Tips for Blackjack

Tips for Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as twenty-one, is one of the most exciting and best loved of all the card games. Blackjack is a game of skill and much more than luck and a skillful player can do a lot to tip the odds in his/her favor. Here are some tips one should be aware of to make the best out from the game.

Basic Tips

• Never split your 4s, 5s or 10s
• You can split your 8s and Aces, despite of which card the dealer is showing
• If you are not counting the cards you should not take insurance. You can take it if you are counting cards
• If the dealer’s face up card is a 7 through an Ace, you should hit
• If the dealer’s face up card is a 6 or lower, you should stand on a hard 13 through 16
• You should stand of a hard 12, if the dealer is showing a 4, 5, or 6.
• You should hit a hard 12, if the dealer’s face up card is a 2 or a 3, or 7 and higher.
• If the dealer’s face up card is a 10, you should hit a soft 17.
• If the dealer is showing a 0 point card, you should continue to hit until you have around 17 points.

A player can double down on two card combinations totaling:

• 9 – if the dealer’s face up card is any one from three to six.
• 10 – if the dealer is showing a 10 or an Ace
• 11 – if the dealer’s face up card is an Ace

Things are little different in the case of Soft hand. As you cannot “bust” a soft hand with just a single hit, you can follow these tips:

• If the dealer’s card is 7 or higher, the player should hit soft through 17
• One can always hit soft 13 through 17 with hands of 3 or more cards
• One can double down soft 15 through 17 against a dealer’s 4
• If the dealer’s face up card is 3, the player can double down soft 17
• If possible, try to stand on soft 19 or higher