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.

However, with more card decks being used the advantage of composition-dependent strategy does not affect house edge considerably. So while the casino advantage is reduced by almost 0.0387% in a single card deck game, in a six card deck game, the house edge is only lowered by 0.0031%.

Another technique that can give the player considerable advantage in multiple card deck involving blackjack games is shuffle tracking. It means keeping a eye on how groups of cards are being shuffled in the shoe and accordingly suit one’s gameplay and betting action when these cards come into active play. Although this technique is very difficult to employ with its requirement of good eyesight and making visual estimates correctly, shuffle tracking can prove more advantageous than simple card counting. This is because casino staff regularly monitors players’ actions to prevent counting but they overlook checking the more difficult tactics of shuffle tracking. Moreover, anyone using this technique can at times use a different strategy of gameplay and betting action from a card counting player.

For a hand value totaling a hard 9, the player should double when the dealer’s face up card is a 3 or a 4 or a 5 or a 6 and in all other cases, hit. If doubling down is not an option in the game, then hitting should be done. However, if the player’s hard total hand value ranges between 5 and 8, his basic strategy to follow is hitting and drawing extra card(s) irrespective of the dealer’s face up card.

Now, if the player’s hand value is a soft total, the basic strategy is altered considerably. So if the player is holding a hand where his initial two cards is either an ace and a 9 or an ace and a 8, then all he can do is stand and lock his hand vale irrespective of whatever value the dealer’s face up card may show. Now if the player has a soft 18 where the two cards are an ace and a 7, he can hit if the dealer has a 9 or any ten-valued card or an ace as his up card. If doubling is not allowed, the player should stand on every other value showed by the dealer’s face up card. In case doubling down is a valid rule, then the player must double against the dealer’s 3, 4, 5 or 6 and should stand if the dealer holds a 2 or a 7 or an 8.

So with hand value of either a hard 14 or a hard 13, the player should stand when the dealer’s up card shows a value of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. On any other situation, that is, if the dealer’s up card is 7, 8, 9, any ten-valued card or an ace, the player must hit and draw additional card(s) to suit his game and make it advantageous. Now, if the player has a hard 12 then he should only consider standing when the dealer’s up card is a 4 or a 5 or a 6 card. In all other cases, irrespective of the dealer’s up card showing 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, any ten-valued card or an ace,. The player’s optimum choice of action is to hit.

In case the player has a hard 11, standing is a non-optimal play and should be avoided under all conditions. He must hit if the dealer has an ace card turned up and on all other cases, it is advisable that the player chooses the doubling down option. Only if doubling is not allowed should the player’s basic strategy be hitting. A player with a hard 10 hand value must invariably hit when the dealer shows an ace or a ten-valued card. Doubling down is the favorable and most desirable option for the player against any other card the dealer may have as his up card. However, in case doubling down is not permitted the player must hit.

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.