Strategy Lab Fundamentals
The Lab Airllines fundamental strategy of Blackjack is being able to know when to take out insurance, give up, double down, split, stand or hit. This strategy is based on a framework of rules arrived at by statistical analysis, so in spite of the name there’s nothing too fundamental involved. In each card combination, the fundamental strategy offers over the long time, the move resulting in the optimal possibility of making a win.
If you religiously and persistently keep to all the rules then you will find that the fundamental strategy is at its highest effectiveness. For instance, to hit and stand is just as vital in the game as to split and double down. In your strategy, the most vital decisive aspect in any given hand is to first look at the dealer’s up card.
You can hit any hand securely, without the worry of busting, if it holds eleven points or under. Therefore any hand with eleven points or under should always be hit. Nevertheless, you should double down or split on these hands occasionally.
It’s also worth remembering that on being dealt an Ace, it can serve either a one or eleven value card and during the course of the game it can change.
A hand holding seventeen points or more should never be hit. A soft 17 is the single exception to this rule, this means that it includes an ace card and for the total it has been considered an eleven.
When to Hit and when to Stand
The following is the fundamental hit and stand strategy:
Anything under twelve, hit
Anything above sixteen, stand
Assuming you hold twelve or sixteen one of the two following moves should be made:
If the dealer’s card lies between seven and Ace (eleven), then hit
I the dealer’s up card is under seven, then stand
Soft totals: To hit and stand
An Ace and another value card comprise soft totals. Remember that an Ace can be considered an eleven or one.
If you don’t hold a ten value card but have an Ace, then:
If the soft total totals seventeen or under then hit
If the soft total totals seventeen or under and the dealer holds a four or five then double
If the soft total is nineteen or twenty then stand
When to double down
In the above section, we discussed the strategy for doubling down for a soft total. Deciding to double down should be based on the following strategy:
If your hand has a total below eight then never double
If you hold an eleven then always double down
When the dealer has cards between two to nine and you have a ten, then double down
When to split
If you wish to split base it on the following rudimentary rules:
With eights and Aces always split
With fours, fives and ten value cards never split