Blackjack strategy V – more basic strategy
Basic strategy that a player can follow as the winning tactics in a blackjack games need certain parameters to be followed including that the game table is played with three or more card decks, the dealer does not hit but rather stands when on soft 17 and takes a peek at his hole card to determine a possible blackjack hand, the natural hand gives a payout of 3-to-2 and doubling down as well as double after split are allowed. Sometimes, however the doubling down is not allowed in a casino house and then the gambler must modify his optimal tactics and still play to win.
In a situation where the player has a soft total of 17 from a combination of an ace and a 6 card, then he must hit all the time against whatever value the dealer’s up card may be if doubling down choice is not open for him. However, if doubling down is a valid alternative, he should double when the dealer’s face up card is 3, 4, 5 or 6 and hit on other situations. For such soft totals like 15 (= an ace card and a 4 card) or 16 (= an ace card and a 5 card), the dealer’s basic strategy to be optimally followed is to double down against the dealer’s 4, 5 or 6 card and hit for every other occasion. Without doubling down as a choice of action, the player can only hit. Now if the player has either an ace card and a 2 card or an ace card and a 3 card, that is, when he has a soft 14 or a soft 14, then doubling down is an optimal strategic decision against the dealer’s face up card of value either 5 or 6. All other face up cards received by the dealer should be responded by the player with a hitting decision. Hitting should also be done for the dealer’s 5 or 6 card if doubling is not allowed.
