In this post I want to look at a few basic strategy decisions and when you read this then you will be tested and then I will give the answers at the end. It is important that you know basic strategy because this forms the bedrock of your blackjack game. So let us look at a few here and now.
14 vs 6
This is a stand as a 6 is a bad card for the dealer and they will bust a significant percentage of the time. These are relatively simple decisions but let us look at the next one.
15 vs 7
This is a take and the big difference here is that the dealer has the capability to reach 17 in one draw. This is what is known as a defensive take as whatever you do then you will lose money in this situation whatever you do.
11 vs 9
You must double this, if you do not have enough money to do so then you have committed one of the cardinal sins of the game. To get the most from basic then you must double your stakes when you have big advantages like this. Remember that the overall house edge is only 0.5% against you and part of this is correctly doubling when you should. If you do not do this then you are conceding equity and every time you do that then you are increasing the house edge against you and this is something that you must avoid at all costs. Everyone takes a card on 11 but the ideal play in terms of maximising EV is to double.
