Craps Betting | Strategy Errors | Playing Strategy

Casino Blackjack Basic Strategies

Playing Strategy

On the other hand, if the dealer's up card is a high value card, such as 7, 8, 9, 10 or ace, the dealer is most likely to have a 'pat hand' (17 through 21). In this case, your best percentage play online casino is to keep hitting until the hand totals 17 through 21.

Soft Hand Strategies

Blackjack hands which contain an ace that count as an eleven are called soft hands. An example is ace’s (16); ace,3,3 (17); and ace,ace,4 (16).
As a general rule, a player should never stand on any soft hand that totals 17 or less. It doesn't matter what the dealer's up card is ... never stand with a soft 13, 14, 15, 16 or 17. The logic for never standing on these hands is simply based on the fact that a soft hand between 13 through 17 can not bust or exceed 21 by drawing a card since the ace, due to its dual role, can always be counted as one. For example, if a player holds an ace’s (16) and draws a 9, the player's hand now totals 15 (not 25). Thus you always have a chance to try to improve your soft hand total without risking breaking the hand.
There is still another playing option to consider with soft hands and that's the option of doubling down (explained further in next section). Too many blackjack players ignore doubling down on soft hands which are unfortunate since in some cases it is by far the optimum playing strategy.
Generally, a player should always double down on soft hands from 13 through 18 when the dealer's up card is a 5 or 6. Why? Simply because with a 5 or 6 up card, the dealer has the greatest chance (about 40%) of busting his hand. And with this knowledge, it is to a player's advantage to put as much money on the table as possible. This you can do by doubling down. Thus, if you hold an ace,5 and the dealer's up card is a 5, this is the opportune time to double your bet because of the dealer's high probability of busting. You actually have two chances of beating the dealer in this situation. First, you could improve the hand by drawing a small card (an ace through 5) which would give you a 17 through 21 hand. And even if you aren't lucky enough to draw a small card but instead draw a 6 through 10 (which will give you a 12 through 16 hand) all is not lost because the dealer still has a high probability of busting in which case you'll win the hand anyway.
There's still one more rule to master regarding soft
Hands and that have to do with hitting and standing on soft 18. Believe it or not, the optimum playing strategy for a soft 18 against a dealer's 9, 10 or ace up card is to hit your hand. Many players would never think to hit what seems to be a good hand of 18 but you will lose more hands by standing on 18 against a dealer's up card of 9, 10 or ace than if you hit the hand. To put it another way, a player total of 18 just isn't good enough against a dealer's up card of 9, 10 or ace.
If you hold a soft hand of 19 through 21, the optimum playing strategy is simply to stand no matter what the dealer's up card is, with one exception. In single deck games, double down soft 19 vs. dealer 6.

Double Down

Doubling down allows you, in most casino cases, to maximize your profits in a winning situation. It is an offensive strategy that when properly exercised, will lead to many winning sessions.
Again, through computer studies, we can determine which initial player's hand vs. a particular dealer up card has a greater than 50% chance of winning. If you are in a situation where your chances of winning the hand are better than the dealer's, why not increase your bet to win more? You can by learning when to double down.