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Blackjack Basic Strategy Table

Complete reference chart for optimal blackjack decisions

Download Basic Strategy Table

Optimal decisions for hard hands, soft hands, and pairs

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.

Hard Hands (No Ace or Ace counts as 1)

Hard hands: player total against dealer up-card
Player Hand / dealer up-card 2345678910A
5 H H H H H H H H H H
6 H H H H H H H H H H
7 H H H H H H H H H H
8 H H H H H H H H H H
9 H D D D D H H H H H
10 D D D D D D D D H H
11 D D D D D D D D D D
12 H H S S S H H H H H
13 S S S S S H H H H H
14 S S S S S H H H H H
15 S S S S S H H H Rh Rh
16 S S S S S H H Rh Rh Rh
17 S S S S S S S S S S
18 S S S S S S S S S S
19 S S S S S S S S S S
20 S S S S S S S S S S
21 S S S S S S S S S S

Soft Hands (Ace counts as 11)

Soft hands: Ace plus card against dealer up-card
Player Hand / dealer up-card 2345678910A
A,2 H H H D D H H H H H
A,3 H H H D D H H H H H
A,4 H H D D D H H H H H
A,5 H H D D D H H H H H
A,6 H D D D D H H H H H
A,7 Ds Ds Ds Ds Ds S S H H H
A,8 S S S S Ds S S S S S
A,9 S S S S S S S S S S

Pairs (When to Split)

Pairs: when to split against dealer up-card
Player Pair / dealer up-card 2345678910A
A,A P P P P P P P P P P
2,2 P P P P P P H H H H
3,3 P P P P P P H H H H
4,4 H H H P P H H H H H
5,5 D D D D D D D D H H
6,6 P P P P P H H H H H
7,7 P P P P P P H H H H
8,8 P P P P P P P P P Rp
9,9 P P P P P S P P S S
10,10 S S S S S S S S S S

Important Notes

Standard Rules

This chart assumes 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double on any two cards, double after split allowed, late surrender.

Rule Variations

Some decisions may change based on specific casino rules (e.g., dealer stands on soft 17, surrender not allowed). See how the blackjack variants differ.

House Edge

Following this basic strategy reduces the house edge to approximately 0.5%.

Practice Tips

Memorize the most common situations first: always split Aces and 8s, never split 10s or 5s. Drill them in the basic strategy trainer.

Bankroll Management

Basic strategy is most effective when combined with proper betting and bankroll management.