Blackjack Basic Strategy Exceptions

It's fairly common knowledge that a skilled player can make a fortune counting cards in Blackjack. A new Hollywood blockbuster featuring Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth will be released soon. This movie is titled '21' and is about the world-famous MIT blackjack team who made millions counting cards in Las Vegas before the casinos literally fought back.

Playing Blackjack online, you won't ever be faced with angry security staff beating you up in backdoor rooms for counting cards. You can't count cards effectively at any online casino because the casino will shuffle the entire deck of cards electronically before every new hand, rendering the counting of cards meaningless.

This means Basic Strategy for Blackjack is the only way to go. Basic Strategy cards can be found everywhere – you can pick them up as casino gift shops or any Google search will deliver you a range of Strategy matrixes you can use to play better Blackjack. The matrixes change slightly depending on the rules of the Blackjack game you're playing, but the basic strategy usually remains mostly constant.

There are some cute exceptions to Basic Strategy though, which are not widely known. A recent article by Fred Renzey (a blackjack expert who writes for Casino City Press) reminded me of some exceptions to Basic Strategy which are worth noting, namely the Rule of 45.

All strategy options in Blackjack have cutoff points. This means there is a point where the mathematics determine that you should Hit instead of Stand, for example. Around the cutoff point, as the line changes from Stand to Hit, the mathematics are often negligible between one option or the other. The person writing the strategy card has to put the cutoff point somewhere, and they will advise on the best option without mentioning some exceptions.

For example, if you have 10/6 and the dealer has a 10, common basic strategy says you should always hit (if you cannot Surrender). This is not incorrect. However, the maths of Hitting vs Standing are so negligible that if the composition of your hand changes, so does the best mathematical play.

If you're dealt 8/5/3 against a Dealer 10, you have 16. Basic strategy charts will always tell you to Hit, but this is actually incorrect. The Rule of 45 states that if your 16 point hand has a 4 or a 5 in it, you're actually better off Standing with your 16 vs a Dealer 10. You can use this rule playing online Blackjack.

One other interesting exception to standard Basic Strategy charts which you should be aware of: If you're playing in a game where the Dealer stands on soft 17 (most online Blackjack games use this rule) and you're playing with 6 decks or less, you should Hit 12 against a Dealer 4, as long as your 12 is made up of 10/2.

Basic Strategy charts are great, and they will vastly improve your Blackjack play. But its important to remember that some of the rules aren't set in stone – and the difference between Hitting and Standing can be so close, that the actual cards making up your hand should change your decision.

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