Chicago Sun-Times: Make exceptions with hard blackjack totals

Beginning blackjack players can give themselves a fighting chance if they'll take the time to learn basic strategy - when to hit, stand, split pairs or double down in any possible situation.

Last week, we looked at a simplified version of basic strategy, one that will bring the house edge on most sets of blackjack rules down to less than 1 percent. Let's review: Stand on hard 12 through hard 16 whenever the dealer's face-up card is a 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. (A hard total does not include an Ace being used as an 11. A 10 and a 6 is a hard 16, while an Ace and a 5 is a soft 16. Soft totals can't be busted with a one-card hit because you can use the Ace as a 1 instead.) Hit hard 12 through hard 16 whenever the dealer's face-up card is a 7 or higher. Always hit soft 13 through 17. Stand on 17 through 21, except to hit soft 17. Always split pairs of Aces or 8. Never split pairs of 5s or 10s. Double down on 10 or 11 whenever the dealer's up card is 2 through 9.

Those seven simple rules should be easy to learn with a little practice. Everything else a player must learn to master the full basic strategy can then be considered exceptions to those rules. This week, we'll start looking at the exceptions to the rules on hard totals.

For most hard totals, condensed basic strategy does just fine. The big exception comes when the player has a 12 and the dealer's up card is a 2 or a 3. Then, our likelihood of busting with a one-card hit is just low enough and the dealer's chance of making a hand of 17 or better is just high enough that we're better off taking a hit and trying to improve our hand than waiting for the dealer to bust.

So to the first rule of condensed basic strategy, we can add an exception, to leave this: Stand on hard 12 through hard 16 whenever the dealer's face-up card is a 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, except hit on hard 12 when the dealer shows a 2 or 3.

That's not difficult, is it? Just a minor variation to a simple rule.

It's even easier when we look at the second rule of condensed basic strategy. Even in the complete version of basic, we hit 12 through 16 whenever the dealer shows a 7 or higher. With a 7, the dealer makes a hand of 17 or better 74 percent of the time, and the percentages increase with higher face-up cards. We can't afford to stand - we have to try to get to 17 or better ourselves.

So the second rule has no exceptions. It stands as: Hit hard 12 through hard 16 whenever the dealer's face-up card is a 7 or higher.

Likewise, there are no exceptions to the fourth rule, when dealing with hard hands: Stand on 17 through 21, except to hit soft 17.

When we deal with soft hands next week, we'll find that there are more exceptions than just soft 17. But with hard totals, we always stand on 17 through 21.

What about hard totals of less than 12? There's no risk of busting, so we never stand. We either hit or double down - and that brings us to the double-down situations.

The rule in condensed basic strategy is right on the money when we have a hard total of 10. Then we want to double whenever the dealer's up card is 2 through 9. But the rule is a little too conservative when we have 11. Then, in a multiple-deck game, we also want to double down when the dealer shows a 10, and in a single-deck game we also want to double against an Ace.

We also double on a couple of lower totals. In a multiple-deck game, we double down on 9 when the dealer shows a 3, 4, 5 or 6. In a single-deck game, we also double on 9 against a 2, and on 8 against a 5 or 6.

So the rule on double down on hard totals can be written as: In multiple-deck games, double down on 11 when the dealer shows 2 through 10, on 10 when the dealer shows 2 through 9, or on 9 when the dealer shows 3 thorough 6.

In single-deck games, double down on 11 against any dealer up card, on 10 against 2 through 9, on 9 against 3 through 6 or on 8 against 5 or 6.

Once you've mastered the exceptions to condensed basic for hard totals, you'll be ready for soft hands. That's where we're going next week.

Sunday in RealLife: comparing blackjack rules.

E-mail John Grochowski at BetKol@aol.com