Basic Blackjack Strategy: Complete Guide with Charts

Basic blackjack strategy is the mathematically optimal way to play every hand against every dealer upcard. Applied correctly, it cuts the house edge to around 0.5% in standard games, against more than 2% for players relying on guesswork.

Below you’ll find the three core charts (hard totals, soft totals, and pairs), followed by section-by-section breakdowns of each decision type and the situations that call for each move.

The blackjack strategy chart maps your hand against the dealer’s upcard and tells you the correct action. Three charts cover every scenario: hard totals (no usable Ace), soft totals (Ace counted as 11), and pairs.

Use the color key to scan quickly: green = Stand or Split, yellow = Double, red = Hit, blue = Surrender.

Use this chart for any hand without an Ace, or where the Ace must count as 1. These are the most common decisions you’ll face at the table.

Soft hands open up more aggressive play because the Ace can drop to 1 if the next card would otherwise bust you. Doubling becomes profitable in spots where you’d normally hit.

When your first two cards match, you have the option to split. The decision depends on the pair and the dealer’s upcard, with a few situational calls hinging on whether double after split (DAS) is permitted.

These charts assume a standard multi-deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17. Variant rules can shift a handful of decisions, which is covered later in the page.

Reading the chart is straightforward once you know the format. Find your hand in the left column, find the dealer’s upcard along the top, and follow the row to the intersecting cell. Any unfamiliar abbreviations or table terms are defined in the blackjack glossary.

Worked example: you hold an 11 and the dealer shows a 6. Look up "11" on the hard totals chart, scan across to the "6" column, and the cell reads "D". Double down. The dealer’s 6 is a weak upcard with a high bust probability, and 11 is the strongest hand to double on because any 10-value card gives you 21.

The same logic applies to soft hands and pairs. Hold Ace-7 against a dealer 3, and the soft totals chart tells you to double. Hold a pair of 8s against a dealer 10, and the pairs chart tells you to split, even though splitting feels uncomfortable in that spot.

Hard hands are any totals without a usable Ace, or where the Ace must count as 1 to avoid a bust. They make up most of the decisions you’ll face.

• Hard 8 and below: Always hit. You can’t bust, and any improvement helps.
• Hard 9: Double against dealer 3 through 6. Hit otherwise. The dealer’s weak upcards make doubling profitable, but against a 7 or higher you don’t have enough equity.
• Hard 10 and 11: These are your primary doubling hands. Double against almost every dealer upcard. Shackleford’s rule of thumb on doubling.

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Doubling is best with a 10 or 11, and especially against a weaker dealer card. There are also some situations where you’d double with a 9 or a soft total against a weak dealer card, but the main time you double is with 10 or 11.”

Michael Shackleford

Mathematician & Gaming Consultant

• Hard 12 to 16: The stiff zone. These hands are likely losers no matter what, but the play depends on the dealer’s upcard. Stand when the dealer shows 4, 5, or 6, the upcards most likely to bust. Hit against 7 or higher because the dealer is more likely to make a strong total. Hard 12 against a 2 or 3 is the one exception, where hitting is correct.
• Hard 17 and above: Always stand. The risk of busting outweighs the small chance of improving.

Soft hands include an Ace counted as 11. Because the Ace can drop to 1 if needed, you can’t bust on the next card, which opens up more aggressive play.

• Soft 13 to 15 (Ace-2 to Ace-4): Hit in most cases. Double against dealer 4, 5, or 6 when holding soft 15, and against 5 and 6 with soft 13 or 14.
• Soft 16 and 17 (Ace-5, Ace-6): Hit or double depending on the dealer. Soft 17 doubles against 3 through 6. Soft 16 doubles against 4 through 6.
• Soft 18 (Ace-7): The most misplayed hand in blackjack. Stand against dealer 2, 7, or 8. Double against 3 through 6. Hit against 9, 10, or Ace. Standing against a 9 or 10 looks reasonable but is a long-term loser, because 18 won’t beat the dealer’s likely total of 19 or 20.
• Soft 19 and 20: Always stand. These are already winning hands.

When your first two cards match, you can split them into two separate hands with a second bet. The right call depends heavily on the pair and the dealer’s upcard.

• Always split: Aces and 8s. No exceptions. Two Aces give you two hands starting with the strongest single card in the deck. Two 8s as a single hand is a 16, statistically one of the worst totals you can hold.
• Never split: 10s and 5s. A pair of 10s is a 20, the second-best hand in the game. Splitting it trades a near-certain winner for two hands that might lose. A pair of 5s is a hard 10, which you should treat as a doubling opportunity, not two weak starting hands.
• Situational splits: 2s, 3s, 6s, 7s, and 9s depend on the dealer’s upcard and whether double after split (DAS) is permitted. The pairs chart covers each scenario.

Shackleford’s example on splitting 8s captures the underlying logic well. Players resist splitting 8s against a dealer 10 because, as he explains, the eight looks like a loser against a strong upcard:

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An eight’s chances against a ten are weak, so why should they pay more money to enter this battle? It’s because the hand of 16 is also terrible, and the player stands to lose more by hitting or standing than splitting.

Michael Shackleford

Mathematician & Gaming Consultant

Surrender lets you fold a bad hand and reclaim half your stake. It’s not offered at every table, but where available, it’s the correct play in a small set of clear-cut spots. Shackleford’s breakdown of when surrender applies:

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The player should definitely surrender if he has a total of 16 against a 10 if he’s allowed to. Other situations vary, based on whether the dealer is allowed to stand on a soft 17. But some situations where you might surrender are 16 against a 9, 16 against an Ace, 17 against an Ace, and 15 against a 10.

Michael Shackleford

Mathematician & Gaming Consultant 

Outside those specific hands, surrender is usually the wrong play and gives back equity to the house.

Insurance is offered when the dealer shows an Ace. It’s a side bet that the dealer holds a 10-value card in the hole, paying 2:1 if correct.

The math is brutal. Shackleford’s verdict on insurance and even-money bets:

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Never. Absolutely never, unless you’re a card counter. And that includes even money on a blackjack. Say no to that because it’s the same thing as taking insurance, which is a lousy bet and has a house advantage of 7.7%

Michael Shackleford

Mathematician & Gaming Consultant

Skip it every time.

Most money lost at the blackjack table doesn’t come from cold cards. It comes from a small set of repeatable errors. Spot these in your own play and the leaks close fast.

• Splitting 10s: A pair of 10s is a 20, statistically the second-strongest hand in the game. Players split it because the dealer looks weak, but you’re trading a near-certain winner for two hands that may both lose. Stand every time.
• Taking insurance: The bet has a house edge of 7.7% by Shackleford’s numbers, so it bleeds money over any serious sample size. Even with a strong hand and a dealer Ace showing, the maths doesn’t support it. Decline always.
• Standing on soft 18 against 9, 10, or Ace: Soft 18 looks like a winner but it isn’t enough against the dealer’s likely 19 or 20. Hit and rebuild. The Ace’s flexibility means there’s no bust risk on the next card.
• Failing to double on 11: Doubling 11 is one of the most profitable plays in the game against any dealer upcard except an Ace. Players who flat-hit out of caution leave money on the table on every one of these hands.
• Mimicking the dealer: Hitting everything below 17 and standing on 17 or higher feels safe but ignores doubling, splitting, and surrender entirely. The strategy gives back about 5.5% to the house compared to optimal play.
• Playing 6:5 tables: A natural blackjack should pay 3:2. The 6:5 payout adds roughly 1.4% to the house edge, which dwarfs anything you can claw back through good play. Walk past these tables.

The charts above assume standard rules. A few common variations shift the maths and require small adjustments.

• Number of decks: More decks slightly favour the house. The change shifts a few borderline plays, particularly around doubling soft hands. Single-deck and double-deck games each have their own optimal charts with subtle adjustments to doubling and splitting decisions.

• Soft 17 rule (H17 vs S17): When the dealer hits soft 17 instead of standing, the house edge rises by roughly 0.2%. Several plays change too, including doubling 11 against an Ace and surrendering 15 against an Ace.

• Double after split (DAS): When DAS is allowed, more pair splits become profitable, particularly the lower pairs against weak dealer upcards. The pairs chart marks these with Y/N.

• 6:5 vs 3:2 payout on naturals: A 6:5 payout on a natural blackjack increases the house edge by roughly 1.4%. That swamps any advantage from optimal strategy. Always confirm a table pays 3:2 before sitting down.

The fastest way to memorise the chart is to practice. Free play modes let you run hundreds of hands with the chart open beside you, with no money on the line, before applying the chart at a real-money table.

If any of the strategy decisions don’t make sense yet, the underlying rules and game flow are worth a refresher. Strategy is a layer that sits on top of those mechanics.