Lesson description
If you want to win more at blackjack, you need to learn basic strategy. Mr Blackjack explains how basic strategy works and why you can trust it.
After learning the rules to blackjack, you'll want to pick up basic strategy. Many people talk about basic strategy but few players take the time to learn how it works and how to apply it to their games. This season will teach you how basic strategy works, why you can trust it, and how it will help you win more in blackjack.
When people talk about basic strategy, they're referring to a combination of actions that should be followed for any given hand in blackjack: hit, split, double down, surrender, and stand.
Basic strategy uses the mathematics of probability to determine which move will give you the best possible result based on your total card value and the dealer's up-card, for any hand in blackjack.
Basic strategy was created by four mathematicians in the 1950s: Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel, and James McDermott, also known as the Four Housemen of Aberdeen. These mathematicians used the US Army's simulations machines at the Aberdeen Proving Ground military base for 18 months to run through all possible hand scenarios in blackjack.
In 1957, they published their work in the book Playing Blackjack to Win: A New Strategy for the Game of 21. It's a classic book still read by players today and forms the foundations of basic strategy we know today.
We can trust the basic strategy these guys created because it's been mathematically proven to work.
In this series, we will show you how basic strategy will help you make better plays on the trickiest hands in blackjack.
We'll tell you why you make a specific move when you have 13 and the dealer is showing a 10 and when you make a different decision when you have 13 and the dealer is showing a 6. These math-based decisions will guide you through your blackjack journey and should help you make smarter decisions based on your head, not your gut.
Remember, blackjack is a game of chance and probability. Basic strategy is based on millions of simulated blackjack hands to determine which move will give you the best possible outcome in blackjack. But there is still variance in this game of chance. The unexpected can always happen.
So you may find yourself in a situation where the math does not always work out. You have to tell yourself that you are making the best decision with the information given to you, and maintain your emotional control.
Let’s look at these strategies more in-depth, shall we?
