Knowing and executing the basic strategy flawlessly is the stepping stone to getting started beating the game of Blackjack. If you’re a beginner, the various rules of the basic strategy may seem a little overwhelming and put you off. When you look at the basic Blackjack strategy chart, you might think it takes tremendous commitment and practice to memorize it. However, learning the basic strategy and knowing it like the back of your hand is certainly worth your time. In fact, there are some shortcuts that can help you easily memorize and learn basic strategies much faster.
Why learn the basic Blackjack strategy?
We get it. The last thing you want to do is memorize a strategy and feel like you’re studying for some test. However, you need to understand that it’s also worth investing some time learning the basics of the game because winging it might not really be the best route to go down, especially if you’re a novice. And that’s where blackjack strategy charts come in handy.
Also, keep in mind that it doesn’t matter if you’re playing at a traditional or online casino the rules of the game remain the same. But if you prefer putting your skills to practice while chilling out in your living room.
The basic strategy in blackjack is just the most mathematically sound technique to play every conceivable hand in the game. This implies that computers have run simulations and computations to determine the anticipated value of each option. You’re regarded to be following basic strategy when you choose the option with the highest EV in each of those instances.
Remembering basic strategy to the point where you can play it flawlessly every time is a great advantage and the first step to beating blackjack consistently. However, the basic strategy alone isn’t powerful enough to provide you with a mathematical advantage over the casinos. You’ll continue to be at a disadvantage.
However, that handicap will be the lowest. In fact, playing this way will give the house the lowest house edge of any other type of casino game.
Once you’ve learned the basic strategy, you are halfway there to beating blackjack. Next, you just need to learn any proper advantage gambling methodology to give yourself the edge and actually put the house at a disadvantage. One of the most common ways to do that is by learning how to count cards.
Counting cards, by itself, won’t give you the edge. Applying the basic Strategy alone won’t give you the edge either. However, when you combine counting cards with a basic Blackjack strategy, you’ve turned the tables and the odds are now in your favor.
Learn to Recite the Entire Basic Blackjack Strategy Chart
This may seem like an uphill task, but once you get started it is actually smooth sailing and you can cover a lot of ground quickly. By being able to recite the entire basic strategy chart, no matter what cards are dealt, you will know exactly what the basic strategy says to do each and every time.
So, how do you go about rote memorization? Some of us may not have tried to memorize anything since our school days and we could be a bit rusty. An easy hack to memorize is to make a poem for each chart and simply learn to either recite the poem or even add a tune and sing it like a song.
For instance, you could make the following poem or song for memorizing the entire splits basic strategy chart:
Aces – Always split aces
Tens – Never spilled tens
Nines – Split 2 through 9, expect 7
Eights – Always split eights
Sevens – Spilt 2 through 7
Sixes – Split 2 through 6
Fives – Same as Tens, never split fives
Fours – Split against 5 and 6
Threes and twos – Split 2 through 7
If you just memorize these 9 short lines and can recite them anytime, then you’ve already mastered the entire splits chart of the basic Blackjack strategy. You could learn to sing the above sentences in a certain tune and this could be a much easier way to remember and recall the chart whenever you need to. If you actually focus, you can memorize this chart within 30 minutes and recite it flawlessly.
In this way, if you memorize the other basic Blackjack strategy charts, then you’ve effectively learned the entire basic Blackjack strategy and you’re well on your way to beating the game of Blackjack.
Cementing the Basic Blackjack Strategy Charts into your Brain
As we said, the average person can learn a basic Blackjack strategy chart using rote memorization in just 30 minutes. However, when you’ve accomplished this, you’ve only imprinted the chart into your short-term memory. If you don’t keep using and testing it, what you’ve learned could soon fade away.
In order to imprint it into your long-term memory, you don’t have to keep going to the casinos and putting money on Blackjack. There are plenty of online casinos where you can play free online Blackjack games and this is a great way to practice implementing the basic strategy hundreds of times over until you can recite it in your sleep.
