So you've played some blackjack and know all about the various choices involved -- hitting, standing, doubling down, splitting, surrendering, taking insurance, and so on. The question is, how do you play in a way that increases your chances of winning?
What Not To Do
When it comes to playing initially, a couple of the choices listed above might well be tossed out entirely without too much worry.
Surrendering -- that is, forfeiting one's hand after being dealt the first two cards and giving up half of your original wager -- is almost never a good option. The only time it should ever be considered is when the option is available to you on hands when the dealer has dealt himself blackjack. This is called "early surrender."
However, some casinos only allow you to surrender your hand after the dealer has checked to see he doesn't have blackjack ("late surrender"). While surrendering may seem like a good way to minimize losses, it often is a bad play when the dealer doesn't have blackjack. Thus, if the "early surrender" option isn't possible, go ahead and play your hand.
Taking insurance -- that side bet in which you can wager up to half your original bet on whether the dealer has blackjack -- is also generally speaking a poor play. In order to keep things simple, let's set that one aside, too, and focus on hitting, standing, splitting, and doubling down.
"Hard" hands (non-pairs)
We'll ignore pair hands (with two cards worth the same amount) and splitting and first talk about basic strategy for playing the non-pair hands.
First, here is what to do with hands that don't contain an ace (worth 1 or 11). By the way, these are called "hard" hands (e.g., a 9 and a 7 makes a "hard 16").
If you are dealt 17-21, always stand, regardless of what the dealer's up card is. If you are dealt 13-16, stand if the dealer is showing 2-6, otherwise hit. And if your two starting cards add up to 8 or less, always hit. Easy enough.
If you are dealt 9-12, that's when you need to think about doubling down. Remember, when you double down you double your bet and receive just one more card.
If you have 12, double down if the dealer has a 2 or 3 showing. If the dealer has 4-6 showing, stand. In other cases, hit.
With a hard 9-11, the choice is whether to double down or hit. If you have 11, double down unless the dealer has an ace up, in which case hit. If you have 10, double down if the dealer has 2-9 up; otherwise hit. And if you have 9, double down if the dealer is showing 3-6; otherwise hit.
"Soft" hands (non-pairs)
If you are dealt an ace, your hand is called a "soft" hand. For example, an ace and a 5 is called a "soft 16" because it doesn't have to be played as a 16, but can also go as a 6.
With A-9 or A-8, always stand. (You stand with blackjack, too, of course.)
With A-7, you should stand if the dealer is showing a 2, 7, or 8. If the dealer shows 3-6, double down. Otherwise hit.
With A-6, also double down if the dealer has 3-6 showing; otherwise hit. With A-5 or A-4, double down if the dealer shows 4-6; otherwise hit. And with A-3 or A-2, double down if the dealer has a 5 or 6 up; otherwise hit.
Splitting pairs
Remember, splitting means taking your two equally-valued cards and having the dealer add an extra card to each so you can play two hands at once (with a wager on each).
First off, if you have a pair of 10s (or two cards each worth 10), always stand. And if you have 5-5, never split those either. With 5-5, double down unless the dealer is showing a card worth 10 or an ace, in which case just hit.
Meanwhile, if you have A-A or 8-8, always split.
If you have 7-7, 3-3, or 2-2, split if the dealer shows 2-7; otherwise hit. If you have 6-6, split if the dealer shows 2-6; otherwise hit. And if you have 4-4, split if the dealer has a 5 or 6; otherwise hit.
Finally, if you have 9-9, stand if you see the dealer has a 7, 10, or ace showing. Otherwise split.
All of the recommendations listed here are common ones, and are based on the math of the game and the probabilities involved. Following these recommendations doesn't guarantee you'll win at blackjack, but doing so will ensure you'll have a better shot at winning than if you play without any particular strategy in mind.
