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Black Jack Strategy
Introduction
Black Jack (also knows as 21) is a very straightforward game and can be learned by everyone without major difficulties. The rules are simple and if the cards are played well the odds of winning are very good, thus making black jack the most popular casino game in the world. The basic principle of Black Jack is to get closer to 21 than the dealer without getting above.
 | Black Jack pays out 3/2 of your bet
and is in average dealt 1 out of 41.4 times. |
Generally you have better chances of winning when lesser cards from the deck are used and therefore you will find the best payout (100,15%) when playing Single Deck Black Jack.
Basic strategy
The Basic Strategy enables you to play an ideal Black Jack with the best chances of winning as long as you use the strategy well and stick to it all the time. When using the basic strategy the Black Jack Scheme below comes in handy (preferably in colours) so remember to have it in the nearby - at least until you know it by heart.
About the rules
Unless you have joined a multiplayer table you will only be playing against the dealer (who represents the casino). You and the dealer are handed two cards each but only one of the dealer's cards are visible for you. You now have to decide how many cards you want to draw in order to get close to 21 without overbuying yourself. The rules for the dealer are different. He has to draw cards until he has reached at least 17 and when that happens he cannot draw again.
In Black Jack the cards are valued like this: Ace can count as either 1 or 11, 2 to 9 represent their value, and 10, Jack, Queen and King are worth 10. This fact, that there are four times as many cards worth 10 than of all other values, makes important implications for the ideal strategy, which you will notice in the Black Jack Scheme.
 | | The dealer has to draw until at least 17. |
If you are lucky to get a 21 in you first hand (an Ace and a card valued 10) it means that you have got Black Jack and you will get a decent payout of 3:2. You will double your stake in the case you get closer to 21 than the dealer or if he draws higher than 21 (busts). Likewise you will loose your bet when you draw higher than 21, when the dealer gets closer to 21 than you, or if the dealer gets Black Jack and you don't. In case the dealer and you have same value of cards (or you both got Black Jack) it is a tie and you will get your bet back. A Black Jack will always overcome 21 made up by more than two cards.
You have the following choices in the game (The letter in brackets refers to the Black Jack Schema's recommendation):
Stand (S): Don't draw another card
Hit (H): Draw another card
Double Down (D): Double your stakes, take another card and then stand
Split (S): This splits you two cards so you will play two hands (doubles your stakes automatically)
Furthermore you can:
(DH) Double your bet if possible (D) – otherwise draw another card (H)
(DS) Double your bet if possible (D) – otherwise stand (S)
In case the dealer shows an Ace he will offer you to buy insurance because he might have Black Jack. If you choose this you will bet up to half of your original bet and get the double of your insurance back if the dealer gets Black Jack. But in the case the dealer will not have a Black Jack anyway you will loose the money you spend on insurance. Considering your chances of winning, it is not worth buying this insurance so don't ever buy it!
Maybe the scheme's recommendations won't match your intuitive idea of how to play your hand, but seen in a statistic perspective it will provide you with the optimal solutions in the long run. By using this scheme every time you can be sure that you are better off than those reckless players who play randomly and thoughtless and thus radically deteriorate their chances of winning.
 | Click on the Black Jack scheme
to print out the Black Jack strategy. |
The Black Jack Scheme
On the right hand side you will see the Black Jack Scheme, which you can click at in order to open it and take a print. Statisticians, who computed and compared the probabilities of all card combinations, have developed the scheme.
On the left side of the scheme you will see total value of your hand and at top the value of the Dealer's visible card. In order to use the scheme and follow it's recommendations you just follow the row of your given value horizontally until you reach the column of the Dealer's value. Let's say you are holding 7 and 6 in your hand and the dealer's upface card is 8 (only this card is of importance to you since you won't see the other card until your turn is over) then you should look in the left column for 13 (7+6) and follow this row horizontally until you reach the column for 8. Here you will find the letter H which means that you should hit by drawing another card. Lets say that this card will be 4 then you are now holding 17 altogether (7+6+4). Now follow the left column for 17 until you reach 8 again and you will find a S meaning you should stand.
In general you should always hit if the total value of your hand is less than 8, and always stand when your hand is worth more than 16. If you draw two cards of the same value remember that you should look these – for example 5,5 and not 10. In the case you got an Ace and for example a 5 then look at the row for A,5 and then if you draw lets say a 2 then look for A,7 (5+2).
So you do not have to be a mathematical genius to play your chances well as long as you stick to the scheme. But just so you have an idea of what is going on there is an example here to illustrate how it works: As pointed out most cards are valued 10. Lets say you hand is valued 12 and the Dealer's got 5 then the Scheme tells you to stand. At first it might seem strange that you shouldn't draw another card since 12 is not very close to 21! But considering the amount of cards valued 10 your risk of busting (12+10=22!) in this situation is high and at the same time the dealer also has chances of busting (5+10+10=25). Therefore it is better for you not to draw another card because you minimize your risk of busting.
Don't worry about memorizing the scheme at once. Soon you will pick up parts of it and just take a print, so if in doubt, you can always check.
So all that's left to say is: Good luck at the Black Jack tables!
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