Skip to content
Table Dojo

Learn

Blackjack basic strategy

Six decks, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split allowed, blackjack pays 3:2. Under these rules every hand has exactly one best play.

Practice it

Why a chart exists at all

Blackjack is the rare casino game where your decisions change the outcome. The dealer has no choices — they draw to 17 and stop. That makes the game solvable: for every combination of your cards and the dealer’s upcard, one action returns more money over time than the others. That set of answers is “basic strategy”, and it cuts the house edge to roughly half a percent.

It will not make you win. It makes you lose more slowly than any other way of playing, which is the only honest promise a casino game can make.

H — hitS — standD — doubleP — split

Hard totals

Hard totals basic strategy
You2345678910A
8 or lessHHHHHHHHHH
9HDDDDHHHHH
10DDDDDDDDHH
11DDDDDDDDDH
12HHSSSHHHHH
13SSSSSHHHHH
14SSSSSHHHHH
15SSSSSHHHHH
16SSSSSHHHHH
17+SSSSSSSSSS

Soft totals (holding an ace)

Soft totals (holding an ace) basic strategy
You2345678910A
A,2 (13)HHHDDHHHHH
A,3 (14)HHHDDHHHHH
A,4 (15)HHDDDHHHHH
A,5 (16)HHDDDHHHHH
A,6 (17)HDDDDHHHHH
A,7 (18)DDDDDSSHHH
A,8+ (19+)SSSSSSSSSS

Pairs

Pairs basic strategy
You2345678910A
A,APPPPPPPPPP
2,2PPPPPPHHHH
3,3PPPPPPHHHH
4,4HHHPPHHHHH
5,5DDDDDDDDHH
6,6PPPPPHHHHH
7,7PPPPPPHHHH
8,8PPPPPPPPPP
9,9PPPPPSPPSS
10,10SSSSSSSSSS

Where the chart says double or split but the rules do not allow it — after a third card, or once you already hold four hands — fall back to hit, except on soft 18 where you stand.

The four rules worth memorizing first

  1. Always split aces and eights.Two hands starting with an ace are strong; 16 is the worst hand there is.
  2. Never split tens or fives.You already have 20. A pair of fives is a 10 — double it instead.
  3. Stand on 12–16 when the dealer shows 2–6.They bust more than 40% of the time. Let them.
  4. Hit 12–16 when the dealer shows 7 or higher.They are likely to make 17+, so a stiff hand has to improve.