Learn to Play Expert Blackjack in One Sitting

Best Blackjack Tricks

When you’re playing hard hands, you’re always going to hit if you have a total of eight or less. With a total of nine, you’ll double against weak dealer cards and hit against strong dealer cards. Always hit a 10 or 11 unless your total is higher than the dealer’s card; in that case, you should double. With those tricky totals of 12 through 16, stand against weak dealer cards that are likely to bust out and hit against strong dealer cards that are less likely to go bust. Always stand with a total of 17 or higher.

Best Blackjack Strategy

Soft hands are even easier to learn to play. Always hit with a soft total of 15 or lower. With soft totals of 16 through 18, double against weak dealer cards and hit against strong dealer cards. You’re always going to stand with a soft total of 19 or higher. With paired starting hands, always double Eights and Aces, and never double Fours, Fives or Tens. You should only double Twos, Threes, Sixes, Sevens and Nines against weak dealer cards. That covers the basics of this blackjack strategy.

There are two details that you need to know in addition to the guidelines above. Always surrender with a total of 16 if you’re against a Ten or an Ace. You should also never take insurance since it’s such a bad bet. Overall, you’ll only play about 0.10 to 0.15 percent worse than perfect with this easy-to-learn strategy, but that’s a very small price to pay for being able to learn to play blackjack well in just a single lesson.