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Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart

Play by the book. The mathematically correct move for every hand against every dealer upcard, adjusted live for your table rules. Reading it perfectly drops the house edge to about 0.5%.

Table rules

Decks
Dealer soft 17
Double after split
Surrender
H HitS StandD Double, else hitDs Double, else standP SplitR Surrender, else hitRs Surrender, else stand

Hard totals

No ace, or ace forced to 1. Your total down the side, dealer upcard across the top.

Hard2345678910A
18+SSSSSSSSSS
17SSSSSSSSSRs
16SSSSSHHRRR
15SSSSSHHHRR
14SSSSSHHHHH
13SSSSSHHHHH
12HHSSSHHHHH
11DDDDDDDDDD
10DDDDDDDDHH
9HDDDDHHHHH
8HHHHHHHHHH
7HHHHHHHHHH
6HHHHHHHHHH
5HHHHHHHHHH

Soft totals

Hands holding an ace counted as 11. These play more aggressively than they look.

Soft2345678910A
A,9SSSSSSSSSS
A,8SSSSDsSSSSS
A,7DsDsDsDsDsSSHHH
A,6HDDDDHHHHH
A,5HHDDDHHHHH
A,4HHDDDHHHHH
A,3HHHDDHHHHH
A,2HHHDDHHHHH

Pairs

Whether to split. 5,5 and 10,10 are never split, they play as a hard 10 / stand.

Pair2345678910A
A,APPPPPPPPPP
10,10SSSSSSSSSS
9,9PPPPPSPPSS
8,8PPPPPPPPPR
7,7PPPPPPHHHH
6,6PPPPPHHHHH
5,5DDDDDDDDHH
4,4HHHPPHHHHH
3,3PPPPPPHHHH
2,2PPPPPPHHHH

Look up your hand

Pick your two cards and the dealer upcard. We will give you the by-the-book play for the rules above.

Pair of 8s vs dealer 10
Split
Split the pair into two hands. Each plays better separately than the combined total.

How basic strategy actually works

What "by the book" actually means

Basic strategy is not a betting system or a hunch. It is the single highest-EV action for each hand, computed across every possible dealer outcome. There is no streak, no gut call, no "due" card. The chart is the math, frozen. Memorize it and you stop leaking edge on close decisions.

It still does not beat the house

Perfect basic strategy gets you to roughly a 0.5% house edge on a good table. Better than almost any other casino game, but still negative. The chart minimizes your losses, it does not flip the game. Only card counting shifts the edge, and casinos watch for it.

Why the rules toggles matter

H17 vs S17, double-after-split, and surrender each move specific cells. A dealer who hits soft 17 costs you about 0.2%. No surrender, no DAS, and 6:5 blackjack payouts all stack against you. Match the toggles to your actual table or the chart lies to you.

Drill it until it is automatic

A chart you have to look up at the table is a chart you will misplay under pressure. Train the moves, then check any specific spot against the EV of every action.

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