ORGANIZATION
OF THE BASIC STRATEGY
As
you saw from the three examples above, the correct
Basic Strategy decisions were made by evaluating
a particular player hand versus a specific dealer
up card. The entire Basic Strategy shows the proper
playing decision for every possible hand against
all ten of the dealer up cards. In addition, it
provides guidelines for making a side bet such as
insurance, and for varying the strat-egy for optional
casino rules such as permitting doubling down on
split pairs, or for surrender. As you see, the Basic
Strategy can present a considerable amount of information
to learn and retain.
Thiswebsectionis
organized so that you may reach the level of performance
you desire with the least amount of effort. The
more tables you decide to master for use in the
casino, the more you will reduce the casino advantage.
For example, the occasional player can cut the house
advantage in half by learning only seven rules.
Memorizing doubling rules shown by four numbers
on a ten-item line further reduces the casino odds
to about .5 per cent, and so on.
You
see the value of what you can reasonably retain
and use in the casino, or you can determine how
much you need to master to achieve the playing odds
you desire. Learning the Basic Strategy is a step-by-step
process you adapt to your abilities and playing-performance
goals.
To make certain you are learning the most important
and profitable information first, you must know
the answers to three questions:
With these questions answered, you can choose the
options that are most likely to occur in casino
play and that have the highest profitability for
you, then learn them first.The Basic Strategy options
are:Hard hitting and standing (hands with no Aces
or pairs) Soft hitting and standing (hands containing
an Ace) Hard doubling (no Aces, no pairs)Soft doubling
(hands with one Ace) Pair splittingPair splitting
where doubling is allowed after splitting Insurance
Surrender
The following table shows the frequency with which
these op-tions will be encountered in your first
two cards.
For
simplicity, all frequency percentages in thiswebsectionassume
a two-card hand. The table decisions, however, assume
any hand unless otherwise noted. Notice that simple
hitting and standing make up over two thirds of
the hands you will be dealt. Pair splitting and
hard dou-bling round out the 100 per cent total
of all possible hands
Information