It has been awhile since I have talked about basics for blackjack. Sometimes you just get all caught up in the finer points of strategy, like the odds on insurance and the odds on standing vs. hitting a soft 17 on the dealer’s part. But often times the basics get forgotten, lost in those other discussions.
So I want to go back to the basics this week.
The point of playing blackjack is that it is the one casino game with the best house edge for players to go up against. I say this not only because it is the one of the lowest house edges on the casino floor or in an online casino prior to applying any strategy—and I am talking about standard blackjack, not variations—but because applying one of the best existing blackjack strategies can lower the house edge to the point that there is no denying that blackjack is the best casino game.
Basic strategy is the blackjack strategy that I mean. It is the simplest strategy to use. Every single player hand is represented along with every dealer up card. Players merely check the point where the player hand and dealer up card intersect; the play found at the intersection is the best statistical play. While that play does not guarantee a win, basic strategy does offer you the best odd for that particular situation.
Playing according to basic strategy can lower the house edge to 0.5% over time. That means sticking to basic strategy and not deviating from it. But considering how easy it makes blackjack to play, there is no reason to deviate.