Basic Game Play Choosing the Casino Choosing your Table Position Basic Stategy Card Counting True Count Raising the Stakes > Deviation from Basic Strategy Deviation from Basic Strategy There are times when the count will dictate that the basic strategy decision is not the best decision for a certain blackjack situation. For example, basic strategy says to hit 12 against a dealer showing a 3. But if the true count is high enough (in this case 2 or higher) the possibility of drawing a 10 and busting becomes too high and the correct strategy is to stand. There are entire tables of these decisions depending on the game. If you wish to memorize them there are links in the Resources section. However, for most people memorizing tables only allows more room for error when memorizing only the most relevant of these basic strategy deviations yields the majority of the advantage anyway. These more relevant deviations are known as the Illustrious 18 and are listed below. Take Insurance when count is 3 or higher Stand on 16 vs 10 when the count is 0 or greater Stand on 15 vs 10 when the count is 4 or greater Split 10,10 vs 5 when the count is 5 or greater Split 10,10 vs 6 when the count is 4 or greater Double 10 vs 10 when the count is 4 or greater Stand on 12 vs 3 when the count is 2 or greater Stand on 12 vs 2 when the count is 3 or greater Double 11 vs Ace when the count is 1 or greater Double 9 vs 2 when the count is 1 or greater Double 10 vs Ace when the count is 4 or greater Double 9 vs 7 when the count is 3 or greater Stand on 16 vs 9 when the count is 5 or greater Hit 13 vs 2 when the count is -1 or lower Hit 12 vs 4 when the count is 0 or lower Hit 12 vs 5 when the count is -2 or lower Hit 12 vs 6 when the count is -1 or lower Hit 13 vs 3 when the count is -2 or lower

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