Blackjack Strategy: The Basic Strategy Guide

What Is Basic Strategy?

Basic strategy is the mathematically best way to play every hand in blackjack. For each of your hands against each card the dealer can show, one play wins the most money in the long run (or, with a bad hand, loses the least). The full set of those plays is basic strategy. It is worked out exactly, by averaging every card that can come next, so it is not an opinion or a system: it is the answer.

Played perfectly at a table with good rules, it cuts the house edge to about half a percent, one of the best bets in any casino. A player who plays by feel typically gives the house two to four times that. It does not make you win every hand, and nothing beats the house in the long run except card counting — but it is the foundation of every winning approach. The chart below is for the rules at our tables: 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double on any two cards, double after split allowed, late surrender.

Blackjack Strategy Chart

Find your hand on the left and the dealer's up-card along the top. Hard hands have no Ace, or an Ace that has to count as 1; soft hands have an Ace counted as 11; pairs are two cards of the same value. Tap any cell to see that hand explained. A printable strategy chart is also available.

• H Take another card
• S Keep your current hand
• D Double if allowed, otherwise Hit
• Ds Double if allowed, otherwise Stand
• P Separate pairs into two hands
• Rh Surrender if allowed, otherwise Hit
• Rp Surrender if allowed, otherwise Split

Charts for 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double on any two cards, double after split allowed, late surrender — the American blackjack rules used at the 21Count table.

When to Hit or Stand

Most decisions are hit or stand, and they follow a few simple rules:

• 11 or less: always hit (or double, see below) — no card can bust you.
• Hard 12: stand against a 4, 5 or 6; hit against everything else.
• Hard 13 to 16: stand against 2 to 6; hit against 7 to Ace.
• Hard 17 or more: always stand.
• Soft 17 or less (A,2 to A,6): never stand — hit or double.
• Soft 18 (A,7): double against 2 to 6, stand against 7 or 8, hit against 9, 10 or Ace.
• Soft 19 and 20: stand (except double A,8 against a 6).

The reason is the dealer's up-card. The dealer must keep drawing to 17, so a small card gives the dealer a weak start and many chances to bust; with a 7 or higher the dealer usually finishes with 17 or more, and your 12 to 16 will lose unless you improve it. How often the dealer busts with each up-card:

Calculated for our standard rules, after the dealer has checked for blackjack. More numbers on the blackjack odds page.

When to Double Down

Doubling puts twice the money on a hand that is more likely to win than lose. Double down on:

• 11: against every dealer card.
• 10: against 2 to 9 (hit against a 10 or Ace).
• 9: against 3 to 6.
• Soft 13 and 14 (A,2 and A,3): against 5 and 6.
• Soft 15 and 16 (A,4 and A,5): against 4 to 6.
• Soft 17 (A,6): against 3 to 6.
• Soft 18 (A,7): against 2 to 6 — stand if you are not allowed to double.
• Soft 19 (A,8): against a 6 — stand if you can't double.

A pair of 5s is a hard 10: double it, don't split it. If your table does not let you double a hand, hit instead (or stand, for soft 18 and 19).

When to Split Pairs

• Always split Aces. Two hands that each start with an Ace beat one soft 12 by a wide margin.
• Split 8s against everything except an Ace, where surrendering is slightly better if it is offered (split if it isn't). 16 is the worst total; two hands starting on 8 are much better.
• Never split 10s or 5s. 20 is a winning hand; play 5,5 as a hard 10 and double.
• Split 2s, 3s and 7s against 2 to 7.
• Split 6s against 2 to 6.
• Split 4s only against a 5 or 6.
• Split 9s against 2 to 9 except 7; stand against 7, 10 and Ace (18 already beats a dealer 17).

These assume you may double after splitting, as at our tables. Without that rule, split 2s, 3s, 4s and 6s less often — see the European chart below.

When to Surrender

Late surrender lets you give up half your bet after the dealer checks for blackjack. It is only worth it on the very worst hands:

• Hard 16 against 9, 10 or Ace.
• Hard 15 against 10 or Ace.
• A pair of 8s against an Ace (when the dealer hits soft 17).

If the table doesn't offer surrender, hit these hands instead (and split the 8s).

How the Rules Change the Strategy

A strategy chart is computed for one rule set. Most plays stay the same everywhere, but a few change:

European and UK Blackjack (No Hole Card)

In European blackjack, and in most UK casinos, the dealer does not take a second card until you have played. If the dealer then makes blackjack you lose your doubles and splits too, so you double and split less against a 10 or Ace. On our European table (2 decks, dealer stands on soft 17, doubling on 10 and 11 only, no doubling after a split, no surrender) the best plays are:

• Don't double 10 or 11 against a 10 or Ace — hit.
• Don't split 8s against a 10 or Ace, or Aces against an Ace — hit.
• Split 2s, 3s and 6s against fewer dealer cards, and never split 4s.
• Doubling is only allowed on 10 and 11, so soft hands are simply hit or stand.

Every other game has its own chart: open the strategy chart in any of our blackjack games, or read how the main variants differ.

The Most Common Strategy Mistakes

• Taking insurance. It is a side bet that loses money unless you are counting cards.
• Standing on 12 against a 2 or 3. The dealer busts less often than it feels: hit.
• Hitting 12 against a 4, 5 or 6. Let the dealer take the risk of busting.
• Not splitting 8s. 16 is the worst hand you can have; two 8s are not.
• Splitting 10s. Never break a 20.
• Standing on soft 17 or soft 18 against a strong card. A soft hand can't bust on the next card: hit A,6 always, and hit A,7 against 9, 10 and Ace.
• "Never bust" play. Standing on every 12 or more to avoid busting costs far more than it saves.

Learn It and Use It

Start with the hard hands (they come up most), then soft hands, then pairs. Once basic strategy is automatic, card counting is the next step.

Blackjack Strategy FAQ