A lot of people like to play blackjack because it has better odds than any other game in the casino. While this is technically true in most cases the odds are actually a lot worse than people realize. There is an optimal strategy for blackjack known as the basic strategy, if you are not using that then the odds are actually longer than those that are listed.

There is a basic strategy for blackjack that ensures that you will have the best possible odds. This is calculated mathematically based on the cards that you are dealt and the card that the dealer is shown. This strategy will tell you what you should do in every possible situation that you will encounter during the game. Unlike most other betting strategies that you will encounter basic strategy in blackjack is based on the mathematical probabilities in each situation. You do have to keep in mind however that even with perfect strategy the casino still has the edge.

One of the challenges that you will encounter when you are trying to learn basic strategy is that there is as different ideal strategy depending on the rules of that particular game. For example a game that does not allow you to split pairs will have a different basic strategy from a game that does. In addition the strategy will be affected by the number of decks that are being used.

Usually you will learn the basic strategy for the game that you are playing by reading a chart. It will have the dealers up card along the top with your total down the side. You then just find the corresponding box and it will tell you what to do be it hit, stand, split, whatever. The challenge is that the casino will rarely allow you to have the chart with you while you are playing. That means that you are going to have to memorize it. Given how many possible situations there are in a game of blackjack this is a major task.

The reason that you have to learn basic strategy is that it is what will give you the best odds, even then the odds are against you. When you hear about the house edge for blackjack it is calculated based on a player using the optimal basic strategy. In practice very few players are able to do this so the house edge can be quite a bit bigger than that listed. This is something that you are going to want to keep in mind when you are playing. If you are not using basic strategy the odds against you are steeper than you realize. That means that you are likely to lose more money than you thought so you have to make sure that you pay attention to how much you are winning and losing.