Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart: Every Hand and How to Read It

A basic strategy chart shows the best action for every blackjack hand against every dealer up card. Find your hand on the left and the dealer's card across the top. The cell where they meet tells you to hit, stand, double, split or surrender. Played correctly, the chart cuts the house edge to about 0.5% under good rules. That works out to roughly 50 cents lost per $100 wagered over the long run.

The tables below are built for a common online and shoe-game setup:

• 4-8 decks
• Dealer stands on soft 17 (S17)
• Blackjack pays 3:2
• Double after split allowed
• Late surrender offered
• Dealer checks for blackjack before you act

If your table uses different rules, see the section on rule changes further down.

Key: H = hit · S = stand · D = double (hit if doubling isn't allowed) · Ds = double (stand if doubling isn't allowed) · P = split · Su = surrender (hit if surrender isn't offered).

What is a basic strategy for blackjack?

Basic strategy is the play with the highest expected value for each combination of your hand and the dealer's up card. Computer analysis of every possible dealer outcome produced it. It uses only the cards you can see, so you don't need to count cards or remember earlier hands.

A "correct" play doesn't guarantee you win that hand. It means you lose the least, or win the most, over the many times the same situation repeats. The house keeps a small edge either way. Basic strategy only removes the extra edge that guesswork gives away.

Hard-total strategy table

A hard hand has no ace, or has an ace that must count as 1.

Soft-hand strategy table (ace counted as 11)

Pair-splitting strategy table

The 2,2, 3,3, 4,4 and 6,6 splits assume you can double after splitting. Without that rule, these pairs are split less often.

How to read the basic strategy chart, step by step

1. Check for a pair first and use the pair table.
2. If your hand isn't a pair, check whether it contains an ace counted as 11. If it does, use the soft table.
3. Otherwise, use the hard table.
4. Find the dealer's up card across the top and do what the cell says.
5. If the cell says D or Su and the table doesn't offer that option, use the fallback in the key. The fallback for Ds is to stand, not hit.

At an online table you can keep the chart open in another window. The game's published house edge already assumes perfect play.

Five hands players often misplay

1. 16 vs dealer 10: hit, or surrender if offered. Standing only wins when the dealer busts, and from a 10 that happens about 21% of the time. Hitting busts you often, but it still loses less over time.
2. 12 vs dealer 2 or 3: hit. A dealer 2 or 3 isn't weak enough to justify standing.
3. A,7 (soft 18) vs 9, 10 or Ace: hit. Eighteen feels finished, but it's an underdog against these cards. A soft hand also can't bust on one draw.
4. 8,8 vs dealer 10: split. Two hands that each start from 8 lose less than one hand of 16. The split limits losses here rather than chasing a win.
5. 5,5: double against 2-9. A pair of fives is a total of 10, which is one of the best doubling hands. Splitting it creates two weak hands.

How H17, no-peek and 6:5 tables change the chart

Rule changes alter only some cells. If you play these rules often, it's worth using a chart built for them.

• Dealer hits soft 17 (H17): double 11 vs Ace, double A,7 vs 2 and A,8 vs 6, and surrender 15 vs Ace. With late surrender, also surrender 17 vs Ace and 8,8 vs Ace. H17 itself adds roughly 0.2% to the house edge.
• No hole card (dealer doesn't check for blackjack): many European and live-dealer tables use this rule. Charts for these tables double and split less against a dealer 10 or Ace, because you can lose the extra money to a dealer blackjack.
• Blackjack pays 6:5: the chart stays the same, but the house edge rises by about 1.4 percentage points. That's more than any strategy error in this guide costs.
• No surrender: play every Su cell as a hit.

Using this chart at an H17 table costs only a small fraction of a percent. Players who want the last few hundredths often switch to a matching chart. Others prefer to learn one chart well, and both approaches are reasonable. For the full cost of each rule, see blackjack rule variations and what each costs.

Card counting adjusts some of these plays based on the cards already dealt. Online games reshuffle constantly, which makes counting ineffective. See why card counting doesn't work online.

Common questions about the basic strategy chart

Does basic strategy guarantee winning?

No. It lowers the house edge to about 0.5% on good rules, but the casino keeps that edge. Any single session can swing either way.

Is using a strategy chart allowed?

Online, yes. Both RNG and live-dealer games price in perfect play. Land-based casinos generally tolerate printed strategy cards too, though rules on devices at the table vary.

Should I take insurance?

The chart doesn't include insurance, because it is a losing side wager for basic-strategy players. See the blackjack insurance bet.

What about side bets?

Side bets aren't part of basic strategy, and they carry edges several times larger than the main game's. See blackjack side bets and their odds.

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