If you are new to Blackjack or consider yourself a beginner, we recommend reading our How to Play Blackjack article first!

1. Best Strategy For Blackjack Tournaments
2. Blackjack Strategies To Win
3. Best Strategy For Online Blackjack

Using our free Blackjack Trainer is simple and straightforward. You can press deal to begin immediately, or customize the options to mimic the version of blackjack that you would like to practice. The blackjack chart under “Help” will update depending on the options and rules of the game.

There are seven variables to tweak the Blackjack Trainer. To adjust these settings click the Options button:

1) Whether the Dealer hits or stands on soft 17:

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• Dealer hits on soft 17 – worse for the player
• Dealer stands on soft 17 – better for the player

2) Are you allowed to double-down after splitting?

• Double allow after splitting – this is VERY important for the player and is typically the default for Vegas casinos.
• Double as first option only – you may only double down as your first play, not after splitting.

3) Is surrender allowed?

This is a rule that allows you to fold your hand immediately, prior to seeing the Dealer’s hole card, and sacrifice your hand to save half your bet.

• Allow surrender – surrender is typically allowed in 6 and 8 deck shoe games in Vegas. This is an excellent rule for players.
• No surrender – surrender is rarely allowed in single deck and double deck games.

4) How many decks are you playing?

• 8 decks – Vegas shoes are typically made up of 8 decks these days.
• 6 decks
• 4 decks
• 2 decks

5) How much does Blackjack pay?

Blackjack in a 6 deck or 8 deck shoe in Vegas typically pays 3:2, but there is a recent and disturbing trend for the big casinos to have blackjack tables that only pay 6:5 on tables with a shoe. The casinos are targeting casual players that are not aware of this difference. Be sure to find the tables that pay 3:2!

• Blackjack pays 3:2
• Blackjack pays 6:5 – this is typical for a double deck or single deck blackjack game.

6) Can you re-split your hands and if so, how many times?

You are always allowed to split your cards the first time, but if you are then dealt the same card again, can you split your cards again? In a shoe game, you are typically allowed to re-split up to 3 times.

• Re-split allowed (3)
• Re-split allowed (2)
• Re-split allowed (1)
• Re-split not allowed

7) Type of game you would like to practice.

• Hard mode – provides more difficult scenarios to test you.
• Splits only – play just splitting hands.
• Soft hands only – play just soft hands (hands with an ace).
• Random mode – purely random shuffle.

Once you’ve set up the table to your linking, the Blackjack Chart will update itself to show the optimum blackjack strategy to play. To view the chart, click the Help button. This will overlay the chart and show you the correct move for your last play.

Now click the Deal button to get started!

The point of this trainer is to play perfect blackjack strategy. You start with $1,000 of play money, but what’s more important is your playing accuracy. You’ll see that your moves will be tracked for your session providing you an accuracy rating. Your goal is to make the perfect strategic decision each time. You can start by consulting the blackjack chart to help you make the right decisions. But after a while, you should play without looking at the chart.

In the screen shot below, you can see that this player has made 24 correct moves and 1 incorrect move for an accuracy of 96%.

When using our Blackjack Trainer, pay close attention to this score, this is more important than your dollar balance. Random luck can sway your balance around, but as long as you are playing perfect blackjack strategy, you will give yourself the best chance of winning money long term!

To start learning optimal blackjack strategy, you should strictly follow the plays outlined in our blackjack charts. Based on the specific rules and options you set up, our blackjack charts adjust and prescribe the best strategic moves to make when playing blackjack.

Our blackjack charts tell you how to play your hand based on the rules and options of the game and the Dealer’s up card.

Looking at our blackjack chart, the number listed horizontally across the top corresponds to the Dealer’s up card. Find your hand (the player’s hand) along the left column of the chart and cross-reference your hand with the Dealer’s card to determine the play you should make.

Chart choices change the charts. For example, one chart is used when the dealer stands on soft 17 and another is used when the dealer hits on soft 17.

Other choices are used for things like re-splits. The chart doesn’t change here but decisions need to be checked. For example, if the player has re-splits turned on and he gets a third eight against a six after splitting the first two eights then the trainer will check to make sure he makes the right decision which is to split again. If re-splitting is turned off here then the trainer will check to make sure the player makes the right decision which is to stand.

There are a couple of notes to make when reading our blackjack charts. First, the X symbol – Surrender/Hit – this means that if the table allows Surrender, then you should surrender your hand. Otherwise, take a hit.

Similarly, the U symbol – Surrender/Stand – if the table allows for Surrender, then you should use it and surrender your hand. Otherwise, just stand with your hand.

If you have any feedback or suggestions, please use our contact form below.

Thank you for visiting Blackjack-Trainer.net. We hope enjoy learning to play perfect Blackjack strategy by using our trainer! If you have any questions, issues, or suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Find more free casino training tools at CasinoTrainer.org. You can try out their Blackjack Trainer at https://casinotrainer.org/blackjack-trainer/.

Consult the Blackjack charts at Blackjack-Chart.com for the type of Blackjack game you tend to play.

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Optimal Blackjack Strategy with a Wagering Requirement

By Arnold Snyder
(From How to Beat Internet Casinos and Poker Rooms, Cardoza Publishing, 2005)
© 2005 Arnold Snyder

When you are playing blackjack online to meet the wagering requirement for a bonus in an Internet Casino, or in any other situation where you have a wagering requirement, the best basic strategy for blackjack changes slightly.

If you are unfamiliar with standard blackjack basic strategy, see Learn Blackjack Basic Strategy in the Blackjack Forum Gambling Library. That article is an introduction to the logic behind normal blackjack basic strategy, with comprehensive charts.

For those who already know blackjack basic strategy who are surprised to learn that correct strategy with a wagering requirement would be different, here is the logic as it applies to a double down decision:

If I want to know whether I should double down on a total of 9 against a dealer deuce, I have to consider the return on getting double the money on the table with this strong total while giving up the option to rehit the hand if I am dealt a 2 or 3 on it. To double down on a 9 v. 2 and catch a deuce on it is a truly miserable result. Here I am with a total of 11, that I cannot take another card on, and I have double my bet on this hand!

As it turns out, this is one of those borderline decisions that changes according to the number of decks in play. In single and double-deck, the basic strategy is to double down on the total of 9 v. 2, because having that one deuce taken out of play (the dealer's upcard), has removed a significant enough percentage of the remaining deuces to make the double down the optimal play.

In fact, with three decks, it's correct to double down on 9 v. 2 if my total of 9 is comprised of a 7-2, since this would mean two deuces would have been removed from the remaining cards. But as soon as we get to 4 or more decks, the basic strategy for 9 v. 2 is to hit, and not double. That's how the logic works.

But let's look at how much of a borderline decision this is. In a shoe game (and it will be slightly different with 4, 6, or 8 decks), if I am dealt a total of 9 v. 2, I have a approximately a 7.85% advantage over the house if I just hit. In dollars and cents, this means that with a $100 bet, my average return on this hand with basic strategy (hit) is to make $7.85.

How much money do I lose if I double down? Well, not really that much. If I double down on this hand in a 4-deck game, my win expectation is about $7.45. Card counters who table hop and play only plus counts just about always double down on 9 v. 2 because with most balanced count systems the index number for doubling down on this hand is 0. If you have just the slightest positive count, doubling down becomes the correct play.

In any case, since a return of $7.45 is less than a return of $7.85, basic strategy with 9 v. 2 is to hit in all games with more than three decks, not double down.

But, consider an Internet 4-deck game where I have a wagering requirement to fulfill. Let's say I have a total wagering requirement of $2000, and I've already played through $1800 in action. In other words, I have exactly $200 of action left to meet my wagering requirement. The casino allows a $100 max bet. I place a $100 bet, and I am dealt a 9 v. 2. How should I play it?

Consider:

If I hit, I have an expected return on this hand of $7.85. I then must play one additional $100 hand, and I must assume that the cost of this random hand will have the house edge of 0.50%. This second $100 hand that I must play to meet my wagering requirement has a negative return of -$0.50. So, for these two hands, my total return is $7.85 - $0.50 = $7.35.

If, however, I violate standard basic strategy and double down on my 9 v. 2, my total return on the $200 in action will be 10 cents higher, $7.45. So, when there is a wagering requirement, basic strategy for the 4-deck game changes.

But, with 6 decks, if I double down on 9 v. 2, it will cost me about 21 more cents than hitting and playing a second hand against the house edge, so with 6 or more decks, it is best to follow the standard multiple-deck basic strategy for 9 v. 2, and just hit.

The logic here does not require that you be down to the last two bets of a wagering requirement. As long as you are playing to meet a wagering requirement, and every additional bet (double or split) that you don't place on a hand where you have this option will require another bet on a random hand with the house edge, you will be in a situation where the value of doubling down or splitting must include the value of eliminating a random hand that must be played at the house advantage.

In any case, the value of following a Wagering Requirement Basic Strategy as opposed to a standard blackjack basic strategy where no wagering requirement is imposed is negligible. But it does exist, and smart players may want to know about it. For those who are out there playing on bonuses with wagering requirements in Internet casinos, here are the changes:

9 v. 2 = double (4 decks or fewer)
A7 v. 2 = double
A6 v. 2 = double
8 v. 6 = double down in a 2-deck game with a 5-3, but not with a 6-2
11 v. A = double down in a 2-deck game

Normal basic strategy with 9 v. 2 is to double down in 1 and 2-deck games only. With a wagering requirement, we should also double down in 4-deck games. In a 6-deck game with a wagering requirement, however, this double down would cost us an extra 21 cents on a $100 bet, so we only make the altered double down in a 4-deck game, unless we're looking for a cheap camo play in 6-deck.

Normal basic strategy with a total of 8 v. 6 is to double down in single-deck only. With a wagering requirement, we are correct to double down on 8 v. 6 in 2-deck games if our cards are 5-3, but not 6-2. With more than 2 decks, it is not correct to double down on 8 v. 6 with a wagering requirement.

Double down on 11 v. A in a 2-deck game. Normal basic strategy is to double down on 11 v. A in single-deck only, or in multi-deck if the dealer hits soft 17. In Theory of Blackjack, Griffin provided refinements to this rule, namely that if the player's 11 is a 6-5 or 7-4 (but not a 9-2 or 8-3), it is also correct to double down in 2-deck. With a wagering requirement, it is optimal to double down with 11 v. A with 6-5, 7-4, and 8-3, but 9-2 is still on the other side of borderline. With more than two decks, however, do not double down on this hand.

Comprehensive Wagering Requirement Online Blackjack Strategy
For Any Number of Decks

STAND

Best Strategy For Blackjack Tournaments

DOUBLE DOWN, HARD TOTALS

DOUBLE DOWN, SOFT TOTALS

SURRENDER (LATE)

S = Stand, H = Hit, D = Double Down (if doubling not available, then hit), Ds = Double Down (if doubling not available, then stand),
¢ = Surrender

1 = Stand with 3 or More Cards
2 = Hit in Multi-Deck, or if Dealer Hits S17
3 = European No-Hole Hit
4 = S17 Multi-Deck or European No-Hole Hit
5 = Single-Deck Only
6 = With Hit Soft 17 Only
7 = Single Deck Hit
8 = Single Deck, X-6 Only
9 = With Hit Soft 17 in Multi-Deck
10 = Excluding 8,7
11 = 4 decks or fewer only
12 = Always double in H17 games. In S17 games, double in single and 2-deck games only.
13 = Double in single deck games. In 2-deck games, double on 5-3 but not 6-2. With more than 2 decks, do not double.

PAIR SPLITS
WITH DOUBLE AFTER SPLITS

PAIR SPLITS
NO DOUBLE AFTER SPLITS

Blackjack Strategies To Win

INSURANCE: NO

There may be a few other violations of standard blackjack basic strategy that would bring you an extremely small extra return in particular games, based on the exact number of decks in play and the precise rule set, when you are playing to meet a wagering requirement, but they will not be worth much to players in dollars and cents.

Also, some players have questioned whether correct online blackjack basic strategy would change again in a situation where you have a win target, such as when you are playing on a sticky bonus. It turns out that the online blackjack strategy for win target situations with a wagering requirement is the same as the regular Wagering Requirement Online Blackjack Strategy. I will explain why in a separate Blackjack Forum article.

Best Strategy For Online Blackjack

Again, the value of following a Wagering Requirement Online Blackjack Basic Strategy as opposed to a standard blackjack basic strategy where no wagering requirement is imposed is negligible. But it does exist, and smart players should know it. ♠