Blackjack five hand challenge: score your basic strategy

Five hands, one decision on each, graded against the same published basic strategy data used by the full trainer. The ruleset is stated up front because the correct play changes with it. There is no money, no stake and no prize; the only output is a score and an explanation of each decision.

The ruleset used

Every hand is graded against six decks, dealer hits soft 17, double after split allowed and late surrender allowed. Basic strategy is ruleset specific: the same hand can have a different correct play under different rules, so the ruleset is fixed and shown on the page rather than left implicit.

Answers come from the same chart data as the full trainer, which is generated from two independently published basic strategy sources. Where those sources disagree on a cell, both answers are accepted and the disagreement is flagged.

How the score is produced

  • Each hand is one decision: hit, stand, double, split or surrender, where the action is available.
  • A decision is correct when it matches the chart cell for that hand, that dealer upcard and that ruleset.
  • Where the published expected value tables cover the situation, the cost of a wrong answer is shown in units staked, taken from those tables rather than estimated.
  • The final score is simply the count of correct decisions out of five.

What this is not

There is no wagering, no prize and no leaderboard. Playing every hand perfectly does not beat the house; basic strategy reduces the house edge, it does not remove it. The challenge exists to show where the common decisions go wrong and what each mistake costs on average.

Frequently asked questions

Is the correct answer the same at every casino?

No. Basic strategy depends on the number of decks, whether the dealer hits soft 17, whether doubling after a split is allowed and whether surrender is offered. The challenge states its ruleset so the answers can be checked against it.

Does a perfect score mean I can beat the house?

No. Perfect basic strategy minimises the house edge for a given ruleset. It does not turn the game positive, and no score here implies any advantage.

Where do the answers come from?

From the same chart and expected value data as the full basic strategy trainer, generated from two published sources. Nothing on this page invents a decision table.

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