The Best Blackjack Strategy

I love blackjack. A blackjack table is like a tiny United Nations. You never know where the players on your table are going to be from, but I guarantee you will have a common language. Everybody speaks Beat the Dealer!

Where else can you go to be so instantly initiated into the fold, accepted, and cheered when you win? No where.

Get the Chips Photo Courtesy of (Angel Fire Press)

You don't have to talk at a blackjack table, but it's fun to join in. Each player at the table has a common goal, and it's enlightening to watch how each person goes about digging their own treasure and stacking up mounds of chips.

Heck, even the chips themselves are fun. I collect them as souvenirs, and I'm not the only one. There is a whole club of casino chip collectors out there called the CC&GTCC, and 99% of them started as crazed casino junkies.

Of course it helps a lot if you know your way around a blackjack table. If you have learned some blackjack tips, you can play as well as anybody and really enjoy the game. Your table-mates work as a combined unit, struggling to take the dealer's chips away, and nobody will like it if you decide to hit your 16 against a five, split your tens, or double down on blackjack.

While every hand is independent, how you play can affect the other player's hands. You don't need to be intimidated by this fact, just play your best, but remember that the other players want to blame someone beside themselves when they lose a hand. Don't give them the chance to blame you.

Basic Strategy

Learning basic strategy is your best defense against the invading armies of casino blackjack tables out to take your chips. Use your best strategy, stick with it regardless of how much money you are betting, and know that you are playing correctly.

Basic Strategy was devised with computer simulations and computer mathematics to derive the best way to play each hand. I know I need to split a pair of 8's every single time I get them, even if I have to do it against a ten.

Now why would I do that? Because having a 16 against a 10, is terrible, and while I am going to lose much of the time when splitting, it is still better to split the 8's than to stand on the 16 or hit it.

Sometimes a hand is just doomed to failure. However, it is better to split the 8's and lose an average of $43 per $100 than not split them and lose $52 per $100 in bets. It sounds strange to be happy while losing, but you are choosing to lose less, and sometimes we get to choose whether to win 51% of the time or 60%. Which choice do you make now?

That's right! Choose to win more. You do that when you learn more about any game you play, and doesn't it make sense to learn all you can? Don't you want to play your best, especially when you are playing for money, even if it is disguised as chips?

Don't pay extra for the fun of playing blackjack at your local casino. Make them meet you close to the middle. Do this by improving your play, staying sober, and taking advantage of any freebies you can get from the player's club. Freebies rule, and so does winning!