European Blackjack
Written July 21, 2008 by Jack Jones
The following basic strategy table is appropriate for European blackjack, at least the variation I saw played in Berlin and Hamburg. The specific rules are as follows:
Six decks (this chart is also accurate for 4 or 8 decks)
Dealer stands on soft 17
Player may only double on hard totals of 9-11
Player may double after a split
No-peek (player loses total bet, including after doubling or splitting, if dealer has blackjack)
The house edge under this rules is 0.62%.To use the basic strategy look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer’s up card along the top. In both cases an A stands for ace. From top to bottom are the hard totals, soft totals, and splittable hands.
Key to table:
| H | Hit |
| S | Stand |
| D | Double of allowed, otherwise hit |
| P | Split |
In the United Kingdom splitting fours, fives, and tens is not allowed. This only affects the basic strategy player with fours. So in the UK always hit two fours, which increases the house edge by 0.003%.
