Blackjack is a game of statistics and so lends itself to basic strategy in a way that games based entirely on chance (such as slots) do not. Using a basic strategy such as that listed below will reduce the house edge.

Your Hand          Dealer's Up Card
             2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 A
5,6,7,8      H  H  H  H  H  H  H  H  H  H
9            H  D  D  D  D  H  H  H  H  H
10           D  D  D  D  D  D  D  D  H  H
11           D  D  D  D  D  D  D  D  D  H
12           H  H  S  S  S  H  H  H  H  H
13,14        S  S  S  S  S  H  H  H  H  H
15,16        S  S  S  S  S  H  H  H  H  H
17,18,19,20  S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S

Soft 13,14   H  H  H  D  D  H  H  H  H  H
Soft 15,16   H  H  D  D  D  H  H  H  H  H
Soft 17      H  D  D  D  D  H  H  H  H  H
Soft 18      S  D  D  D  D  S  S  H  H  H
Soft 19,20   S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S

A-A          SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP
2-2,3-3      SP SP SP SP SP SP H  H  H  H
4-4          H  H  H  SP SP H  H  H  H  H
5-5          D  D  D  D  D  D  D  D  H  H
6-6          SP SP SP SP SP H  H  H  H  H
7-7          SP SP SP SP SP SP H  H  H  H
8-8          SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP
9-9          SP SP SP SP SP S  SP SP S  S
10-10        S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S

H=Hit, S=Stand, D=Double down, SP=Split

Other Strategies
Many players assume that a good strategy is to mimic the dealer or play 'never bust' (hit on 11 or less, stand on 12 or more), both of which are conservative and will average out to a player disadvantage of about 6 percent - that is, for every dollar bet, in the long run you will lose about 6 cents per hand.

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