Wizard's Simple Strategy question

I'm trying to give a very newbie some simple advice, and like your "Simple Strategy" for blackjack.

In the simple strategy you hit on soft 18 against 7 through A, and stand on 19.
Obviously, this is wrong (by basic strategy) for 7 and 8, right on 9, 10, A.
I wondered what the effect on the expected value would be of standing on soft 18 for these cases.
I tried to calculate it, using the 'infinite deck' numbers in appendix A of the WoO blackjack page,
and came out slightly ahead for standing.

Thank you for several great sites.

Thanks jackblack21, now at least I get the same numbers as the Wizard does in Appendix 21 for the cost of hitting vs. standing on soft 18 vs. 7 and 8. Using the 6-deck S17 table I still get a slight (.00591%) advantage to standing 7-A as opposed to hitting.

btw i think it's hit 9-A and stand 7-8
hit/stand s18 against Ace is very close decision in s17..

Yes, NighStalker, I know that in basic strategy in a six-deck S17 the correct play is stand on soft 18 vs. 2-8, soft 19 vs. 9,10,A.
My question had to do with the "Simple Strategy" on the wizardofodds blackjack page, where he tries to define a sort of newbie version of basic with only two columns: 2-6 and 7-A, with costs (vs. full basic strategy) calculated for 6-deck, S17, double after split, late surrender.
The strategy there says to hit soft 18 vs. 7-A and stand at soft 19.
I wondered about standing on soft 18 so that you could give the newbie an ever simpler "Always stand on soft 18" direction.
To my surprise, it looks like that actually gives a better expectation.

I was hoping the wizard himself would comment, but then again, I'm a newbie to the board myself.

Well for the basic blackjack strategies just keep you count in between 17 to 21. Don't go for the race of 21. If you are above 17 then you should stop hitting and must stand for the bet because at that time if you go for hit then you have more chances of getting busted. This is applicable to both type of gaming like land based casino gaming and online blackjack gaming. You just need to have the best hand at the table to win, not to have 21 to win.

Quote: fabianbranson

Well for the basic blackjack strategies just keep you count in between 17 to 21. Don't go for the race of 21. If you are above 17 then you should stop hitting and must stand for the bet because at that time if you go for hit then you have more chances of getting busted. This is applicable to both type of gaming like land based casino gaming and online blackjack gaming. You just need to have the best hand at the table to win, not to have 21 to win.

wow, that is some basic advice sure enough. But clearly you are dismissing any kind of strategy based on what the dealer has. Even in the Wizard simple version you sometimes stand on 12! Etc. I suggest beginning players dip into the Wizard's stuff at the other site, this includes a great game that players can train themselves on. I would differ with you if you think even a beginner should go by such a simple strategy as you outline above.

Print out the basic strategy for the particular game you'll be playing and bring it to the table. Trust it, use it with confidence, and don't listen to the know it alls that will inevitably be playing with you. Strategy will differ according to the rules of the game and the number of decks, so it's important to have the correct chart.

Just play your hand against the dealer's and you'll be on your way to losing less.

Quote: benbakdoff

Print out the basic strategy for the particular game you'll be playing and bring it to the table. Trust it, use it with confidence, and don't listen to the know it alls that will inevitably be playing with you. Strategy will differ according to the rules of the game and the number of decks, so it's important to have the correct chart.

Just play your hand against the dealer's and you'll be on your way to losing less.

If you want to get used to playing Basic Strategy, I would offer this one method: DON'T LOOK AT YOUR HAND until you have seen the dealer's upcard. There are basically four categories of dealer card: 10/A (bad), 7/8/9 (not as bad), 2/3 (pretty good), and 4/5/6 (very good). The decisions of Basic Strategy can generally be divided among these four hand classifications; you play most aggressively (doubles and splits) against 4/5/6, and least aggressively against 10/A; you always hit stiffs against 7/8/9 and 10/A, never hit them against 4/5/6, usually don't hit them against 2/3, and so forth. This way, you only regard your hand in the CONTEXT of the most important information on the table: the dealer's upcard.

faianbranson,

I think you missed the intended context of my initial post.

"Wizards Simple Strategy" refers to the specific strategy designed by our webmaster (The Wizard of Odds) for use by casual gamblers. You can find it at the companion site, wizardofodds.com, at https://wizardofodds.com/blackjack. I was suggesting a change to it concerning when a soft hand should stand.

"Basic Strategy" in books and web sites refers to the various optimum strategies for the game, taking into account the player's total, the dealer's up card, how many decks are used, and local rules, but NOT including tracking what cards have been played. It is based strictly on the laws of probability and generated by mathematicians like our Wizard with the help of a good computer. From my own observation about half the people playing Blackjack in Las Vegas are familiar with it.

For more information on Basic Strategy you can read more of the web page I referenced above, or read the excellent article on "Blackjack" in Wikipedia. I would suggest anybody who is going to play Blackjack for money read one of these first.

Mark