Blackjack Bluebook II: The Simplest Winning Strategies Ever Published, 2017; Current Updates & Strategy

An up-to-date, down-to-earth handbook on how to as it should be play and realistically win at casino blackjack. Contains an exhaustive basic strategy section, 11 color-coded basic and advanced strategy charts, 60 hand illustrations and 40 other charts detailing basic and advanced play. Twelve NEW PAGES of 2017 updates analyze the effects of recent blackjack developments such as blackjack side-bets, 6-to-5 blackjack, dealer hits soft 17, playing the ‘In/Out’ option on dealer misdeals and the little known ‘Insuring blackjack against an Ace for less’. A unique ‘What Comes After Basic Strategy’ chapter provides a color-coded card telling a basic player when to accurately ‘go against’ basic strategy because of key cards on board. The neglected advantage of partnering on other players double downs is illustrated and evaluated. A ‘Blackjack Myths’ section dissects common B/J folklore such as ‘Bad players make you lose’, ‘Assume it’s a dealer’s 10 in the hole, and so forth. Presents 3 fully developed card counting systems from the recreational Ace/10 Front Count to the up-gradable KISS Count to the professional level Mentor Count.

Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved

TROUBLE BLACKJACK HANDS & BOARD TWEAKS By this point in the book you must know over 90% of your correct basic strategy. Keeping a full basic strategy card with you would just be redundant overkill. All you wish to have now is something to remind you how to play those tricky hands – the ones that most players still miss. You’ll also wish to know which hands to change up when the dealer hits soft 17. That’s what the color-coded chart on the following page is for. It contains only a fraction of the hands on a full basic strategy card, and is the size of a credit card. Yet, its fewer boxes are large enough to be easily read in a casino. The chart also points out your hit soft 17 basic strategy changes. And lastly, it tells you when to “tweak” the two most common “boardsensitive” hands based on Babies vs. 10s on board. HITS SOFT 17: The two red and brown boxes with a bold “D” in them tell you that if the dealer hits soft 17, basic strategy is to double down with 11 against an Ace and with Ace/8 against a 6. BOARD-SENSITIVE HANDS: The “+T” in the red box denoting 12 against a 4 states that if there are more Tens on board than Babies, you must HIT that 12! Conversely, the “+B” in the brown 16 vs. 10 box instructs you to STAND on 16 if there are more Babies on board than Tens! Ahh, but what if there are the same total number of Babies as Tens? THEN JUST PLAY BASIC STRATEGY Deviate from basic only when there are more Tens with 12 against a 4 — and more Babies with 16 against a 10. GET OVER IT: Now, don’t think you’re committing heresy when you “break” basic strategy in qualifying situations. Understand that, these are “borderline” hands. When basic strategy made up our minds that you must just barely hit 10/6 against a 10, it assumed that all other cards were available. But if basic strategy were calculated with say, a 3-4-5-8 gone: IT WOULD TELL YOU TO “WAVE” YOUR 10/6 ! You’ve come to a point in your game where you’re trying to notice and make the most of things that go beyond “zero memory” basic strategy! You’re becoming a blackjack “card player”, not a basic strategy robot.