On one or more of the 6s you draw yet another 6 which could occur in a multi-deck game. Another point to keep in mind is that the strategy in the following tables and charts also known as blackjack strategy card does not consider the composition of the cards in the hand.

The color-coded strategy chart contains the same information as the black-and-white table except it presents the strategy in the form of a color-coded strategy chart matrix.

The reason is that some players find it easier to learn the basic strategy with a blackjack strategy chart. To find the correct strategy, go down the first column to A-7 and then go across the row until it intersects with the column labeled 6 i.

The abbreviation Ds means double down if the rules allow it, otherwise, you should stand. The background colors for each decision are:. In most single-deck games, the dealers pitch the cards face down to players and a discard tray is not used although a few casinos have used them.

Be sure you know the correct etiquette for holding your cards and signaling your playing decision to the dealer when playing in a single-deck game.

See Chapter 1. The basic strategy for pair splitting changes slightly when the rules specify NDAS vs. If you look at the pair splitting strategy in the strategy charts for NDAS vs.

Many single-deck games in land-based casinos pay only 6 to 5, instead of 3 to 2, for a winning blackjack.

When the casino pays only for a blackjack, the house edge increases by 1. The house edge against a basic strategy player in a single-deck game is a function of the mix of playing rules.

The following table summarizes the relationship of typical rules that you will find in a single-deck game and the corresponding house edge against a basic strategy player.

You will be hard pressed to find a multiple-deck game with house edges as low as a single-deck, game, with H17 and RSA 0.

The edges were computed for a basic strategy that considers just the total of all the cards in your hand such as the basic strategy in the Tables and Charts in this chapter , without consideration of the individual cards that comprise that total.

This basic strategy is known as Total-Dependent basic strategy. You can find which land-based casinos in the USA offer good single-deck blackjack games i.

This subscription-based newsletter is emailed to subscribers every month and lists the rules and house edge for blackjack games in casinos all over the U.

Most single-deck games are H17 or H17 with no doubling on soft hands. Surrender is rarely offered in a single-deck game but I included it in the strategy charts and tables for the sake of completeness.

You can always find out if a local casino offers a single-deck game by calling the main casino number, asking the operator to connect you with the blackjack pit, then asking the person that answers usually the floor supervisor if they offer a single-deck game, and what the rules and payoffs for a blackjack are.

In most cases, they will provide you with the information. The same abbreviations that were used in the blackjack strategy charts for single-deck games are used for double-deck games.

As previously explained, you will find tables that will restrict you from doubling down on 11, 10, and 9, but for blackjack variations where doubling down is allowed on other hands, both late and early, there are several situations with soft hands where it is highly recommended to consider doubling down.

Lastly, as indicated on the basic blackjack strategy chart, if you are unable to double down due to the blackjack variation you are playing, you should hit except for 4 scenarios where its highly recommended to rather stand.

This includes when you display a soft 18 and the dealer displays a 6, 5, 4, or 3. In these unexcepted scenarios, you can surrender your hand and sacrifice half of your initial wager which will ultimately result in losing significantly less in the long term.

Should surrender not be permitted at the blackjack variation you are playing, its highly recommended that you hit. Most blackjack variations, both in land-based casinos and online, will allow you the option to partake in a wide range of unique side bets that function separately on their own but alongside your current hand.

Please be aware that you will need to place an additional wager on your blackjack hand if you wish to partake in any of the offered side bets.

In most blackjack variations that are two extremely common side bets that will always be featured, including Luck Lucky and Perfect Pairs, but there are countless other side bets that are available with new side bets being created every single day.

With the basic blackjack strategy, its not recommended to pay attention to any of the side bets in blackjack.

They rarely offer any value to you and the house edge of most side bets is far higher than the normal game of blackjack. Below, we included the number of decks used as well as the house edge in percentages:.

As you will notice, the differences between the number of decks used is rather small but you will agree that the less decks of playing cards are used, the better it will be for you.

You will also come to find that eight decks and double decks are rarely available online with four decks and six decks being the most common. You will also find some casinos offering single deck blackjack variations, but you will usually be limited to only one hand and the playing cards will be shuffled after each hand.

Therefore, the advantage can only be found with exceptional hands where a large number of a particular card will appear several times which is an important factor when it comes to decision making.

Here is a basic strategy chart that is correct for a double deck game where the dealer stands on Soft Basic strategy is not enough!

We get emails from people all the time talking about how they downloaded our blackjack charts, took them to a casino, and won some money.

Basic strategy cannot overcome the house edge even if you get lucky with it from time to time. Think of it like a space shuttle.

Basic strategy is just the rocket booster. It gets the shuttle high enough in the atmosphere for the shuttle to do the rest of the work.

The rocket booster never makes it to space. Memorize it perfectly! This is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to beating blackjack.

Vegas was built on guys who looked at the wallet-size basic strategy a couple times after they bought it in the gift shop on their last vacation.

It takes intentional practice to commit this stuff to memory. The chart you start with is not the chart you end with!

Once you learn this chart you will have to learn additional rules and deviations that relate to the specific rules of the games you will be playing.

The better you learn basic strategy the easier it will be to transition to the other rules-specific charts. Perfect means perfect!

You need to know these strategy charts backwards and forwards, doing a handstand, in a hurricane, giving your drink order to a waitress, while listening to Count Von Count serenade you on Sesame Street.

In order to use the chart below you can either print it you will find the links for print versions below or invent a system for memorizing it read the article how to learn blackjack basic strategy.

The best way of learning though, is of course by understanding the rules of basic strategy. The strategy generator is a special generator of strategy charts created by Blackjack Doc to help you get a chart for any game you play.

Just input the rules to get the chart. It is a good idea to print the chart and place it close to your PC so you will be able to consult it each time you play.

Another way is to buy a credit-card sized blackjack chart.