Before playing, the player needs to know some basic components of blackjack. (Click the + signs below to expand the sections.)

Because the dealer always must take a hit on any hand 16 or lower, the player will not win as much money when holding less than 17 (unless the the dealer busts).

If the player's hand is below 17, while the dealer is showing an ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, or 8, the player usually should take a hit. This is because when the dealer holds one of these cards, their chances of busting are small. Thus, unless the player clears 16, their chances of winning are also small.

If the player's hand is above 12 while the dealer shows a 4, 5, or 6, the best play is to stand. When the dealer is showing any of these three cards, his chances of busting are more than 40 percent.

Splitting can be highly profitable if the player does it with the right cards. When splitting, never split tens or fives. (Tens refers to any card valued 10, whether it be the actual 10, or J, Q, K.).

However, always split aces and eights (despite of what the dealer is showing). Splitting aces should be obvious. With two eights (16), the player's only chance of winning is if the dealer busts. By splitting the eights, the chances of hitting two hands higher than 16 are quite good.

Other than aces and eights, the player's best bet is to split twos and threes against a dealer's 4, 5, or 6. The cards in the deck (4, 6, 7, 9), the rule is to split these cards only when the dealer's hand is showing a card of lesser value.

For a thorough guide to strategic splitting, refer to the blackjack strategy chart.

Note: All blackjack strategies discussed assume the blackjack rules found in the Introduction to Blackjack.