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The biggest single
advantage that the house has in any blackjack game is the fact that you
have the opportunity to bust (read that lose) before the dealer even plays.
This is very important to understand. The house (dealer) has only 5 pat
hands, 17-21. On all other hands, the dealer must hit until he has a minimal
of 17. Therefore, on 13 possible totals, the dealer has the chance of busting
and losing the hand. This means that on only 38.4% of the hands will the
house stand pat, On all the others, the house has the chance of LOSING!
Unless, of course you bust first, in which case the house simply rakes in
your money and doesn't have to play the hand. The best way of avoiding losing
before the dealer has to play is by playing basic strategy. "Hold on
now," you say, "what about counting systems?" OK, the most
comprehensive counting systems do modify the basic strategy according to
the condition of the deck. The best counting system that I've ever seen
is Ken Uston's Advanced Count, If you are very adept with mental arithmetic
and really want to win, you can find it in Million
Dollar Blackjack by Ken Uston which is available through Amazon.com
or your local bookstore. The basic strategy tables included below are from
that book. |
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