Blackjack Strategy

Several years ago, I gave a blackjack seminar in front of an audience of about 100. At the start of my seminar, I posed this question to them. “How does the casino get its edge in blackjack?” 

Basic strategy players and card counters have asked me that question umpteen times over the course of nearly 50 years of playing, teaching, and writing about blackjack. This is what I told them.

Note: Click here to read Part 1 of this article.

I was not able to attend this year’s Blackjack Ball because of my wife’s unexpected surgery that occurred the week of the Ball. Nevertheless, my good friends Rick Blaine (co-author of the excellent Blackjack Blueprint book) and Max Rubin (co-host of the Ball) provided me with the details that I used to write this article.

This expert strategy guide explains how to play blackjack when you’ve been dealt a pair of 4s. If you want to activate a lower house edge in blackjack games—you need to make the right decisions by using basic blackjack strategy. 

After nearly 50 years of playing blackjack, I could write a book that would contain all the misinformation on blackjack I’ve read in books and the Internet, and heard in casinos (of all places) and from fellow players. But rather than write the book, I decided instead to write this article for your enlightenment.

If there is one playing decision that seems to confound most blackjack players, it’s knowing when to split a pair (and when not to). Don’t believe me? Assume you are playing a six-deck game with the dealer standing on soft 17 (S17) and doubling down after pair splitting is allowed (DAS).

I’ve been asked the above question hundreds of times from blackjack players. What follows is a synopsis of what I tell them. 

The subtitle of this book is “The Pros’ Approach to Beating Today’s Blackjack.” Trust me; this is exactly what this book is all about.