Card Counting Tutorial, Day 5

The Basic strategy

Here is a table that summarizes the basic strategy

It’s a summary of the moves you would make without knowing anything about the make up of the unused portion of the deck in the form of a count. In these three tables is contained every possibility of what you could be presented with in a game of blackjack. I want to go over it with you. Almost all of it is strict common sense. A few moves might surprise you.

Let’s first make up some blanket statements you can create using these tables.

1. Always split Aces and 8s.

2. Never split 10s, 5s or 4s.

   Do you know why ? Aces are great alone because of the good chance of drawing a 10 value card on one or both of them for a total of 21. Two 8s equal 16, a horrible total. An 8 is a good single card because of the possibility of getting a 10 value card on it when you hit.

   Why would you break up a 20? It’s a great hand! As for 5s and 4s, you would be throwing away a good and great totals and giving yourself terrible hands.

3. Never hit A,9 or A,8. Why?

4. Never hit a hard total of 17. Why?

Now for some general observations:

1. You almost never stand on a pair. Exceptions are 10,10 upon which you stand all the time, and 9,9 upon which you stand against a 7, 10 and A.

2. 10 and 11 are your big double down totals (think about the rare times you wouldn’t be doubling on 10 or 11. Why?)

Quirky, noncommon sense things.

1. Actually, there aren’t any. I can explain all of them.

When we start counting (next time), I’m going to give you three ways to apply the count; the easiest way (you won’t have to memorize any more than the Basic Strategy), the moderately easy way- it’s a little bit more powerful- (you’ll have to memorize about 15 changes to the basic strategy, based on the count), and the full Monty (if I can find it printed anywhere) in which there are extremes in the count such that you migh need to veer from the Basic Strategy 50 or 60 times.

A question I hope all of you can figure out by now. If you have a king and a 6 vs a dealer’s up card of 10 and you know the next card is a 5, what should you do? Please do not answer in the comments.