Mathematics forms the basis of Blackjack basic strategy and all possibilities and permutations have been tested and refined using computer simulations. It can be safely said that if the strategy is followed correctly, it will reduce the house edge to the minimum, usually about one-half of a percent. The strategy can also be made easier to learn by converting the basic strategy chart into plain English.

Learning the Chart
Blackjack basic strategy is based on the mathematics of the game. It has been tested and refined through computer simulations. Minor adjustments can be made to basic strategy depending on certain 'local' rule variations that casinos choose to use. Here's a typical example of a local rule: Some casinos allow doubling down after splitting (DOS) while others will not allow it. Changes are also made to basic strategy for single and multiple deck games.

If you want to be a successful blackjack player you will need to learn basic strategy thoroughly. Most players start their lessons by referring to a basic strategy chart. The strategy chart shows you exactly how to play your first two cards based on the dealer's 'up' card. It is a fact that the house gains its edge because the player has to act first. Since the basic strategy chart only deals with the first two cards, you will also need to learn what decisions to make after taking a hit.

Translating the Chart
It will make things much easier by translating the basic strategy chart into plain English. Here is an example of how to play a hand with three or more cards:

If your first two cards are a 3 and a 5 you have a total of eight. The chart tells you to hit. The extra card is another 3, giving you a total of eleven. The chart tells you to double on 11 but you can only double on your first two cards. Therefore you must hit.

When we translate the strategy chart into plain English, we use the word "otherwise" when dealing with situations that are different because of multiple cards. If we were to write out the example above it would be: If you have 11 - double, otherwise hit.

The multi card decisions are written out for hard hands, soft hands and split pairs. The information is divided into three "How to Play" pages that re shown below.

This explains in plain English how to play basic strategy when there are more than two cards involved.

Hard Hands: (A hand of two starting cards that do not contain an ace).

Eight or less: Always Hit.
Nine: If the dealer has 3 through 6 – Double. Otherwise - Hit.
Ten: If the dealer has 2 through 9 – Double. Otherwise - Hit.
Eleven: If the dealer has 2 through 10 – Double.

If dealer has Ace - Hit.
Twelve: If the dealer has 2 or 3 – Hit.

If the dealer has 4 through 6 – Stand. Otherwise - Hit.
13- 16: If the dealer has 2 through 6 – Stand. Otherwise hit.
17 - 21: Always Stand.

How to Play Soft Hands: (A hand of two starting cards containing an ace).

Ace 2 or Ace 3: If the dealer has 5 or 6 – Double. Otherwise - Hit.
Ace 4 or Ace 5: If the dealer has 4 through 6 - Double. Otherwise - Hit.
Ace 6: If the dealer has 3 through 6 – Double. Otherwise - Hit.
Ace 7: If the dealer has 2, 7 or 8 – Stand.

If the dealer has 3 through 6 – Double. Otherwise - Hit.
Ace 8 or Ace 9: Always Stand.

A pair of Aces or Eights: Always split.
A pair of twos or threes: If the dealer has 2 to 7 – Split. Otherwise - Hit.
A pair of fours: If the dealer has 4 or 5 – Split. Otherwise - Hit.
A pair of fives: If the dealer has 2 through 9 – Double. Otherwise - Hit.
A pair of sixes: If the dealer has 2 through 6 – Split. Otherwise - Hit.
A pair of sevens: If the dealer has 2 through 7 – Split. Otherwise - Hit.
A pair of nines: If the dealer has 2 through 6, 8 or 9. Split

A pair of tens: Always Stand.

It can be seen from the above tables that translating the Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart into plain English makes it a lot easier to memorize. Flash cards could also be made to help memorize the different card situations.

The gaming industry holds an expo every year where they introduce the latest in games and slot machines. Few new table games ever make it to the casino floor, but those that do have a house edge of at least three percent.

Blackjack has the lowest house edge of all casino games and players can even win in the game by using a card counting strategy. Blackjack is also currently the most popular casino table game but if it were being introduced today it would probably never make it to the casino floor. A player using basic strategy can shave the house percentage down to about one half of one percent and this is well below the three percent that operators of corporate casinos care to hand over to the players.

It was in 1963 that Edward O. Thorp released his book “Beat The Dealer”, in which he revealed that for players who took the trouble to learn card counting, blackjack was a beatable game and a close to even game for those players willing to learn basic strategy. The popularity of Blackjack exploded after that book hit the stores when players flocked to the tables trying to beat the game. The casinos immediately countered by adding more decks to make it harder for the card counters. But even playing with multiple decks, the basic strategy player is facing less than a one percent house edge.

Actually, the truth is that very few players take the time to study and practice card counting. And of those who do, many will fail in a live casino environment with all its distractions. Moreover, out of the millions of people who play blackjack, only a small percentage will take the time or make the effort to play perfect basic strategy. So while the mathematical edge may be lower than one percent, the average player is usually giving up around two percent. With the number of Blackjack players sitting in casinos, you would think that this would be profitable enough for the casino.

But management in some casinos feel otherwise. In the last few years they have been introducing new changes to try and squeeze more profit from the players. The automatic shuffling machine has been introduced in some casinos to speed up the game. Not allowing players to double down after splitting is another new rule introduced by some casinos in an attempt to increase the house edge. While these and other minor variations made in the past are only minor, there is a now a new variation that has been adopted by some of the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip that is making a major impact on the game.

Instead of paying 3 to 2 for natural Blackjacks the casinos are paying 6 to 5. The result is as follows: If you were betting ten dollars a hand you would normally be paid $15 dollars for a blackjack. Now, with a blackjack paying only 6 to 5 you will only be paid $12 for your natural. This one rule variation increases the house edge by 1½ percent. This puts the basic strategy player at a two percent disadvantage. Players should try and avoid these games.

Adding insult to injury, some casinos are actually advertising that “Our Blackjack Pays 6 to 5” as if this is a brand new and highly generous offer. Unsuspecting players may be suckered in by this advertising. Once upon a time when you heard that a game used “Las Vegas Strip Rules”, it meant it was a decently run game. The dealers would stand on soft 17 and you were allowed to double after splitting. Now if more of the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip adopt the 6 to 5 payoff for blackjacks, “Strip Rules” will mean Bad Blackjack.

Don't make an error by believing any of the following eight blackjack myths. If you do, you will lose money!

Myth 1: The objective of blackjack is to get as close to 21 as possible

Wrong! This is not the objective of the game. The real objective is to beat the dealer's hand.

Wrong! Other players have no effect on your winning or losing long term.

Myth 3: Always take insurance if you have a blackjack

Wrong! Insurance is the worst possible bet in blackjack. If players were to take insurance every time that they had a blackjack, then they would be giving up 13 percent of the profit that a blackjack pays.

Wrong! The mathematical facts are that when you are winning, the deck composition is in your favor, and when you are losing, it is not in your favor.

Myth 5: People entering the game in the middle of a shoe can cause you to lose

Wrong! A player taking an extra card or a player entering or leaving in the middle of a game have no effect on your game. None of these events will cause you to lose.

Wrong! The dealer has won ten hands consecutively – it will happen to you soon.

Myth 7: The deuce (2) is the most favorable card for the dealer

Wrong! We only notice the deuce because it makes the dealer's hand frequently and because there is only one card that can "bust" the hand, - 10, if the total is 12.

Myth 8: Don't split 9, 9 against the dealer's 9, you will be making two bad hands

Wrong! When the player has 9 and 9 against the dealer's 9, the player has 18. This doesn't beat 19 so of course, we assume that the dealer has a 10 in the hole.

In the game of blackjack, the hand with the highest total but which does not exceed 21 wins the hand. When a hand has a total that exceeds 21, is said to bust. Cards 2 through 10 are counted at face value, and face or picture cards (jack, queen, king) are worth 10. An ace's value is 11 unless this causes the player to bust, in which case it is counted as 1. A hand in which an ace's value is counted as 11 is called a soft hand, because it cannot be busted if the player draws another card.

The goal of the player is to beat the dealer by having the higher, un-busted hand. Of course when a player busts he loses, even if the dealer also busts. If both the player and the dealer have the same point value, it is called a "push", which is a tie, and neither player nor dealer wins the hand. Each player plays an independent game with the dealer, so it is possible for the dealer to lose to one player and still beat other players in the same round.

The minimum bet will be displayed on the blackjack table and will vary from one casino to another, and perhaps even from one table to another. The most common minimum in the U.S. is $5. After initial bets have been placed, the dealer deals the cards, either from one or two hand-held decks of cards in what is known as a "pitch" game, or more commonly from a shoe containing four or more decks. The dealer gives two cards to each player and to himself. One of the dealer's two cards is face-up so the players can see it, and the other card is face down. The face-down card is known as the "hole card". In European blackjack, the hole card is not actually dealt until the players have all played their hands. The players' cards are dealt face up from a shoe, or face down in a pitch game.

A two-card hand of 21 - an ace plus a ten-value card - is called a "blackjack" or a "natural", and is an automatic winner. A player with a natural is usually paid 3:2 on his bet, although in 2003 some casinos started paying 6:5 on blackjacks, a move which is being decried by veteran blackjack players.

• If the dealer has a blackjack and the player doesn't - the player automatically loses.
• If the player has blackjack and the dealer doesn't - the player automatically wins.
• If both the player and dealer have blackjack - it's a push.
• If neither side has blackjack, then each player plays out his hand, one at a time.
• When all the players have finished playing out their hands, the dealer plays his hand.

• Hit: Take another card.
• Stand: Take no more cards.
• Doubledown: Double the wager, take exactly one more card, and then stand.
• Split: (This option is available only when both cards have the same value.) Double the wager and have each card be the first card in a new hand.
• Surrender: Forfeit half the bet and give up the hand. Surrender was common during the early- and mid-20th century, but is an option no longer offered at most casinos.

The player's turn is over after deciding to stand, doubling down to take a single card, or busting. If the player busts, he or she loses the bet even if the dealer goes on to bust as well.

After all the players have finished making their decisions, the dealer then reveals his or her hidden hole card and plays the hand.

House rules say that the dealer must hit until he or she has at least 17, regardless of what the players have. In most casinos a dealer must also hit a soft 17, such as an ace and a 6. The lettering on the felt of the table will indicate whether or not the house hits or stands on a soft 17.

If the dealer busts then all remaining players win. Bets are normally paid out at the odds of 1:1.

• One card split aces: one card is dealt on each ace, player's turn is over.
• Early surrender: player has the option to surrender before dealer checks for Blackjack.
• Late surrender: player has the option to surrender after dealer checks for Blackjack.
• Double-down restrictions: double-down allowed only on certain combinations.
• Dealer hits a soft seventeen (ace-six, which can play as seven or seventeen)
• European No-Hole-Card Rule: the dealer receives only one card, dealt face-up, and does not receive a second card, and thus does not check for blackjack, until the players have acted. This means players lose not only their original bet, but also any additional money invested from splitting and doubling down.