Blackjack strategy II – more basic strategy
In a game of blackjack where the table is played with three or more card decks, the dealer stands with a soft total of 17, doubling down on any two cards and double after split rules are permissible, the dealer can view his hole card to check a possible natural hand and the blackjack pays winning odds of 3:2, a gambler should follow a basic strategy to give him optimal advantage against the dealer. Since the ten-valued cards are four in number for each suit, total possible situations that a player can imagine against the dealer is ten when his face up card is either 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, any ten-valued card or an ace card.
Now a player who has hand value of a hard total, ranging from 17 to 20, must stand irrespective of what the dealer’s face up card shows. However, if the player has a hard 16, then it is advisable for him to stand when the dealer’s up card is 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. If the dealer’s up card is either a 7 or an 8, the player can safely hit and draw another card. But if the dealer’s up card is very high, such as a 9 or one of the ten-valued cards or an ace card, it is normally a no-win situation for the player and with a hard 16 hand value he should surrender and quit the hand of play. In case the surrender option is not present, then the player can only hope for the best and hit. The player’s basic strategy if his hand value is a hard 15 is almost similar to that if his hand value was hard 16 as regard to his decision to stand. For hitting, the player can optimally do so if the dealer has a 7, 8, 9 or an ace card. Hitting in case of a ten-valued card, however, should only be done if the surrender option is unavailable.
