Basic Strategy Course
The correct play for every hand, with the reason, then a graded Checkpoint to prove you know it.
0 of 9 lessons complete
- 1. Why every hand has one right playThe dealer has no choices.
- 2. Stiff hands: 12 through 16Hard 12–16 are the stiff hands.
- 3. Doubling down: 9, 10, 11Doubling lets you put more money out at the moment the matchup favors you.
- 4. Soft hands: the ace that cannot bust youA soft hand counts its ace as 11, so the next card cannot bust you.
- 5. Pairs: when two hands beat oneSplitting turns one hand into two, each with a full bet, so a split says the matchup is worth doubling your money in.
- 6. Surrender and insuranceSurrender and insurance are side decisions with opposite verdicts.
- 7. The cells everyone gets wrongA handful of cells account for most mistakes at real tables, because in each of them the correct play feels wrong.
- 8. Rule variationsEach rule set has its own basic strategy chart.
- 9. Graduation: the full chartTwenty hands mixed across hard totals, soft totals, and pairs, eighteen correct to pass.
About this course
Basic strategy is a solved problem. For every hand against every dealer upcard there is one best play, the way 7 × 8 has one answer. A player who always stands on 16, or never splits when the dealer is hot, is arguing with arithmetic and paying for it. This Course explains why each region of the chart is what it is, then grades you on it in Checkpoints. Open any Lesson in any order. Skip what you already know. The checkmarks keep score.
The bar is 100%. Playing most of the chart correctly is not a milder version of playing it correctly. Each cell you get wrong is a leak you pay every time that hand comes up. Card counting earns about 1% in good conditions, and sloppy basic strategy gives back that much on its own, so a counter who plays 90% of the chart right has no edge at all. Our expected-value engine grades every Checkpoint and prices every mistake in dollars per $100 bet.