This site was created specifically for people from Canada, for quick acquaintance with the gambling industry online. In today's article, you can know all about Blackjack Strategy Basic in Canada. Our Canadian visitors have asked us so many times to write the review of "Learn Blackjack Strategy, Blackjack Strategy Basic in Canada" because of high interest in this topic. Well, the thorough investigation by our gambling expert had been already finished and we have collected here all useful information about Blackjack Strategy Basic in Canada in one review. You may read it now!

Blackjack Strategy Basic in Canada

Basic strategy was derived from a computer simulation. Somebody taught a computer how to play blackjack and then told it to play several hundred MILLION hands of blackjack and record what happened. Through the computer’s trial and error it figured out which decisions are best for the player, given every possible combination of starting player hands and dealer up card. The “best decisions” for the player, in this case, are the ones that lose the least amount of money to the casino over time. Basic strategy does not overcome the casino’s house edge until we add card counting to the mix. If you are super geeky and simply MUST have a better explanation, check out Mike Shakleford’s video where he builds basic strategy from scratch using excel and watch his other video where he determines the house edge the same way.

16 surrenders against dealer 9 through Ace, otherwise don’t surrender (revert to hard totals).
15 surrenders against dealer 10, otherwise don’t surrender (revert to hard totals).

Learn Blackjack Strategy

Our Blackjack Strategy Chart teaches you exactly when to:

Hit or Stand

Double Down

Split Pairs

Surrender

Read This Before You Memorize Any Charts!

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. That’s great news for them, but it could have easily gone the other way. 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. You’ll need counting, deviations, true count conversions and betting strategy to actually beat the game of blackjack but that’s for later.

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. If it was easy, we wouldn’t have a website dedicated to helping you learn it.

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!
In a game where you can only hope to gain a 1% edge over the house, a 99% game isn’t good enough. 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.

Our Blackjack Strategy Chart teaches you exactly when to:

Hit or Stand

Double Down

Split Pairs

Surrender

Read This Before You Memorize Any Charts!

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. That’s great news for them, but it could have easily gone the other way. 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. You’ll need counting, deviations, true count conversions and betting strategy to actually beat the game of blackjack but that’s for later.

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. If it was easy, we wouldn’t have a website dedicated to helping you learn it.

The chart you start with is not the chart you end with!
Once you learn this chart you will have to learn additional blackjack 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!
In a game where you can only hope to gain a 1% edge over the house, a 99% game isn’t good enough. 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.

Basic Strategy Has An Order Of Operations:

Can I/should I Surrender?

If you’re playing at a casino that offers surrender (also known as late surrender or LS), you will only have the option to surrender on the first two cards you’re dealt. You won’t be able to surrender if you’ve already taken a hit card. This is why surrender is the first thing you have to think about when playing your hand. If the answer is NO you can’t or NO you shouldn’t surrender, you then ask yourself….

Can I/Should I Split?

The second most important decision is whether or not to split. This will only be an option when your first two cards are a pair or if you have two ten-valued cards (like a jack and a king). If the answer is NO you can’t or you shouldn’t split, you ask yourself….

Can I/Should I Double?

When basic strategy calls for doubling, it’s a really good thing! It means you’re likely to win the hand! Some casinos restrict doubling on certain hands so it may not always be possible, but you want to make sure you’ve ruled it out before you move on. If the answer is NO you can’t or you shouldn’t double, you ask yourself…

Should I hit or should I stand?

The last thing you should think about when it comes to basic strategy is whether or not to take another card. If the other options above are not appropriate for your hand then you would choose to hit or stand.

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Learn Blackjack Strategy, Blackjack Strategy Basic in Canada

Here Is All Of Basic Strategy In 30 Simple Phrases:

In case you’re not a visual learner these simple phrases might help you commit these rules to memory. The goal with remembering phrases is to be able to look at your hand total and immediately recite the rule in your head, without having to see what the dealer has. That way when you’re at the table and you look up to see what the dealer has, you already know how it relates to your hand and you can make your decision in a split second. Memorizing these phrases will make you much faster and have fewer mistakes.

Surrenders:

16 surrenders against dealer 9 through Ace, otherwise don’t surrender (revert to hard totals).

15 surrenders against dealer 10, otherwise don’t surrender (revert to hard totals).

Always split aces.

Never split tens.

A pair of 9’s splits against dealer 2 through 9, except for 7, otherwise stand.

Always split 8’s

A pair of 7’s splits against dealer 2 through 7, otherwise hit.

A pair of 6’s splits against dealer 2 through 6, otherwise hit.

A pair of 5’s doubles against dealer 2 through 9, otherwise hit.

A pair of 4’s splits against dealer 5 and 6, otherwise hit.

A pair of 3’s splits against dealer 2 through 7, otherwise hit.

A pair of 2’s splits against dealer 2 through 7, otherwise hit.

Soft totals: A soft total is any hand that has an Ace as one of the first two cards, the ace counts as 11 to start.

Soft 20 (A,9) always stands.

Soft 19 (A,8) doubles against dealer 6, otherwise stand.

Soft 18 (A,7) doubles against dealer 2 through 6, and hits against 9 through Ace, otherwise stand.

Soft 17 (A,6) doubles against dealer 3 through 6, otherwise hit.

Soft 16 (A,5) doubles against dealer 4 through 6, otherwise hit.

Soft 15 (A,4) doubles against dealer 4 through 6, otherwise hit.

Soft 14 (A,3) doubles against dealer 5 through 6, otherwise hit.

Soft 13 (A,2) doubles against dealer 5 through 6, otherwise hit.

Hard totals: A hard total is any hand that does not start with an ace in it, or it has been dealt an ace that can only be counted as 1 instead of 11.

17 and up always stands.

16 stands against dealer 2 through 6, otherwise hit.

15 stands against dealer 2 through 6, otherwise hit.

14 stands against dealer 2 through 6, otherwise hit.

13 stands against dealer 2 through 6, otherwise hit.

12 stands against dealer 4 through 6, otherwise hit.

11 always doubles.

10 doubles against dealer 2 through 9 otherwise hit.

9 doubles against dealer 3 through 6 otherwise hit.

8 always hits.

FAQ About Blackjack Charts:

We get a lot of questions on our forum about basic strategy. Here are some of the common ones and their answers:

What is basic strategy based on? Didn’t the casinos write “the book”? How can we trust basic strategy?

Why are the strategy charts on this site different than the charts I saw on such-and-such website?

TL;DR – Our chart is based off of the more common “H17 game.” Memorize our chart, then learn card counting and the deviation chart for the game you will most commonly be playing.

Longer answer: The main reason is whether the Basic Strategy Chart is based off of a dealer Hitting a Soft 17, known as an “H17 game” or Standing on a Soft 17, known as an “S17 game.” Our advice is to learn this chart, then move on to learning card counting and the blackjack deviations associated with the game you will be playing (H17 vs S17).

There are also slight variations in strategy when you play a 6 deck game versus a single deck game. Rather than teach you 9 different basic strategy charts for each variant of blackjack you will ever see, we decided to run our simulation against the games people will most commonly see and teach one basic strategy that is sufficiently effective against all numbers of decks. We have a Keep it Simple Stupid, mentality when it comes to learning card counting. This means our charts might be slightly different than a site that’s chosen a different philosophy.

If you’re an anal-retentive type and want to learn hyper-specific strategies we recommend Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong. We’ve run the numbers and learning the hyper-specific stuff basically just makes you feel smarter and doesn’t add any money to your wallet. With that said, whatever strategy you choose to learn, we recommend sticking with ONLY those materials. If you get distracted with content from multiple sources it has a higher probability of confusing you than enlightening you. We’ve taken over $4,000,000 from casinos and trained an army of card counters who have taken millions more, with the charts you see here. So rest assured, we’ve combed through the crap and know what’s important when it comes to crushing this game.

How do I memorize all this?

Great question! You’ve come to the exact right place! We have some tips in our premium video course on how to approach the blackjack charts and make them simpler. We also have a free mini course we can email you with some step by step instructions on how to take your training seriously. We also have blank strategy sheets you can download and fill in every day for practice to test yourself. Practice makes perfect so there’s nothing like our basic strategy drills to get it drilled into your brain!

When I’m doing the basic strategy drills, I only miss one every couple hundred hands or so! Am I ready for the casino?

If you think missing one every now and then is “perfect” then sure you’re ready! [sarcasm] How many people listen to musicians that get every 100 th note out of tune? Michael Jordan says you’ll never play better in a game than you did in practice. We want to be like Mike, so we teach that you are probably making 2 or 3 mistakes in the casino for every one mistake you make in the distractionless, pressure-free, comfort of your home. Perfect means perfect. Don’t compromise. If you keep messing up basic strategy, put it down for a while and come back to it. It won’t happen overnight, but if you stick with it, eventually you’ll know these blackjack charts better than you know the back of your hand.

Next Steps:

Once you’ve memorized the basic strategy chart perfectly, you will also need to learn at what count indexes you need to deviate from the basic strategy chart. Deviations vary based on the rules of the game offered, and the rules of the region. For example, in some games, the dealer must stand on a Soft 17, that is, an Ace, plus any combination of cards equaling 6. This is called a “Stand 17” game. In other games, the dealer must hit on any Soft 17. This is called a “Hit 17” game. Also, in Europe and commonly in Canada, dealers do not have a hole card. This is called “European” or “European No-Hole” blackjack.

We provide these charts to people with a membership

Strategy

Blackjack is a game of skill and strategy, not simply chance. Unlike any other casino game, in Blackjack it’s possible to boost the odds in your favour by using certain playing and betting techniques.

Basic Strategy

Basic Blackjack strategy is a set of rules for different types of hands, which advise when to hit, stand, split or double down to maximize your chances of winning.

In Blackjack, the dealer is bound by the rules of play: The dealer must stand on 17, continue to draw if a hand is less than 17, and stand when the total is from 17 to 21.

Unlike the dealer, a player has the freedom to decide what to do with every hand. In order to increase the odds of winning, players can follow something called “basic strategy”.

If you learn basic strategy, you’ll always know the right move in Blackjack.

How basic strategy works

A Jack of diamonds and a seven of clubs.

How to play a hard hand

In a hard hand, you have two cards, without an ace:

With 8 or less, always hit

With 9, double if the dealer has 3 through 6, if not, hit

With 10, double if the dealer has 2 through 9, if not, hit

With 11, double if the dealer has 2 through 10, hit if the dealer has an ace

With 12, hit if the dealer has 2 or 3, stand if the dealer has 4 through 6, if not, hit

With 13-16, stand if the dealer has 2 through 6, if not, hit

With 17-21, always stand

How to play a soft hand

In a soft hand, you have two cards, including an ace:

With ace-2 or ace 3, double if the dealer has 5 or 6, if not, hit

With ace-4 or ace-5, double if the dealer has 4 through 6, if not, hit

With ace-6, double if the dealer has 3 through6, if not, hit

With ace-7, stand if the dealer has 2, 7 or 8. Double if the dealer has 3 through 6, if not, hit

With ace-8 or ace-9, always stand

How to play pairs

Pairs are simply two cards of the same points value:

With a pair of aces or 8s, always split

With a pair of 2s or 3s, split if the dealer has 2 through7, if not, hit

With a pair of 4s, split if the dealer has 5 or 6, if not, hit

With a pair of 5s, double if the dealer has 2 through 9, if not, hit

With a pair of 6s, split if the dealer has 2 through 6, if not, hit

With a pair of 7s, split if the dealer has 2 through 7, if not, hit

With a pair of 9s, split if the dealer has 2 through 6, and 8 or 9. Stand if the dealer has 7, 10 or ace

With a pair of 10s, always stand

Need proper charts for crazy Canadian blackjack rules

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I can't seem to find any basic strategy charts or deviation charts to the specific rules to my local casinos. I have been using the Wizards Basic Strategy Calculator as my guideline but his options are limited. And for my deviations I have been using the Hi-Lo H17 chart from Blackjack Apprenticeship. It's as close as I can find to what I need for now but I think I am making playing errors. Like Not doubling an 11 against an A or 10. I feel I should cause the dealer will only take my original bet if he gets a BJ. But I have no math to back that up. Any help would be much appreciated, eh!

6 Decks
No Hole Card
Hit on soft 17
Double any 2 cards
Late Surrender (No surr. against an A)
Resplit to 4 hands (Including Aces) 1 card per A
Only original bet is lost on dealer BJ

It makes no difference whether the dealer takes a hole card as long as splits and doubles do not lose to a blackjack. What you've described is regular blackjack with half decent rules I might add.

There are six basic strategy changes when going from S17 to H17. If your chart doesn't have them you can print one from the Wizard of Odds site. In the meantime here they are. Surrender 17 vs ace, 8,8 vs ace and 15 vs ace. Double A,7 vs 2, A,8 vs 6 and ace vs 11. Don't worry about the math. It's all been done for you.

Remember that the OP CANNOT surrender against an Ace, but go ahead and try, if the Dealer doesn't catch it, its to your advantage.

Keep the Wizard's H17 chart handy, or use that. No surrender vs. Ace in H17 has some value, so, the game is a bit worse than the -0.66% House Advantage. Probably not worse than 0.7%.

Remember that the OP CANNOT surrender against an Ace, but go ahead and try, if the Dealer doesn't catch it, its to your advantage.

Keep the Wizard's H17 chart handy, or use that. No surrender vs. Ace in H17 has some value, so, the game is a bit worse than the -0.66% House Advantage. Probably not worse than 0.7%.

Thanks. I have seen this game with surrender against an ace settled at the conclusion of the hand. As you point out that is not the case here. What we do have is early surrender against a ten. That and the re splitting of aces should take a little of the sting out of it.

Blackjack Rules

One of the most well-known casino games by far is twenty one or in other words, blackjack. It seems to offer everything a player needs in order to get a high level of entertainment. Its rules are easy to remember which make the game perfect for all types of players, even inexperienced ones. This card game is also famous for having one of the lowest house edges in comparison to the rest of the casino classics.

Blackjack features a skill element, meaning that you can greatly influence the outcome of every hand by applying a strategy. This way, you have a decent chance of winning and even making a profit, something which not many casino games offer you.

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Basics

Blackjack is a card game in which you and the rest of the players sitting on the table compete against a dealer. The moves each participant makes don’t affect you directly and your main focus should be placed on beating the dealer. The dealer is the person who represents the casino and he/she is responsible for conducting the gaming process in a smooth and professional manner.

Your primary goal is to defeat him/her by forming a total in your hand that is as close to 21 as possible. However, bear in mind that if you surpass this number, you automatically lose your bet. In such situations the term go bust is used to indicate that the respective player has lost. You become a winner if your hand’s total is higher than the dealer’s or if he/she surpasses 21. Originally, the game was played with a single pack of cards but nowadays more and more variations deviate from this rule. Regardless of whether you play blackjack in a land-based or a web-based casino, you are most likely to bump into a game which uses four or six decks.

In general, blackjack is considered to have rather straightforward rules which you can quickly learn. Unlike other casino games, it doesn’t feature a number of complicated bets which further eases players. During the game you are required to choose from several moves for your hand which are also very simple.

Every time you have the freedom to decide how to play your cards, whereas the dealer against whom you compete doesn’t. When it comes to the dealer’s play, his/her actions are predetermined by the rules of the game. Speaking of rules, you should know that blackjack has many variations which have different house edge and even game play in some cases. Therefore, the rules of some versions deprive you completely of some of the moves which is the reason why it is best to get familiar with them in advance.

In general, most blackjack tables have a semi-circular shape and in land-based casinos, they are usually located in the table games section. Up to seven players can sit on one table and play independently, only against a dealer. The table itself is a specially designed one which features several betting areas. When you sit on a blackjack table, you will be able to see a Chips tray, a place for the decks called a Shoe and a Currency Slot in which are stored all of the money that players have exchanged for chips.

Cards & Hands Value

The way in which the cards are valued in blackjack is fairly simple to grasp and learn. All cards retain the numeric value on them, except for aces and face cards. All jacks, queens and kings are worth 10 points, whereas aces can be counted as either 1 or 11. For this purpose, the ace is considered to be the most powerful card in the deck as it can prevent you from going bust or it can help you form a higher total. Whenever you have an ace in your hand, you can adjust its value multiple times, depending on your needs. This card is undoubtedly a great tool, however only if you know how to take advantage of it. As for the suits in blackjack, you should know that they are absolutely irrelevant, meaning that it doesn’t matter whether you get a diamond or a spade ace as either way it can be counted as one or ten.

Since the ace is the most powerful card in the deck, it is no wonder that the highest winning combination includes it. You will receive the biggest payout, if you manage to collect an ace and a ten-valued card. This winning hand is called blackjack and it typically pays out 3/2. If you happen to form such a card combination, you instantly win. However, there is one exception to this rule – if the dealer also has a blackjack, the outcome of the round is a tie or in other words, a push. This basically means that no one wins in which case the bet is automatically returned to the player.

Game Cycle

The whole gaming process in blackjack is very simple to conduct, yet quite exciting. If you are not sure about anything during the game, you can always ask the dealer for assistance. The first thing you need to do at the beginning of every round is to place your bet. It is a good idea to determine the size of your wagers in advance in order to prevent yourself from overspending. In order to place a bet, you need to put the relevant amount of chips in the designed betting spot on the table that is located in front of you.

After that all of the players who have an active betting spot receive two cards. These two cards form your hand and they are placed face up. Then, the dealer also receives two cards. However, note that only one of his/her cards is exposed and the other is placed face down. The hidden card is called a Hole card and it plays a crucial role for the whole gaming process. The function of this card is the following – if the dealer has a 10-valued card or an ace from the initial deal, he/she is enforced by the rules to check for blackjack.

In case that the dealer has a blackjack, then the Hole card gets revealed and you lose. The only exception is when you also have a blackjack as then the outcome of the round is simply a tie. The Hole card rule can vary, depending on the variation and the online casino of your choice. Bear in mind that this rule works in your favour as it prevents you from placing large bets in cases when you are bound to lose.

After you have placed your bet and you have received your first two cards, you need to choose one of the available moves for your hand. Depending on your choice the game will unfold differently every time. If you don’t surpass 21 and your hand’s total is higher than the dealer’s, you win and you get paid an amount that is equal to your initial wager. The same goes for the cases in which the dealer goes bust and you don’t. You lose all of your bets in two cases – if the dealer’s total is higher than yours or if you bust.

As for your hand, you basically have to decide whether you are satisfied with its total or you would like to improve it. During each round, all of the participants have to make up their mind regarding their hand. The game is operated in a clockwise manner and the player from whom the gaming process begins is the one sitting on first base. First base is called the position that is on the dealer’s left side. Analogically, if you want to be the last player to make a move, you should sit on the dealer’s right side or in other words, third base.

Player’s Choices in a Hand

As already mentioned, once you receive your first two cards, you have to decide how to play your hand. Your main options are to either stand or hit which you will always have, regardless of the variation you play. You should perform the latter move when you believe that the total in your hand is insufficient to beat the dealer.

By choosing to hit, you basically request another card to be dealt to you. In this sense, it is best to get familiar with your odds of busting, depending on your hand’s total. For instance, if you have a total of eighteen in your hand, your chance of going bust is 77% but if you have a total of twelve, it is only 31%. In order to indicate this move, you need to simply wave or tap with your fingers on the table.

The move stand is the opposite of hit. When you choose to stand, you basically choose to keep your hand’s total as it is. In such cases, you won’t receive any additional cards, meaning that the total in your hand won’t be affected in any way. By selecting the move stand, you simply end your turn without performing any other actions. This way, if you have a high total in your hand, you won’t go bust and lose your bet. If you want to stand, you need to wave your hand above the cards.

There are some other moves which are not always available. Their availability depends on either the particular situation and circumstances or on the variation of your choice. In some cases, you will be given the opportunity to double down, split, take insurance or surrender. The former move enables you to double your bet. In order to do so, you are required to wager the same amount as your original bet once more by placing the respective chips and pointing them with one finger. It should be noted that this option is available only if you haven’t made any other major moves but at the same time you have already received your initial cards.

At one point during the game, you are bound to get a pair of two cards which have the same rank. In such cases, you can choose to split them and this way, form two new hands which are independent from one another. This means that you should treat them as such and apply a different approach towards each one of them. Each hand gets one more card and if it happens to form a matching pair again, in some cases you can re-split it. However, the rules regarding splitting and re-splitting differ greatly from one variation to another.

In some variations, it is also possible to take insurance or in other words, to make sure you will win something even if the dealer has a blackjack. In order to take advantage of this move, you are required to place a side bet which should be half of the amount of your original wager. The insurance bet works the following way – if the dealer has a blackjack, your original bet losses but the insurance one wins. Its payout is usually 2/1.

Another move which is not always available is the surrender option. In some games, when the dealer’s up card is a 10-valued one or an ace, you are given the opportunity to surrender. This means that you can give half of your original wager to the casino without playing the hand but you get to keep the other half. This move is very beneficial if you are in a situation in which you know you are bound to lose against the dealer. It should be noted that depending on the time in which you can perform this move, two types can be distinguished – early and late surrender.

Dealer’s Options

When it comes to the dealer’s options, you should know that he/she plays according to a set of rules which you can see before the beginning of the game. The dealer is completely deprived of the following moves – to double down, split a pair or surrender. In most games, the dealer is enforced to stand on soft 17 and hit if his/ her total is less than this number. If you choose to stand, in order to determine the outcome of the game, the dealer will reveal his hidden card. In case he has a natural blackjack, you and the rest of the players instantly lose your bets.

If the dealer doesn’t have a natural blackjack, he/she is required to hit or stand depending on the variation of the above-mentioned rule. Also, if the game is a Hole card one, the dealer has to peek for blackjack. In general, the rules according to which the dealer plays can vary, depending on the version of your choice. What is more, there are some land-based casinos in which you can join blackjack tables that have completely different rules and table limits but are positioned in the same venue.

Basic Strategy

Since blackjack is a game of skills and luck, it is possible to influence the outcome of every round by applying a strategy. The more you know about the game, the higher your chances of winning are. Blackjack has a moderately low house edge which enables you to become a consistent winner and even make a profit in the long term. However, in order to achieve this goal, you need to prepare yourself in advance and master the basic strategy.

The basic strategy features a plan which gives you an idea of how you should proceed in a particular situation. It takes into account your hand’s total as well as the dealer’s up card. Its suggested moves are based entirely on the probability of all of the card combinations that you can possibly get in a given scenario. In order to minimise your money losses, you should simply follow the set of rules that its chart suggests. The basic strategy doesn’t guarantee you will win all the time but it can help you improve your game to some extent.

Basic Strategy Chart

Players’ Hand	Dealer’s Up Card
Players’ Hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
8	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
A-2	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A-3	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A-4	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A-5	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A-6	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A-7	S	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A-8	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A-9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A-A	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H
2-2	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
3-3	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
4-4	H	H	H	SP	SP	H	H	H	H	H
5-5	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H
6-6	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H	H
7-7	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
8-8	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP
9-9	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	S	SP	SP	S	S

Blackjack Terms

Blackjack, just like most casino games, is full of terms which you should get familiar with in order to be able to understand the game thoroughly. Let’s have a look at some of the most important ones which you need to know in order to play blackjack and follow the gaming process with ease.

Hit – to take another card

Stand – to end your turn without drawing any cards

Double Down – to double your original stake by placing an additional bet

Split – to form two new hands which are independent from one another

Surrender – to give up half of your bet and retain the other half without playing the hand

Insurance – an optional bet which you can make when the up card of the dealer is an ace

Soft Hand – a hand that has an ace which can be counted as eleven

Hard Hand – a hand which contains no aces or a hand which has an ace but it can be only counted as one otherwise its total exceeds twenty one

House Edge – the built-in advantage every casino game has which is shown in percentages

Shoe – a place on the table where the cards are stored

Hole Card – the dealer’s card which is placed face down

What does the variation Progressive Jackpot Blackjack feature?

Progressive Jackpot Blackjack is one of the most popular variations for several reasons. Perhaps, the biggest one is the fact that it features a jackpot whose amount is constantly increasing every time someone plays the respective game. Some games offer several generous prizes and even if you don’t win the biggest one, you can still leave the casino with a decent profit. In order to be able to qualify for them, you need to place a special side bet.

All Canadian Blackjack Variations for Real Money

Masters Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Blackjack Games in Canada

Casino gambling exists in every hemisphere – from Italy to Brazil, New Zealand to Canada. Every culture has its own perception of gambling activities, just as every gambler has their own predilection of what constitutes a pleasurable gambling experience. Here in Canada, one form of gambling is viewed far superior to all others. I’m talking, of course, about the game of blackjack.

Canadian blackjack is hardly any different from the games played in other regions of the world. Its our perception, our approach, our cognition of sustainability that sets so many of us apart from gamblers in other parts of the world. We play it for fun; we play it for money; we play it to win; most of all, we seek to gain a premium understanding of the game’s complexities so that we can accomplish all of these goals at once.

Before we continue – because believe me, there’s a lot to cover! – here’s a quick Table of Contents. If you’re looking for something in particular, this will help guide you to it. Note that the table only includes main pages of interest. The more you dig, the more you will find! If you’re looking for something specific, please use the Search bar in the top left corner.

Prevalence of Blackjack

The prevalence of blackjack in the Great White North is made visible in several ways; the most notable being an impressive reduction in gambling losses compared to other major countries of the world. According to years worth of data mining, researchers found that Canada ranks 6 among the top in gaming nations in terms of overall losses, and 7 th in losses per adult. That may sound bad, but compared to the higher ups on the list, it’s not.

The United States of America ranks #1 in overall gambling losses, totaling over $115 billion in 2016. Canadians came in at #6, losing significantly less money; about $11 billion total the same year. Losses per capita painted a similar picture, this time pushing Australians into the #1 spot with $1,000 lost per person, per adult. Canadians came in #7 with just over $400.

What this tells me and other logically minded thinkers is that more Canadians are responsible with their gambling bankroll, and that they make better decisions when choosing games and invoking worthwhile strategies. In layman’s terms, we know the value of a good blackjack game, and the inherent equity of proper decision making at the tables.

Availability of Blackjack in Canada

Masters Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Blackjack Games in Canada

There are more ways to play blackjack in Canada than you may realize. The local casino is the most obvious. From B.C. to Nova Scotia, more than 100 casinos sprinkle the map of Canada. I’m talking about real Canadian casinos with gaudy carpets sprawling across capacious gaming floors. Not slots parlors or charitable bingo halls, but expansive gambling houses that supply all the usual casino games, from slots and video poker machines to multifarious table games.

We’ve been hitting up establishments like these for more than three decades, and they are the first place we tend to think of when it comes to seeking out a good game of blackjack. But in today’s modern technological age, you don’t even have to leave your house to enjoy real money blackjack.

Interested parties can enjoy online blackjack from anywhere in Canada with an internet connection. You can play from home on a desktop or laptop, relax on the sofa with a tablet, or partake in your favorite games from anywhere on a mobile device. Thanks to this globally transcending technology, a game of blackjack is, quite literally, at your fingertips, any time, anywhere. Technology is so advanced these days that some online casinos deliver live dealer blackjack games – real cards, real dealers, playable in real time via HD-quality live stream.

For those who pay close enough attention to local media outlets, a good blackjack tournament can often be found in charitable destinations. Church organizations are known to host bingo games to raise funds, but every once in a while, some will mix things up with a charity blackjack event. These are especially popular for major fund raising activities. A local parish might supplement its weekly coffers with bingo, but turn to blackjack when the structure is in need of repairs.

Professional Blackjack Players from Canada

Based on all of the evidence above, you can surely imagine just how many blackjack pros Canada has produced over the last century. Oddly enough, there aren’t that many who became famous for it. It’s not because they weren’t good at their craft. Quite the contrary, they were so good at concealing their abilities, they became equally clandestine about their identities.

While professional blackjack players from other countries have a tendency to brag about their aptitude, chronicling their experiences on blogs or in auto-biographical books in hopes of making some extra cash, most Canadians are prone to secrecy.

Once a blackjack pro labels himself (or herself) such, the casinos will do anything and everything in their power to keep them off their tables. Intentional or not, authoring professional blackjack books is nothing short of a declaration of retirement. I’ll continue digging deep to find more Canadian blackjack pros. Until then, see the following available profiles for more information:

Tips and Strategies for Winning Blackjack

No casino game in the history of gambling has ever evoked as much strategic forethought as blackjack. While most of us are familiar with at least the concept of employing a basic decision-making strategy, the majority of players – all but the most seasoned veterans – fail to realize that the slightest variation in rules can change the dynamics of a basic strategy chart.

Players must choose the game to be played before choosing the chart to incorporate for that game. For this reason, serious players should get to know the impact of each variable rule on the house edge before they come to understand which ones are considered player-friendly blackjack rules, and which ones are not. A perfect strategy chart can then be drawn up once all the rules for a specific table have been verified.

No matter how inclusive a chart is, the one thing it cannot do is turn the edge into the player’s favor. In decades past, maybe, but never for long. Once the pros began exploiting the rules, and the casino realized its error, the game would be changed to turn the tides back into the casino’s favor. And now that technology is so advanced, any alteration in the rules is tested by computers to ensure a house edge – no matter how big or small – always exists.

The only way a professional blackjack player can outwit the casino at this point is to employ one of many masterful card counting techniques. As you’ll quickly learn on this website, there are multifarious methods of card counting that players can employ. Some are extremely simple, others far more complex, but none so complicated as to require anything beyond a grade school education and modicum powers of memorization.

Types of Blackjack Games in Canada

In the early days, blackjack was blackjack. The dealer hit anything up to soft 17, players could double on 9, 10 or 11, splitting pairs was a given, and a natural blackjack paid 3 to 2. That’s the way 21 was introduced, and that’s how every casino offered it.

It didn’t take long for casinos to realize they could alter the odds by mixing up the rules. Decades later, we have all sorts of blackjack games on the market. The largest casinos offer a wide variety, but none so much as online casinos, where there’s no lack of space to house virtual tables.

My goal with this page is to build the most comprehensive list of variant blackjack rules and side bets on the web. I’ve already complied more than 50 variations here, and will continue to add more as I find them. Each comes with a quick description of the rules and the relative house edge. I’m also working to build a complete rules page for each game on the list, so please bear with me as I get those pages published and linked.

Choose a game from the following alphabetical list to jump to its rudimentary description below, or simply keep scrolling to learn about all the different variations of 21 on this page, including their basic rules and any associated side bets and/or bonus payouts.

» 21+3 Blackjack
» 21 Burn (Betsoft)
» 3 Hand Blackjack
» American Blackjack
» Ante Up 21
» Atlantic City Blackjack
» Blackjack 11s
» Blackjack Burnout
» Blackjack Diamond
» Blackjack Surrender
» Blackjack Switch
» Bonus Blackjack (Generic)
» Bonus Blackjack (1×2 Gaming)
» California Blackjack
» Caribbean 21
» Caribbean Blackjack
» Classic Blackjack
» Chinese Blackjack
» Common Draw Blackjack
» Crazy Blackjack
» Double Attack Blackjack
» Double Blackjack
» Double Exposure Blackjack
» Double Up Blackjack
» Down Under Blackjack
» Early Payout Blackjack
» Easy Jack
» Elimination Blackjack
» Euro Double Deck
» European Blackjack
» European Blackjack Redeal
» Face Up 21
» Fast Blackjack
» Free Bet Blackjack
» Half Back Blackjack
» Hi Lo 13 Blackjack
» High Streak Blackjack
» Infinite Blackjack(Live)

» Jackpot Blackjack
» Lucky 7 Blackjack
» Lucky Blackjack (Playtech)
» Lucky Blackjack (Yggdrasil)
» Match Play 21
» Multi-Hand Blackjack
» Neon Classic Blackjack
» Neon Single-Deck
» Perfect Blackjack
» Perfect Pairs Blackjack
» Pick ‘Em Blackjack
» Pontoon
» Power Blackjack (Live)
» Progressive Blackjack
» Quantum Blackjack (Live)
» Quick Pay 21
» Red Queen Blackjack
» Royale Blackjack
» Sonya Blackjack
» Spanish 21
» Speed Blackjack (Live)
» Suit Em Up 21
» Super 7 Blackjack
» Super Fun 21
» Triple 7s Blackjack
» Triple Attack Blackjack
» Trump It Classic Blackjack
» Trump It Single-Deck
» Twin Blackjack
» Twisted 21
» Unlimited Blackjack (Ezugi)
» Unlimited Blackjack (Playtech)
» V.I.P. Blackjack
» Vegas Downtown Blackjack
» Vegas Single Deck Blackjack
» Vegas Strip Blackjack
» Zappit Blackjack
» Zombie Blackjack

21+3 Blackjack

The name of this alternate blackjack game refers to a special side bet that can be placed. “21” is the game itself, and “3” refers to three specific cards dealt – 2 to the player, and the face-up card of the dealer. The side bet pays off if these three cards happen to fall in line with any of the hand ranks on the +3 pay table.

The problem with this game is that the rules and side bet pay table can fluctuate wildly. I’ve seen it played as Classic Blackjack, European Blackjack and others. I’ve also seen an array of side bet pay tables with RTPs ranging anywhere from 2.6% to over 13%.

See our Complete Rules of 21+3 Blackjack for more information.

21 Burn (Betsoft)

21 Burn is a unique blackjack variant exclusive to the Betsoft-built suite of online casino games. Its namesake “Burn” feature is represented by the player’s ability to burn (discard and replace) the second card dealt to their hand; not the first card, nor third or any card thereafter – only the second card may be burned and replaced with a new card.

Taking advantage of the burn feature will require the placement of a special “Burn Bet“, equal to half the original bet. The burn bet has its own pay table, awarding a payout only if the new burn card is an Ace (see Burn Bet Pay Table below)

The trade-off for the circumstantially beneficial Burn option is a 1-to-1 payout for any natural blackjack. Fortunately, an Ace+10 resulting from a burn will count as a blackjack.

Betsoft applies the following rules to its online Burn 21:

Decks: 6

Soft 17: Dealer Hits

Doubling: Yes, on any two cards

Splitting: Yes, only once

Double after Split: Yes

Draw to Split Aces: No

Surrender: No

Dealer Checks for Blackjack: Yes

Blackjack Pays: 1 to 1

House Edge: 0.54%

Burn Bet Pay Table

Burn Card Is…	Payout
Ace of Spades	7 : 1
Any other Ace	2 : 1
Any other card (non-Ace)	Lose

3 Hand Blackjack

3 Hand Blackjack is a multi-hand variant of 21 developed by the UK and Canadian based games studio, HungryBear Gaming. It’s most alluring feature is in the name – the ability to play up to three hands against the dealer at once. This is optional, of course. Players can choose to play one, two, or three hands at a time. Otherwise, there are no special rules or side bets, leading to an RTP of 0.58%.

Three Hand Blackjack is played by the following rules::

Decks: 5

Soft 17: Dealer Stands

Doubling: Yes, on 9-11

Splitting: Yes, only once

Double after Split: No

Draw to Split Aces: No

Surrender: No

Dealer Checks for Blackjack: Yes

Blackjack Pays: 3 to 2

House Edge: 0.58%

Note: The HungryBear Gaming website currently depicts an inaccurate RTP of 98.94% (house edge 1.06%) for this game. The true RTP is 99.42%, as determined by the British Columbia Lottery Corp (BCLC), which supplies the game on its provincial online casino website. You can learn more about this discrepancy, and the events leading to its discovery, here.

American Blackjack

American blackjack is not a specific game, but rather a variable set of certain rules that oppose traditional European blackjack rules. For example, American blackjack allows doubling on any two-card total, whereas European rules only permit doubling on 9, 10 or 11.

A typical game of American Blackjack, as offered by Random Logic and Dragonfish powered online casinos, is played by the following rules:

Decks: 6

Soft 17: Dealer Stand

Doubling: Yes, on any two cards

Splitting: Yes, only once

Double after Split: Yes

Draw to Split Aces: No

Surrender: No

Dealer Checks for Blackjack: Yes, on Ace or 10

Tie for Blackjack: Push

Blackjack Pays: 3 to 2

House Edge: 0.48%

Ante Up 21

Ante Up 21 is a trademark variant of blackjack from FYI Gaming, Inc. It’s a rather complicated game as there are actually three parts taking place at once. There’s the traditional blackjack game, and 3-card poker game (requires Ante / Play bets), and an optional side bet bonus game. Those last two are based on the player’s first two cards and the dealer’s face-up card. If the player’s blackjack hand busts, it still qualifies to play for the poker and bonus hands.

Decks: 6

Soft 17: Dealer Hits

Doubling: Yes

Splitting: Yes

Surrender: No

Dealer Checks for Blackjack: Yes, on Ace or 10

Tie for Blackjack: Push

Blackjack Pays: 3 to 2

House Edge:

See the Complete Rules of Ante Up 21 for additional information about the Ante Up poker game and variable side bet bonus pay tables.

Atlantic City Blackjack

This version earned its name over the years by carrying the most common set of blackjack rules applied in Atlantic City casinos. The only difference between this game and other standard varieties are the rules that determine the player’s and dealer’s actions, which, in turn, result in one of the lowest house edge blackjack games on the market today.

Decks: 8

Soft 17: Dealer Stands

Doubling: Yes, on any first two cards, and after split

Splitting: Yes, up to 3x

Resplit Aces: No

Draw to Split Aces: No

Surrender: Yes

Dealer Checks for Blackjack: Yes

Tie for Blackjack: Push

Blackjack Pays: 3 to 2

House Edge: 0.35%

Blackjack 11s

Blackjack 11s is a very basic game of blackjack on the surface. It is the side bet, Perfect 11s, that it draws its name and fame from. Without this bet, it’s just a typical game of blackjack. In fact, the base game rules are irrelevant, and could vary from one casino location to the next.

The side bet is based entirely on the player being dealt a total of 11 in the initial 2-card deal. If this happens, the side bet wins. If not, it loses. Of course, the rank and suits of those cards will determine how valuable the payout for the 11 is, with one or more progressive jackpots that can be released.

Blackjack Burnout

This game first debuted at the 2016 Cutting Edge Table Games exhibition in Las Vegas. It’s been picked up by several casinos since, giving players one intriguing proposition. Before the hand begins, players have the option of activating the Burnout feature. The cost is 20% of the original bet, placed in a special Burnout circle of the table. It is not a bet. You cannot win it back, and it is not refundable. It is simply an optional fee that can be paid to activate the Burnout feature.

When active, the player has the option to Burn the last card dealt to his hand, to be replaced by the next card from the deck. Burnout can only be applied once per hand, and only after hitting or doubling, even if the hand busts. Splitting, however, will negate the option to Burn a card.

Casinos are capable of altering the rules as they wish, but the following are the suggested rules as defined by the game’s creator, Angel Espino:

Decks: 6

Soft 17: Dealer Hits

Doubling: Yes, on any two cards

Splitting: Yes, up to 3x

Double After Split: Yes

Resplit Aces: No

Draw to Split Aces: No

Surrender: No

Dealer Checks for Blackjack: Yes

Blackjack Pays: 3 to 2

House Edge w/ Burnout: 1.43%%

House Edge w/o Burnout: 0.64%

Consecutive Wins Side Bet

Although not required, casinos are given the option to invoke a side bet that will pay a bonus to any players who achieve a specific number of consecutive wins. The casino can choose how many consecutive wins are necessary to win the side bet. Look for one of the following options, including payouts and relative house edge, to be available.

The basic strategy of Blackjack in casino in Canada

Blackjack is a very popular game in casinos. This game has so much popularity because of the equal chances for a player and a casino house to win. In this article, you will read the blackjack basic strategy chart.

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Not so experienced players can reach advantage of up to 0.5% if using the basic strategy, while the experienced players can achieve up to 5% of the average bet together with the scorecard if using the basic strategy. Try to test the basic strategy in a free demo mode before playing.

Find your favourite paragraph:

How to apply the basic strategy in a real game

Below, you can look at some examples of when it’s relevant to use the basic strategy of blackjack

Situation: The dealer’s first card is worth 2,3,4,5 or 6. The dealer is probably going to lose because the blackjack rules state that the dealer must draw cards until he gets more than 17 points.

Player: the blackjack rules specify that in a situation where the dealer’s cards are from 2 to 4, the player with 11 points or less could take the cards without the possibility of busting, after stopping at 12 or above. If the dealer has a card from 5 to 6, the player that has 10 or 11 points should double down (Double).

Situation 2: the dealer shows his card which is worth seven, eight, nine or ten, the dealer is likely to get seventeen, eighteen, nineteen or twenty.

Action: In this situation, the aim is to try to collect a higher amount of points than the dealer had. Let’s say that the first card that the dealer shows is 7, this means that the player has to attempt to score 17 points or more

The third case: Occasionally, even if the dealer shows a picture, the players do not hit at 12-15, thinking that they get 10 too often so these players mostly stay on 12 vs 7 or 3 vs 8

Action: You should take another card, although you might think that it is a mistake. The only exception is when you are using a counting card plus or else a minus counting system, or when you have a positive real account. If you are in this situation, and there is a chance that a few dozen cards might come, you may reject a further set of cards.

Case Four: At some stage, the player will realize that the casino owners are not stupid and have chosen the perfect rules for a casino dealer. Then he/she start following the same rules obtaining up to 17, it does not end at 16 points

Actions: The player’s chances to win are lowered if the dealer shows a card from 2 to 6. In the case of 7,8,9,10 or ace, this strategy will probably sound reasonable, there is a point to draw a card on 16.

Decisions’ table:

You can adapt to the table and use it very easily. First, find your cards (vertically), then the dealer’s cards (horizontally). After that, find out where the connection point is and follow the instructions on the table. There is a table on the bottom describing what the letters mean.

Decisions you should make when following the table

Things that may help with table values at the basic strategy of blackjack:

The red marks the action to a set of cards, red-stop, blue-double.The other colours in the decrypted values are underneath this text.

H - Take an additional card to the available one.Hit

S - Do not take more cards. Stay.

D - Double the current bet. Double.

Ds - You can double if the rules allow you to, otherwise, don’t take a card. Double or Stay.

P - If you get identical cards, separate them. Split.

H / P - If the rules of the casino allow you, you can split the cards and double after that, otherwise take a card. Hit or Split.

S / P - Split and double if the rules allow you to do it, otherwise stay. Stay or Split.

D / P - Split the cards and double after that, or just double the initial points Split or Double.

H / R - If the rules allow you to leave half of the bet to the casino, then do it (surrender), otherwise take another card. Hit or Surrender.

S / R - If leaving half of the bet is allowed in your casino, you should do so, or do not take a card. Stay or Surrender.

Conclusions

The basic strategy is a traditional variant of blackjack. Its use can decrease the house edge to 0.5%. Try using a system of card counting and the basic strategy together.

An Introduction to Blackjack Strategy

The purpose of this page is to provide an introduction to
blackjack strategy. It’s aimed at beginners who are intimidated
by those bizarrely colored strategy cards. The simple strategy
suggested on this page isn’t perfect. But it provides you with
better odds against the casino than just playing your hunches.

Use the strategy on this page, and the house edge will average
about 1.5%. That’s way better than the 4% you’d face if you just
winged it. Playing your hunches is a terrible blackjack strategy.

Get comfortable with the simple strategy on this page. Then move on to memorize the full basic strategy.
You’ll cut the house edge by an additional 0.5%-1%.

What Is Basic Strategy

First, let’s talk about what blackjack players mean by “basic strategy”. This is simply a phrase that refers to the
mathematically correct way to play every situation.

That sounds like a really big and scary undertaking, but there are fewer possible situations than you might
think in blackjack.

For one thing, the dealer is only going to have one of ten possible up cards.

Your hands can be divided into one of the following three categories:

Ten possible hard hands

Seven possible soft hands

Nine possible pairs

Once you know how to play each and every hand versus the dealer’s ten possible up cards, you’ve mastered
basic strategy.

Splitting Hands

The first decision you’ll look at is whether or not you can split your cards. You can only split your hand if you’re
holding a pair. If you’re not holding a pair, you move on to the decisions for hard or soft hands.

If you are holding a pair, you want to remember these rules for whether or not to split,

Never split fours, fives, or tens.

Always split aces and eights.

Split any other pair if the dealer has a 2 – 6 showing.

That’s it. Memorize those three rules for splitting, and you’re 1/3 of the way finished with learning a
simplified version of basic strategy.

Hard Hands Versus Soft Hands

Your next step is to decide whether you have a hard hand or a soft hand. A hard hand is a hand with no aces.
Hands where aces must count as one in order to avoid going bust are also considered hard hands.

Here are some examples of hard hands.

Soft hands are those in which the ace might count as a one or it might count as an 11. Here are some
examples of soft hands.

In general, you’ll play your soft hands a little more aggressively than your hard hands. After all, you have a
lower chance of busting a soft hand.

Here’s how to play the specific totals.

Hard Totals

You’ll play your hard totals according to the following strategy.

You’ll always stand on any hard total of 17+.

You’ll always hit any hard total of 8 or less.

If you have a hard total of between 12 and 16:
- You’ll stand if the dealer has a 2-6 showing
- Otherwise, you’ll hit.

If you have a hard total of 10 or 11, you’ll always double down.

If you have a hard total of 9:
- You’ll double down if the dealer has a 2-6.
- Otherwise, you’ll just hit.

If you assume the dealer has a 10 in the hole, these decisions will make a lot of sense. Here are some
examples.

If the dealer has a 3 or 4 showing with a 10 in the hole, she’s got a hard total of 13 or 14. She’ll have to
take a hit, and a large percentage of the time, she’ll bust. There’s no point in hitting a hard total of
between 12 and 16 in a situation where you are likely to win by default when the dealer busts.

If the dealer has a 9 showing, and you assume a 10 in the hole, then the dealer has a total of 19. You’d be crazy to not try to improve your hand if you have a total lower than 16.

On the other hand, any hard total of 17 is almost certain to bust you, so at some point, you have to just go with the total you have.

Soft Hands

You’ll pay soft hands with the following strategy.

You’ll always hit any soft hand totaling 15 or less.

You’ll always stand on any soft hand totaling 19 or more.

With any soft total of 17 to 18 you’ll:
- Double down versus a dealer 2-6
- Just hit if the dealer is showing a seven or higher.

Again, think about what the dealer is likely to have in the hole. If the dealer has a 2 through 6, the chances
she’ll bust are pretty good. That’s why you’ll double down on that soft 16 to 18.

Also, since you’re less likely to go bust, you’ll notice that you’ll hit more soft totals than you would hard totals.
That’s because you can’t bust in these situations.

Other Considerations

Insurance

You should never take insurance. It’s a sucker bet. Even when you’re using the full basic strategy, you won’t
take insurance, ever.

The only time to take insurance is if you’re counting cards and the count indicates that it’s a profitable play.
Even most card counters don’t take insurance, though, as it’s a clue to the casino that you might be counting
cards. Casinos hate card counters.

At any rate, since you’re a beginner, the simplest thing to remember about taking insurance can be summed
up in one word:

Surrender

You’ll only surrender in one situation. If you have a hard total of 16 and the dealer has a 10 showing, you’ll
surrender.

The dealer almost certainly has an ace or a ten in the hole, giving her a likely total of 20 or 21. Even if she
doesn’t, she has a good chance of having a 7 or higher in the hole, in which case you’re beat.

But hitting a hard total of 16 is almost always going to turn into a bust. It’s not worth the risk if you can help it.

If you’re not sure what surrendering means, it’s actually pretty simple. When you surrender, it’s like folding a
hand in poker. You give up half your bet, but you get to keep half of it. In return, you agree that you have no
claim to any winnings. You basically just give up your hand.

It’s a shame the casinos don’t allow you to wave a white flag in these situations, in fact.

Where Do You Go From Here?

At this point, you can just play, confident in the knowledge that you’re almost playing the game with the best
odds in the casino. The rules I’ve outlined above are all summarized in the following chart, which makes it
even easier to know what to do and when.

Hard Hands	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
4 – 8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
9	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
10 – 11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
12 – 16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H*	H
17 – 21	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
Soft hands
12 – 15	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
16 – 18	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
19 – 21	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
Pair
22 , 23	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
44 – 55	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
66 , 77	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
88	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
66 , 77	P	P	P	P	P	S	S	S	S	S
T T	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P

H = Hit
S = Stand
P = Split
D = Double Down

* if you have a hard total of 16 versus a dealer 10. Surrender.

If you learn the exceptions to the strategy rules above, you WILL be playing the game with the lowest house
edge in the casino.In fact, that’s my recommendation for your next step. Memorize the correct basic strategy
for the game you’ll be playing. You’ll find a handful of differences in how you play certain hands.

When you have a 12, the correct strategy is to hit if the dealer has a 2 or a 3 showing. But for the sake
of simplifying the strategy, I’ve just included instructions to always stand on this hand.

The rules variations and conditions under which you’re playing will determine which strategy card you use.
You can find accurate strategy charts here on our site, or on several sites on the Internet. You can even buy
some excellent strategy cards from Ken Smith on Amazon.

You can even find a basic strategy card in the gift shop of the casino, but I’m not as confident in the accuracy
of those cards as I am the ones you can find online. I’ve never looked at them that closely, but I never trust
gambling strategy advice from a casino.

You can find more detailed information on basic strategy in the intermediate section of our blackjack guide.

Summary

Basic strategy seems hard. In fact, it is hard. You have to memorize the correct play in
almost 250 different situations.

But you can learn this introductory strategy with just a little bit of effort. It only consists of
11 different guidelines covering every possible hand you can get versus every possible
dealer up card.

Once you’ve memorized this simple strategy, you’ll be facing an extremely low house edge
at blackjack. The difference between this strategy and the full basic strategy is less than 0.5%.

And you can always move on to memorizing the exceptions to this simple strategy as your
next step in learning blackjack strategy.

So, let's define, what was the most valuable conclusion of this review: Use these Blackjack Strategy Charts to learn the correct decision for every hand. Basic Strategy is the first step to beating blackjack with card counting. at Blackjack Strategy Basic in Canada