Learning the fundamentals of the blackjack strategy will help you a lot at the table by reducing the house advantage to the minimum. The main choices concern hitting, standing, or splitting your hand depending on the cards you have and the card of the dealer.
When to Stand or Hit
When you do not have an Ace counted as 11 (a hard hand), it is a good idea to hit when you have a low total, usually 8 or less. On totals of 12-16, stand when the dealer shows low card (2-6), since the dealer has a better chance of busting. Otherwise, hit. Always stand on the totals of 17 and above since chances of busting yourself become high. With the soft hands (an Ace is counted as 11), hitting is recommended on the totals of 13 to 18 unless there is a chance of doubling with a weak dealer card.
How to Divide
Splitting can transform poor hands into good chances Always divide Aces and 8s no matter what the dealer card is. Split 2s, 3s, 6s, 7s and 9s when the dealer is weak (2-6). Never separate tens or 5s- tens give you a good total of 20 and 5s are better as a 10 when doubling down.
These are the main moves that you should master with the help of simple strategy charts to improve your play and decrease the number of losses.