The most common decision any player makes at Blackjack is whether to hit or stand, consequently this will be the most common basic strategy variation and you should learn all the important ones. The first is with a hand of 16 against a dealer's up card of 10. You should stand if the count is over 0 and hit if it is 0 or lower. This means that if the running count is 1 or higher, stand. Since the 'decision' number is 0, it's not necessary to calculate the true count -- the running count will do in this situation. Don't get confused here. Almost all basic strategy variations rely on the true count, but for those where the decision number is 0, the running count will suffice.

The next most important hand is 15 against a dealer's 10. The decision number is a true count of 4, if you are playing at a game of four decks or more. This variation and the others can be easily learned if you make a set of flashcards. They needn't be fancy or sophisticated; merely accurate. Cut some 2'" squares from manila folders and they'll work just fine. A typical flashcard should look like this

If you imagine the 10 and 16 placed on the centerline of a 2" X 2" square, the 0 is offset so your left thumb covers the number. As you go through the stack, recite "sixtten versus 10, stand at zero" (or higher). For a hand of 15 vs. 10, a card will look like this

When you come to this card, you'll recite "15 versus 10; stand at 4".

As time goes on, you won't need to remind yourself that you should stand with the 15 against 10, so you'll recite "15 versus 10 is 4".

Got the idea? If you don't, please e-mail me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Here are the numbers you'll need to learn. These may vary a bit from numbers you'll see published in books like Stanford Wong's "Professional Blackjack" because the ones I use are specifically for a six-deck game where the dealer stands on A-6 and a few have been modified based upon the theory of 'risk averse' play which was developed about 15 years ago. These numbers work well; they have been proven in thousands of hours of actual casino play by me and my students. Do NOT use them for single-deck games, however. Single-deck play requires different numbers and will be covered in a future lesson.

And to finish it off, one weird play: Stand with A-7 against Ace at 1 or higher.

Make up a set of flashcards and begin learning these variations.