The best and fastest way to grow your chip stack is by using a basic Blackjack strategy, which is simply “the mathematically optimum way to play Blackjack hands”. In other words, when to stand, hit, double, split, surrender or take insurance based on your particular hand. By following a basic Blackjack strategy you will literally maximise your chances of winning.
There will always be Blackjack players around the world who win small and big fortunes with nothing more than “luck and a prayer.” However, the reality is that the majority of Blackjack players who rely on nothing more than their ‘gut feel’ or ‘instinct’ hands don’t come close to matching the level of success enjoyed by players who actively employ a basic strategy.
Learning and using the Blackjack basic strategy is a barrier to entry to becoming a successful Blackjack player, and the only way to be taken seriously by your fellow players both in land and online casinos. In fact, if you’re just starting out, it’s always a good idea to print out the basic strategy and refer to while you’re playing until you have it completely memorized.
Before we list the basic strategy for classic single-deck Blackjack, it’s important to mention that every variant has its own basic strategy. This is because the different rules or criteria of each variant alters the mathematics in the strategy, which in turn alters the way you should play a certain hand. In other words, there is no such thing as ‘one basic strategy fits all.’
For instance, criteria that change the basic strategy include the number of decks used (1, 2, 4 or more), whether the dealer has to stand or hit on soft 17, whether you can double after the split or not, whether or not you can surrender, and whether the dealer can peek at their hole card or not.