Blackjack Objective
Many blackjack books define the objective as getting a hand as close as
possible to twenty-one. This is not always true. Your objective is to
beat the dealer, and learning this lesson Is your first step on the road
to becoming a winning blackjack player. It is possible to beat the
dealer by holding a hand that totals less than twenty-one - even as
little as a twelve or thirteen, for example. Remember, there are two
ways to win, by holding a higher hand than the dealer, and by not
hitting while holding a breaking hand and waiting for the dealer to
break. This is a decision that many beginning players seldom make.
Thinking they must always get as close as possible to twenty-one, they
hit (take extra cards) more often than they should, thus breaking (a
hand with a value greater than twenty-one), losing more often, and
contributing to the casino edge of up to 6 percent over the non-system
player.
Casino rules are defined to give the dealer one major advantage and one
major disadvantage. His advantage is that he always draws last. If he
breaks after you have broken-in reality a tie-he has already collected
your chips, and he does not return them. The dealer's disadvantage is
that he must draw if he has sixteen or less; therefore, with hands
totaling twelve to sixteen, it's possible that the next card may break
him. You, the player, can capitalize on this handicap by making
judicious decisions about drawing or standing.
While many players lose because they hit too often, other novices,
unrealistically hoping for the dealer to break, do not hit enough. These
hitting and standing decisions cannot be made by hunch; logic must be
used. If the dealer's up card is two, three, four or five, you know he
must hit, no matter what the value of his hole (facedown) is; therefore,
you should stand (refuse any additional any a lower hand value, such as
thirteen, and hope for the dealer to break. On the other hand, if the
dealer has a high up card, for instance a nine or ten, you would hit and
try to get as close to twenty-one as possible because there is a good
chance that the hole card is also high, and with a hand greater than
sixteen, the dealer must stand.
Next... Blackjack Decisions
