit the most from them, as they are a step by step guide to how to win cash quickly and easily.

The same is said for experienced players, who as mentioned, are sometimes prone to repeatedly making the same mistake, so they should definitely give one a go too, just to double check that they are making the right calls.

For both new and old players, you will find that sometimes it may pay off to take a few risks that are not stated on a strategy card.

As such, although they are a great way to get started at Blackjack, they are simply the stabilisers on a bike and work the same way.

They are a great way to get started, but much more fun can be had when they come off!

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