Blackjack basic strategy chart

The mathematically best move for every hand, for six decks with the dealer standing on soft 17 and doubling on any two cards. Find your hand on the left and the dealer’s up card along the top.

Practise with Hints on See every game

Hard totals

You	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
5–8	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	H
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	H	H
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
17+	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Soft totals (a hand with an ace counted as 11)

You	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
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	S	Ds	Ds	Ds	Ds	S	S	H	H	H
A,8+	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Pairs

You	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
10,10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
9,9	P	P	P	P	P	S	P	P	S	S
8,8	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
7,7	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
6,6	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
3,3	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
2,2	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H

H Hit · S Stand · D Double, or hit if you can't · Ds Double, or stand if you can't · P Split

How to use it

Basic strategy doesn’t win every hand, but it gives the dealer the smallest possible edge over thousands of hands. Learn the hard totals first, then the soft totals.

The rules worth remembering

Always stand on hard 17 or more.
Stand on 13 to 16 against a dealer 2 to 6, and hit against 7 or higher.
Double 11 against anything but an ace, and double 10 against 2 to 9.
12 is awkward: stand against 4 to 6 only.
Never stand on soft 17 or less.

Practise for free

Turn on Hints at our free blackjack table and the best move glows on every hand, using exactly this chart. Splitting isn’t offered at our table, so pairs are played as their total.

Questions people ask

What is basic strategy in blackjack?

The best mathematical decision for each combination of your hand and the dealer’s up card, worked out over millions of hands.

Does basic strategy guarantee a win?

No. It reduces the house edge to its lowest, but any single hand can still lose.

Is the chart different if the dealer hits soft 17?

Slightly. A few doubling decisions change, such as doubling 11 against an ace. This chart is for a dealer who stands on soft 17.

Practise with Hints on