🃏 Blackjack Basic Strategy

Complete decision matrix for optimal play • House edge: 0.5%

📊 Strategy Overview

{
  "game": "blackjack",
  "variant": "standard_6deck",
  "house_edge": 0.005,
  "rules_assumed": {
    "decks": 6,
    "dealer_stands_soft_17": true,
    "double_after_split": true,
    "surrender": false,
    "blackjack_pays": "3:2"
  }
}

📋 Hard Totals

Player hand without an Ace counted as 11

Hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
17+	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H

📋 Soft Totals

Player hand with Ace counted as 11

Hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,8	S	S	S	S	D	S	S	S	S	S
A,7	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A,6	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,5	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,4	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,3	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,2	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H

📋 Pairs

When to split pairs

Hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
10,10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
9,9	P	P	P	P	P	S	P	P	S	S
8,8	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
7,7	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
6,6	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
3,3	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
2,2	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H

⚠️ Key Rules

{
  "never_take_insurance": true,
  "insurance_house_edge": 0.0749,
  "avoid_6_to_5_blackjack": true,
  "6_to_5_house_edge": 0.014,
  "card_counting_effective": true,
  "card_counting_edge": "0.5% to 1.5% with Hi-Lo"
}

Decision Priority

1. If you can surrender, check surrender first
2. If you have a pair, check if you should split
3. If you can double, check if you should double
4. Otherwise: hit or stand

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