Blackjack basic strategy: free charts and a page for every hand
Basic strategy is the play with the best average result for every hand against every dealer upcard. These charts and 360 hand pages come from the same verified tables that power the free Blackjack Trainer app.
Pick the chart for your table
The only rule that changes the chart much is what the dealer does on soft 17. Only 6 hands differ between the two.
Rules the charts assume
- 4, 6, or 8 decks (the chart is the same for all three)
- The dealer checks for blackjack when showing a 10 or an ace, before you act
- Double down is allowed on any first two cards
- Double after split is allowed
- Late surrender is offered, as your first decision only
- Split up to four hands; split aces get one card each and cannot be resplit
One-deck and two-deck games, tables without surrender, and dealers who do not check for blackjack change some plays. Check your table's rules before relying on any chart.
Rules of thumb that hold for both charts
- Always split aces.
- Never split 10s. A pair of 10s is a 20, so stand.
- Never split 5s. Treat them as a hard 10: double down against a dealer 2 through 9, otherwise hit.
- Split 8s against a dealer 2 through 10. Against an ace, split when the dealer stands on soft 17, and surrender (or split if surrender is not offered) when the dealer hits soft 17.
- Always hit hard 5 through 8.
- Double down on hard 11 against a dealer 2 through 10. Against an ace, double down when the dealer hits soft 17, otherwise hit.
- Stand on hard 13 through 16 against a dealer 2 through 6.
- Hard 12 is the odd one: stand against a dealer 4, 5, or 6, and hit against everything else.
- Always stand on hard 18 or more.
- Always stand on soft 20 and soft 21.
- Never stand on soft 17 or less. The ace means one more card cannot bust you.
- Decline insurance. Insurance is a bad bet.
Each line is checked against the verified tables whenever this site is generated.
The hands players get wrong most
Basic strategy questions
What is blackjack basic strategy?
Basic strategy is the play with the best average result for every hand you can be dealt against every card the dealer can show. It uses only your hand and the dealer upcard, which is why it fits on a chart.
Does basic strategy guarantee a win?
No. It picks the best average play, but any single hand can go either way, and the house keeps a small edge. With these rules and perfect basic strategy that edge is roughly 0.5% per hand when the dealer hits soft 17 and 0.3% when the dealer stands. Use strategy to practice and play well, not as a promise of results.
Should I use the dealer hits soft 17 chart or the dealer stands on soft 17 chart?
Use the one that matches the rule at your table. The two charts are the same except for 6 hands, and each page marks them. The soft 17 rule is usually printed on the table or the rules card.
Why does the right play depend on the rules?
The number of decks, the soft 17 rule, whether surrender is offered, whether you can double after splitting, and whether the dealer checks for blackjack all change how strong each hand is. These charts state their rules at the top of every page.
What do hard, soft, and pair mean?
A hard hand has no ace, or an ace that has to count as 1. A soft hand has an ace counted as 11, so one more card cannot bust it. A pair is two cards of the same value, which you may split into two hands.
Does this site track visitors?
The pages on this site add no analytics, no scripts, and no cookies. The Blackjack Trainer app collects no data either, and works offline.