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Black Jack Basic Strategy

Dear Mark,
My local casino in Sydney, Australia does not allow doubling down on soft hands. Could you please advise me as to the Black Jack basic strategy for playing an A, 7 against a 6 or an A, 6 against a 4 in these circumstances? Should I hit or stand?

Also, my casino does not offer surrender on BJ, but does offer insurance. We have only multiple deck games and you can only double down on 9,10, 11. If I play perfect basic strategy with these regulations in place, is the casino percentage still below two percent? Cliff B.

Yes, it is, Cliff. Even with Down Under rules like being able to double only on 9, 10, or 11, playing perfect basic strategy still reduces the casino advantage to well under two percent.

Now, in the specific hands you mention, on an Ace/7 against a six, you would stand, and for an ace/6 (soft 17) against a four, you would always hit.

Here in the States, where you can typically double on any two cards on multiple decks, you would double down on both of the hands you mention. Regarding insurance, Cliff, I recommend that you never take it, and here's why. Most players tend to take insurance when holding face cards. But a moment's calm reflection, if you please--who's holding at least two of the cards the dealer needs to make Black Jack?

THE PLAYER! Far too many players automatically take insurance if they have a Black Jack, or perhaps two face cards. In reality, though I still don't recommend it, it would make more sense to make an insurance bet if your hand contained no 10-valued card, because that 10-valued card you don't hold could possibly be the dealer's hole card.

As a matter of fact, insuring a hand composed of two face cards on a single deck game can be one of the worst bets in the casino, giving the casino a 14.3% edge.


Dear Mark,
Where I play, on weekends they bump the Black Jack table minimums up to as high as $25 a hand. As someone who is new to the game, do you feel playing for $10-25 a hand is too much for someone who is a $2 player? Harry G.

I logged 100 miles on my first Schwinn before I was allowed to ride it further than around the block. Being a newbie at Black Jack, you're still two-wheeling with training wheels, so yes, I'd say $25, or even $10 might be a bit rich. How about some gardening on weekends?


Dear Mark,
Do the casinos really allow you to look at a Black Jack strategy card while playing? David S.

As you already know, David, playing your hand correctly will bring the casino advantage down to less than one percent. Since you cannot control how the cards fall, you must focus on what you can control -- how to play the hand you were dealt. Using a Black Jack strategy card allows you to go nearly even up against the house.

Luckily, almost every casino in the country doesn't give one iota about a player using a strategy card on a Black Jack game, just so long as you don't grind the game to a squalling halt. Why, many even sell them in their gift shops.