How to memorize Blackjack Basic Strategy?

General Memory Chat
1

I was wondering if anybody know’s an easy way to memorize Blackjack Basic Strategy. I’ve been trying to use the Dominic System, but I’m having difficulty applying it for some reason. I’ve noticed that it is easier to remember in a form of a list.

Hard Totals:
17+ Always Stand.
16 Stands against 2-6. Surrenders against 9-A. Otherwise Hit.
13-15 Stands against 2-6. Otherwise Hit.
12 Stands against 4-6. Otherwise Hit.
11 Doubles against 2-10. Otherwise Hit.
10 Doubles against 2-9. Otherwise Hit.
9 Doubles against 3-6. Otherwise Hit.
8- Always Hit.

Soft Totals:
A,8-A,10 Always Stand.
A,7 Doubles against 3-6. Stands against 2, 7, or 8. Otherwise Hit.
A,6 Doubles against 3-6. Otherwise Hit.
A,4 & A,5 Doubles against 4-6. Otherwise Hit.
A,2 & A,3 Doubles against 5 or 6. Otherwise Hit.

Pair Splitting:
Always Split A’s and 8’s.
Never Split 10’s or 5’s.
Split 2, 3, & 7 against 2-7. Otherwise Hit.
Split 4’s against 5 & 6. Otherwise Hit.
Split 6’s against 2-6. Otherwise Hit.
Split 9’s against 2-6, 8 or 9. Stand on 7, 10, or A.

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2

If the information is in a list you could use a memory palace or peg list. If you have images for numbers (like with the Major System), you could use those images to remember the numbers.

Example:

  • First location: number image for 17 standing
  • Second location: number image for 16 standing with images for cards 2 and 6, surrendering to cards 9 and Ace, and doing nothing by itself (you can chain multiple images together in one location using the Story Method.)
  • etc.

You could make your memory journey in three rooms to separate each list:

  • hard totals: 8 locations
  • soft totals: 5 locations
  • pair splitting: 6 locations

If you have questions, let us know. :slight_smile:

3 Likes
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In the examples, when you say number image, what do you mean by that? Using the Major System, let’s say I use the image of a dog for 16, I could imagine a dog on top of 2 and 6. Sorry, I’m new to this world of memorization.

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Yes, if 16 is a dog in your system, then you could have an image of a dog interact with images that represent the cards 2 and 6.

Side note: “Dog” would actually be 17 in the “traditional” Major System, since it’s sound-based, not letter-based. 6 is “g” only when the “g” is pronounced like in “George”, but not when the “g” is like in “dog” (which is 7). See the how to memorize numbers for a longer explanation. It’s also okay to modify the system if you want.

If you have questions after watching the intro to numbers video, let me know.

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5

Bump!