Blackjack basic strategy
Choose the table rules to see the best play for every hand against the dealer’s card and how much the house wins in the long run.
Calculating…
Calculated exactly for a hand from a full shoe. The remaining composition of the shoe after earlier hands is not taken into account.
How it works
Basic strategy is the play with the best expected value for each hand against the dealer’s up card, without counting cards. The chart is calculated exactly for the rules you choose: every possible sequence of dealer cards is worked through with the cards already on the table removed from the shoe.
Read it with your total on the left and the dealer’s card along the top. Soft hands contain an ace counted as 11, and the pairs apply when you are dealt two cards of the same value and may split.
Even with perfect basic strategy the house has an edge, because you act first and lose when you bust even if the dealer busts too. With six decks, dealer standing on soft 17 and doubling after splits the edge is about 0.4%, or 40p per £100 wagered.
The rules matter. Blackjack paying 6:5 instead of 3:2 adds about 1.4 percentage points to the house edge, more than all the other rules together. The dealer hitting soft 17 costs about 0.2 points.
The chart is total-dependent, like printed strategy cards: the same decision for the same total whatever cards make it up. The house edge has been compared with published values and is within 0.01 percentage points for four to eight decks.
Gambling always involves risk, and no strategy overturns the house edge. Play in moderation.