All players are dealt 2 cards face down. The dealer is dealt 2 cards, but one of these cards is dealt face
up. It’s vitally important that you observe the
dealers up card and take that into account before your
next move.
I’ve got my cards, what move should I make?
There’s no need to have studied maths or applied
statistics to play this game. 16 of the 52 cards in a
deck of playing cards have a value of 10, meaning that
there is a 31% probability that each card you receive
will be worth 10.
The approach used in the basic strategy is to assume
that the dealers down card will be worth 10. So if
the dealer has an up-card of 7, you should assume that
the dealer’s cards total 17.
If the dealers up-card is a 3,4,5 or 6, then you
should stand on any hand of 12 and above.
If the dealer’s up-card is a 2, then you should stand
if your hand totals 13 or more.
If the dealer is showing a 7,8,9,10, or 11 (Ace), then
your best move is to ‘hit’ (request an additional
card) if your hand totals 16 or less.
Is that it?
Well, that’s enough to get you going at the tables,
but, depending on the 2 cards you are dealt, you may
have 2 additional options: doubling down and
splitting.
Doubling Down:
You can double down after you have received your first
2 cards. When you double down, you double your
original stake and are then given one more card from
the dealer.
The rules on doubling down vary from online casino to
online casino, however here are some guidelines on
doubling down:
If the dealers up-card is a 10, then only double down
if your two cards total 11.
If the dealer is showing a 9, then double down if your
two cards total 10 or 11.
If the dealer is showing 11 (an ace), then don’t
double down!
Try to avoid doubling down when your cards total 9.
Only do this if the dealers up-card is a 3,4,5 or 6.
Splitting:
You can split your cards when you are dealt a pair.
By splitting your cards you will effectively be
playing 2 hands.
Basic strategy dictates that you should always split
Aces, and that you should avoid the temptation of
splitting a pair of 10’s. By holding two 10’s, you
already have a strong hand and could potentially end
up with two weak hands.
Ready to hit the tables:
Yes, well that’s a guide to basic strategy, but I
can’t stress the most important thing of all…Keep your
cool, stay calm and be patient, and don’t chase loosing
runs.
Good luck
Buddy
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