Anyone who has spent any time reading about blackjack or gambling has certainly read admonishments to learn basic strategy and don't deviate from it. Or at least use a basic strategy chart or table, and follow the instructions on there. And yeah, you can buy a basic strategy "cheat sheet" in any casino gift store for less than a dollar or two, but who really wants to consult with a card about all their playing decisions in a casino? I'd be a bit embarrassed by consulting a chart for every decision.
This article contends that the traditional thinking about basic strategy for blackjack is incorrect. It's not necessary for a casual blackjack player to memorize a complicated basic strategy or even use a basic strategy chart. The fact of the matter is that even if you're using basic strategy perfectly, you're still going to be losing to the house over the long run, because basic strategy is still a negative expectation bet. Perfect basic strategy play reduces the house edge to 0.5%, but if you're just playing for fun, and you're willing to give the house an edge anyway, you can easily avoid a lot of memorization by simply using a more basic version of basic strategy.
I'd estimate that using the simplified basic strategy in this article, you're giving the house another 0.4%. And at the end of the day, this is what a 0.9% house edge will cost you compared to a 0.5% house edge if you're playing for $5/hand: $1.60. That assumes you're playing 80 hands per hour at $5 per hand. Your total theoretical cost of play with perfect basic strategy is $2 per hour with perfect basic strategy play; with the strategy outlined here, your cost per hour becomes $3.60.
Here are the only rules to remember in order to play our "simplified basic strategy":
1- Never take insurance. Ever. It's a sucker bet.
2- Always split aces and eight's.
3- Double down if you have a 10 or an 11, if your total is greater than the dealer's upcard.
4- always hit a soft 17 or less, and always stand on a soft 18 or higher. (A soft hand is a hand with an ace in it.)
5- Hard hands have a couple more rules. Always stand on a hard 17 or higher. Always hit an 11 or less unless you're doubling down. On a hard 12 through a hard 16, hit if the dealer has a 7 or higher, and stand if the dealer has a 6 or lower.
If you're a perfectionist, or if you just like using those pretty green, red and yellow charts, then by all means, learn basic strategy perfectly. Just keep in mind that it's still a negative expectation bet. The only real way to get an advantage over the casinos is to start counting cards, and that's a whole other article.
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