BS newby question (mybe dumb one)

In Single Deck, How many variations from the Basic Strategic i must consider, when I have more than two cards (i.e 10 Vs 6 or 5, etc)???

thank you in advance...

Basic Strategy does NOT just concern the first two cards, but ANY number of cards. Your example of 10 vs. 5 (or 6) is a double. "Generally", if you can't double... HIT.

There is a "composition dependent" basic strategy but is very difficult to memorize... card counting is easier!

Actually, "Lawrence Revere" had a chapter on this in his _Playing_Blackjack_as_a_Business_ book.

Assuming you are NOT counting, the only real thing to remember is the situation of hitting/standing 3+ card 16s vs the dealer's ten.

Here are the rules:

STAND a 3+ card 16 vs X UNLESS:

1. Your hand contains a Six and at least one other card greater than a Five; or

2. Your hand contains a Ten and no other card greater than a Three.

Examples: 664 hits, 655 stands.
Examples: X33 hits, X42 stands.

This mainly has to do with how many Fours and Fives are left for both you and the dealer, which leads to the ONE exception to Rule #1, which is a hand of 63322, which is supposed to hit even though there is no other card > Five.

But the presence of one or more Sixes in your hand is also important because it means there are fewer Sixes available for the dealer to have under his Ten, making him less likely to break.

Interestingly, these rules are valid for almost any number of decks, not just single deck.

One more "fine point of basic strategy": X2 HITS vs the dealer's Four. It is the ONLY hand of 12 which hits vs 4. This rule, too, is valid for almost any number of decks.

Hit X33 at your peril as you will lose the 0.0005 extra gain of standing! (Table 8, Theory of Gambling & statistical logic.

If you're a newbie, I wouldn't worry about 3+card composition single deck strategy considering the above. Note too this is for considering your three cards against a dealers card, on the assumption that no other cards have been dealt from a single deck. Under these circumstances it is precise, otherwise you're best indicator. You should only worry about card composition strategy if you are flat betting a tiny grind from a las vegas strip single deck game or doing t/o on shuffle every hand for lucrative comps.

If you're a newbie & working off a multi deck strategy, then you will have to adjust this for single deck. ie

Stand soft 18vA
Split 6,6 v2 & 2,2,v3
double 11 vA
Two card composition strategies:
Stand 7,7 v 10
Hit T,3 v 2
Hit T,2 v3 if dealer stands soft 17
Ht T,2 v4
Hit T,2 v6
(as per table Theory of BJ, Griffin)

If it's more than just one round, head on play with the dealer then the other players cards & cards from previous rounds are equally important to consider.

In answer to your qu. Epstein advises

"Against a Ten, draw with two-card 16's; draw with three-and four-card 16's that include two Sixes or one Six with a Seven, Eight or Nine, or holding 2,2,2,10; otherwise, stand."

He further advises "Complete analyses of all multiple-card hands are contrary to the law of diminishing returns, since some hundereds of thousands of such hands exist"

Too many counters get wrapped up in the crazy detail of squeezing an extra tenth (at best) of a percent. Common sense should tell you that you can achieve a higher profit by dedicating an extra 10 or 20 minutes a week to playing.

I strongly recommend you buy Theory of BJ, if only for the table that allows you to work out basic strategy for any no.of decks & most common rules. And of course Wong's Pro BJ is the best book for one level counting with complete indexes for strategy variation according to the count. For inspiration, read Uston. (anything)

Blackjack For Blood, by Bryce Carlson (available in catalog in column on left)

Are you saying a queen of hearts and 2 of clubs in my hand facing the dealer's 4 of diamonds is a hit for any number of decks??

index

Are you saying a queen of hearts and 2 of clubs in my hand facing the dealer's 4 of diamonds is a hit for any number of decks??

With S17, you stand on 8 or more decks.
With H17, you stand with 3 or more decks.

I wish the answer was "always hit", for any real-world game. But unfortunately 8 deck games do exist as do multi-deck H17 games.

Stand if your hand contains at least one 4 or 5. A BS player who uses this simple rule will get most of the gain that comes from using composition dependent BS for 16 vs. 10. This simple rule was advocated by Fred Renzey in BLACKJACK BLUEBOOK.