Blackjack basic strategy: charts and guide

What is basic strategy?

Basic strategy is the set of decisions (hit, stand, double, split, surrender) that gives the lowest house edge over the long run. It was worked out by computer simulation of millions of hands and depends only on your hand and the dealer's visible card, not on previous hands.

Played perfectly in a multi-deck game with good rules, it brings the house edge down to about 0.5%. It does not make you win every hand: it minimises losses, and it is the starting point for card counting.

How to read the charts

Find the row with your hand and the column with the dealer's upcard: the cell shows the recommended move. The column marked A is the dealer's ace.

Check the charts in this order:

• Surrender: if your first two cards appear in the surrender chart and the table allows it, surrender.
• Pairs: if you hold a pair, look at the pair splitting chart first.
• Soft totals: a hand with an ace counted as 11 (for example A,6) uses the soft chart.
• Hard totals: every other hand uses the hard chart.

Basic strategy charts

Charts for games with 4 to 8 decks, dealer peeking for blackjack, double after split allowed and late surrender. Choose the variant used at your table: S17 (the dealer stands on soft 17) or H17 (the dealer hits soft 17).

S17 or H17: what changes?

When the dealer hits soft 17 (H17) the house edge rises by about 0.2%, and a few decisions change to take advantage of the dealer's higher risk of busting:

Every other decision stays the same. Check the table rules, usually printed on the felt, before choosing the chart.

• Double 11 against an ace (with S17 you only hit).
• Double soft 19 (A,8) against a 6 (with S17 you stand).
• Surrender 15 and 17 against an ace, on top of the S17 surrenders.

When should you surrender?

Late surrender lets you give up half your bet after the dealer has checked for blackjack, and only as your first decision. With S17 surrender 16 against 9, 10 or an ace and 15 against a 10; with H17 also 15 and 17 against an ace.

Surrender is a defensive move: it feels like a loss, but in these spots you lose less on average than by playing the hand out.

Common mistakes to avoid

These are the errors that cost players the most over time:

• Standing on 12 to 16 against a dealer 7 or higher: the dealer is likely to make a strong hand, so you hit.
• Splitting tens or not splitting eights: always split aces and eights, never split tens or fives.
• Not doubling soft hands such as A,7 against a dealer 2 to 6.
• Taking insurance: it is a side bet with its own house edge, and basic strategy never takes it.
• Changing moves on a hunch or because of the last few hands: each decision depends only on the cards in front of you.

How to practise

Reading the charts is not enough: you need to recognise each situation instantly. In the free simulator you can turn on the coach: in Advice mode it shows the best move during the hand, in Coach mode it checks your decisions and keeps score.

Table rules (S17 or H17, double after split, surrender, number of decks) are configurable, so you can practise with the same rules as your table.