Blackjack: To Hit Or To Stand

Yes, Blackjack is about luck. But to say that Blackjack is all about luck would be a grave misconception. The fact is, you are afforded enough control to succeed with this game if you play it intelligently.

And playing the game intelligently involves knowing when to HIT and when to STAND. Though you may not know the cards that will come your way, you can more or less predict with a degree of certainty how the game will end up. You have access to many resources that will help you come up with intelligent decisions:

You have access to your own cards.
You have access to one card of the dealer’s initial pair.
You have access to the rules, the primary of which is how the dealer should draw and draw until he reaches the total of 17 or higher. This is an advantage of the table! So, do remember it, and remember it well.

You have access to the cards of the other players on the table, something which you will find very useful later on with some of the advanced strategies we will discuss in these pages.

You have options available, like SPLIT and INSURANCE, to protect your bet.

It all boils down, then, to knowing when to HIT and when to STAND.

As we mentioned earlier, the concepts of HITTING and STANDING in Blackjack aren’t really difficult to understand. It is taboo in almost all casinos to touch your bets again once you have placed them on the table and have declared them to be your wager in the game. As such, you will have to state the course of action you wish to take instead of using hand movements or other physical gestures. When you want another card, simply say “HIT” once your turn arrives. When you want to keep your cards as they are, simply say “STAND” or “STAY” once your turn arrives and the dealer asks you what you want to happen.

Easy, right?

The mind work really happens during the period between receiving your initial pair and having to declare the action you wish to take. During this time, you should be able to determine if you want an additional card or if you’re happy with the cards that you already have.

So, when exactly do you STAND and when do you HIT?

Well, if you have a bad combination that produces a low total value, like a 3 and a 2 for example, you’d naturally want an extra card, and you’d most likely ask for a HIT. But if you have a great combo, like a Jack and a King, which would give you a total of 20, you’d want to STAND, as such a combination is pretty hard to beat. We have to remember, again, that Blackjack is a game against the dealer, not a game against probabilities.

But what about the middle numbers, you might ask? What if you receive cards that total 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and maybe even 18? These are values that are not really safe and can easily be beaten by the cards that are drawn by the dealer.

Alas! It’s not as easy as it seems.

Before we proceed, please do consult the table below. Print it, if you will, and study it. It has become the universal chart for Blackjack players throughout the years for good reason. It’s a fairly amazing graph of what to do with a variety of card combinations.

graph of dealers cards

H – Hit S – Stand I – Insurance

The first column represents the total value of the cards in your initial pair. The first row represents the value of the dealer’s revealed card.

This means that if you receive a pair composed of a 2 and a 3, for instance, which would give you a total of 5, you should HIT, regardless of what the value of the dealer’s revealed card is.

It’s that simple, until you reach the problematic values of 12, 13, 14, 15, and

16. Getting these values as your initial pair will place you in quite a predicament. You are very susceptible to getting beaten by the dealer if you decide to STAND. On the other hand, there is a grave possibility of going over 21 if you decide to HIT. So what should you do?

Study the dealer’s revealed card and calculate the risks from there.

If you get a 10 and a 5 for example, which would give you a total of 15, you cannot automatically STAND or HIT. Look at the dealer’s hand. If his revealed card is a 2, 3, 4, 5 or a 6, the most prudent decision is to STAND. Why? Because it will be a race for him to reach 17, at least, and the low number he received will just increase the possibility of the dealer going over

21. 15 would make a relatively safe value in such an instance and it’ll all be up to the luck of the dealer to draw the right cards.

Let’s look at it this way.

There are 52 cards in one deck. There are only 4 kinds of cards for every numerical value. But there are 16 cards (a 10, a Jack, a Queen, and a King for each of the 4 suits) that will give you a value of 10. This leads to a basic, basic, basic rule in Blackjack…

Always assume that the dealer’s unrevealed card is a 10.
This is the safest position to take, because this is where the probabilities will lead you. It doesn’t matter if it’s a single deck or a multi-deck game. The probability of drawing a card with a value of 10 is always pegged at 8.32%, whereas the probability of drawing other values is a mere 2.08%.

Hence, if the dealer’s hand reveals a 7 card or higher, and your combination is below 17, you should HIT. Indeed, your chances of going over 21 are higher, but you’ve got nothing more to lose since the dealer has won the luck of the draw. You simply hope for the best and draw the right cards, or have the dealer draw the wrong ones. This is where the “intelligent gambling” aspect of Blackjack is most prominent and this is where the game is at its most dangerous stage.

Nonetheless, simply stick to the basic strategies outlined in the chart above and you’ll assure for yourself the highest chances of emerging victorious. Such is always better than blindly attacking, after all.

Whenever the dealer reveals an Ace, it would be wise to take the INSURANCE option, as outlined in the chart above as well. You have to protect yourself against a Blackjack. As we have mentioned earlier, you should always assume that the dealer’s unrevealed card is a 10, hence the need to take advantage of the INSURANCE option.

We should mention once more that the techniques discussed in this chapter are the basic strategies. They are the rules that you should abide by whenever you play Blackjack.

Never deviate from these rules!

Never try to alter them!

Millions of Blackjack players have won – and won BIG – using these basic strategies, so do not disregard them, as this would be detrimental to your success.

In the next chapter, we’re going to start discussing the advanced tactics that you can employ to better ensure your success in this splendid and rewarding game.