Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Table

Blackjack is an all-time card game favorite!

• Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Table Tennis
• Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Tables
• Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Tableau

It’s popular among both online and physical casino gamers for its combination of strategy and chance. They also exist to help you make the best decisions and win you as much money as possible.

By knowing the rules and mastering the basic strategies for blackjack, I’m sure you’ll find yourself getting a hang of it!

With a lot of experience, beating the dealer will soon come easy peasy.

BLACKJACK STRATEGY CHARTS The color-coded strategy chart contains the same information as the black-and-white table except it presents the strategy in the form of a color-coded strategy chart matrix. (The reason is that some players find it easier to learn the basic strategy with a blackjack strategy chart.). The first column in the chart is what card the dealer has showing after the cards have been dealt. The second column of the table shows the dealer's probability of going bust based on each card. The last column shows the advantage the player has and the probability of winning based on the basic strategy theory.

Blackjack Strategy Chart Using Basic Strategy Charts and Cards Blackjack strategy charts help players decide what action to take in any possible situation during a blackjack game. Charts are read with the players hand listed vertically on the left side of the chart with the dealer’s exposed cards variations listed on the top.

Blackjack Basic Strategy

The goal in mind when it comes to strategy for blackjack is to beat the dealer’s hand without going over 21 and to minimize the house edge.

You will however need to put your memory to work and take into heart all the necessary information to increase the probability of winnings.

Also, take note that the strategy also changes slightly depending on some variations to the rules and payout amounts of each table. That’s where a blackjack basic strategy chart comes in handy.

They’re basically cheat sheets you can keep on hand to give you options for best moves in given scenarios. The big advantage of playing blackjack online than in physical blackjack tables is not having to worry if these are forbidden.

Factors to Consider when Implementing Strategy

Blackjack rules often have modifications depending on the casino. To optimize your chances of winning money, identify these rules, and get the blackjack strategy chart variation optimized for them.

Factors that can change the blackjack strategy are:

The Number of Decks Used

The easiest to optimize basic strategy is the single-deck game; however, this also allows for ease in card counting.

Casinos want to reduce players’ chances of winning and increase their house edge. That’s why most games now have 4-8 decks. The most common online variant is a 6 and 8 deck game.

Whether the Dealer Stands on Soft 17

This is important because if a player makes a hand of 17 or better, the best the dealer can do is push.

A dealer that will hit soft 17 increases his chances to make 18 to 21 and win against the players. You should prefer a game that stands on soft 17.

Limitations on Splits and Doubles

Allowing splitting improves your weak hand, and increases your winnings two-fold. Doubling allows you to increase your winning amounts.

The “No Peek” Blackjack Rule

If the dealer pulls an ace from the deck as their up card, they will immediately ask players at the table whether they would like to take insurance.

They will; however, continue to deal cards to all active players, allowing them to make decisions.

The house can take the player’s additional chips for splitting and doubling down, on top of their original bet, before a dealer’s blackjack is announced. This increases the house edge by 0.62%.

Allowable Surrender or Early Surrender

Surrender rules are an advantage for the player, in that you can choose to keep half of your original bet rather than play out your hand and lose the entire thing if you feel you don’t have a shot at winning.

Bonus for Players

Some blackjack games have liberal rules. They have the option for payout bonuses for five or more card 21s, 6–7–8 21s, and 7–7–7 21s. This is advantageous to the player.

Blackjack Payout

Make sure you are paid correctly. Payout affects your strategy to decide whether to double down or not. The most common payout is 1:1. Whatever blind wager the player placed at the beginning of the hand is matched and paid out.

Blackjack Strategy Charts

A blackjack strategy chart is a paper or digital guide that tells you how to play your hand based on the game you’re playing, your hand, and the dealer’s hand.

They’re free and can be easily found in every computer search engine. Brick and mortar casinos give them away, too.

In any given instance, these charts serve as a guide whether you should hit, stand, or double. These will give you the basic strategy you need to reduce the house edge from 6-9% to as low as 0.5%.

With lots of practice, you can definitely maximize your winnings.

These charts also serve as the foundation for card counting techniques. All of your more advanced plays and decisions are just based on them.

What do the Abbreviations on the Blackjack Chart Mean?

These are what the abbreviations mean:

• H = Hit
• S = Stand
• Dh = Double if allowed, otherwise hit.
• Ds = Double if allowed, otherwise stand.
• P = Split
• Ph = Split if double after hit is allowed, otherwise hit.
• Pd = Split if double after hit is allowed, otherwise double.
• Ps = Split if double after hit is allowed, otherwise stand.
• Rh = Surrender if allowed, otherwise hit.
• Rs = Surrender if allowed, otherwise stand.
• Rp = Surrender if allowed, otherwise split.

Be keen. Some charts may have differences in abbreviations. They should be listed on the chart to provide order and guidance, though.

How Do I Read the Charts?

The left-hand side of the chart will be your hand. Take note if your hand is a hard, soft, or a pair. Then find it on the left side of the chart.

The top of the chart is the dealer’s up card. Find that on the chart.

Find where your hand and the dealer’s upcard line intersects. This will give you an abbreviation, which will guide you into the move you need to make.

How do I Memorize Strategy Charts?

This could take a lot of time. This is perhaps one of the reasons why people give up on card counting. There’s got to be a lot of work and time involved if you want to take the game seriously.

Experts recommend using flashcards. You can create a flashcard for every hand or group of hands that you may be dealt with along with a dealer up card. The correct action would be on the backside of your flashcard.

You can start by focusing on one type of hand. Like you can memorize all the plays for when you have a soft 18, or all the plays for when the dealer shows a ten.

Do this until you go through them all. It’s up to you how you wish to build your own system of memorization. What’s important is you remain consistent and practice.

Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart

Here are the charts outlining the basic strategy. They tell you what to do given the value of your hand found on the left, and the card the dealer is showing (right two columns).

Additional Rules

1. If surrendering is allowed, surrender if you have a 16, and a dealer’s up card is a 10. Otherwise hit.
2. If the strategy suggests to double but it is not allowed, then hit. If you get a soft 18, always stand.
3. Never split 4s, 5s, and 10s. Split always your Aces and 8s. This gives you a better hand.
4. Always hit a hard hand of 8. Alternatively, you could go for less than 8 too.
5. Insurance bets are sucker bets. Never take it. It’s far more profitable to risk losing your original wager in the long term than protecting it against a dealer that hits blackjack.
6. Similarly, don’t take even money when you get blackjack. If you’re dealt a blackjack and the dealer is showing an ace, you’ll be offered an even money payout in case the dealer has a blackjack. This instead of more money in the case for example of a 3:2 payout. If you decline and the dealer has blackjack, you’ll push and just get your original bet back anyway.
7. Be keen on side bets too. They rarely offer value.

Blackjack Perfect Strategy Charts

Mastering and following the basic strategy will almost always help you get the right play. However, there are occasions it won’t too.

The perfect blackjack strategy charts depend on slightly different versions of the game.

Blackjack can be played with a single deck or with 4-8 decks. Most casinos nowadays have a dealer deal with one deck or most commonly with six decks.

The other rule to consider is that some casinos require the dealer to stand with a soft 17, and some mandate hitting with a soft 17. it will give you better odds if the dealer has to stand with a soft 17.

Rules to Watch Out

Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Table Tennis

You could actually enjoy a 1% advantage over the house edge with an early surrender option, and other allowable rules if you use the perfect strategy.

There isn’t much standardization for blackjack though. Casinos constantly mix and match rules and payout amounts to create profitability for them, yet remain appealing to players.

Before going into any of the charts, do take note of the following rules below that could possibly tweak the expected return in favor of the casino:

• Blackjack pays 6 to 5, 7 to 5 or even money
• Dealer hits on soft 17
• Player can only double on certain numbers or no doubling at all
• Player can only split to two or three hands or no re-splitting at all
• Doubling after splitting is not allowed
• Seven or more decks used
• House wins in the event of a push

Single Deck Blackjack Charts

The first set of covers what to do if the dealer stands on soft 17. The second set shows the strategy if the dealer expects to hit on a soft 17.

Each includes three charts that are free for you to use. This also depends on whether your hand is hard, soft, or split.

Single Deck, Dealer Stands on Soft 17

Single Deck, Dealer Hits on Hard 17

4- to 8-Deck Blackjack Charts

The most common multi-deck blackjack is a six-deck. The same strategies; however, may be applied for other multi-deck games.

Again, the first set is for a situation wherein the dealer is required to stand on a soft 17. The second set is for a situation wherein the dealer expects to hit on a soft 17. Each set includes three charts for hard, soft, and split hands.

4-8 Decks, Dealer Stands on Soft 17

4-8 Decks, Dealer Hits on Soft 17

Strategy in Text

Perhaps a strategy chart gives you an eyesore. If you’re not a visual learner, fret not. Memorizing these phrases could still help you learn blackjack strategies and play the game better!

Surrender:

• Surrender a hard 16 when the dealer shows a 9, 10 or an ace.
• Surrender a hard 15 when the dealer shows a 10.
• Never surrender a pair of 8s.

Split:

• Always split pairs of aces & 8s.
• Split 2s and 3s if dealer shows a 4-7
• Split 4s if dealer shows a 5-6*
• Split 6s if dealer shows a 3-6 (and 2s*)
• Split 7s if dealer shows a 2-7.
• Split 9s if the dealer shows a 2-6, or 8-9.
• Never split a pair of 5s, or 10’s.

* Only when doubling after splitting is allowed.

Double down on:

• Hard 9 when the dealer has 3-6.
• Hard 10, but not when the dealer shows an ace or 10.
• Hard 11, but not when the dealer shows an ace.
• Soft 13-14 if dealer has 5-6.
• Soft 15-16 if dealer has 4-6.
• Soft 17-18 if dealer has 3-6.

Hit:

• Always hit when you have a hand that is a hard 11 or less.
• Always hit when you have a hand that is a soft 17 or less.
• Hit on a hard 12 if the dealer does not have 4-6.
• Hit on hard 13-16 if the dealer does not have 2-6.
• Hit on a soft 18 unless the dealer shows A, 9, or 10.

Stand:

• Always stand on a hard 12 when the dealer shows 4-6.
• Always stand on hard 13 to 15, when the dealer shows 2-6.
• Always stand on hard 17 or greater.
• Stand on soft 18, otherwise hit when the dealer has 10, 9 or an ace.
• Always stand on soft 19 or greater.

The amount of information we’ve provided could be overwhelming. There’s a lot to remember.

Perhaps starting with learning basic strategy is the best way to go. And when you do feel like moving on from basic strategy, then the perfect blackjack strategy is just waiting for you to get your player’s hands on them!

If you don’t however have much time to learn, I recommend sticking with basic strategy. With basic strategy, you’ll almost always make the right play. If you do encounter a few mistakes, it won’t cost you too much.

Some casinos will allow you to refer to a blackjack strategy chart while you’re playing. You can print them out ahead and refer to them. This is again a big advantage for online gaming.

Some players in a land-based casino might be thrown off. Also, do focus on the charts that are applicable to the game you’ll be playing.

Let’s get started!

By mastering the blackjack strategy and by playing tons of hands, you’ll be drilling them into your head. Just remember that if ever you forget the perfect strategy, you’ll always have a basic strategy to the rescue!

We hope this article has broadened your knowledge on blackjack, and hopefully increased your chances of winning hands. For any questions, feel free to contact us right here on njnodeposit.com.

Each decision you make while playing blackjack has a positive or negative
impact on your potential profit or loss. Every situation you have while playing
has a single best way to play.

Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Tables

If you make the correct play it either makes you the most money in the long
run or loses the least amount of money in the long run. This is called basic
strategy.

Some hands lose money in the long run and some win in the long run, so your
job is to make the best possible play to maximize the wins and minimize the
losses.

When you read about the expected house edge in blackjack games based on the
rules the percentages are based on perfect basic strategy. If you don’t use the
proper strategy you give the house a higher edge against you. This can add an
extra one or two percent to the house edge, depending on how far from the proper
strategy you stray.

You can usually find blackjack games with rules that offer a house edge of
less than 1%, and can often find games with a house edge under a half percent.
If you don’t use basic strategy you can be playing with a house edge of 1.5% to
3% instead of a half percent.

This quickly adds up.

If your average bet is $100 and you play 100 hands per hour and you give the
casino and extra 1% you lose an extra $100 per hour. By giving them an extra 2%
it’s $200 per hour.

If you want to play blackjack the first thing you need to do is decide to
always make the best possible play.

You probably realize that there are hundreds of hands when you combine all of
the possible hands you can have with the different up cards the dealer can have.

The good news is that by using a simple chart you can quickly find the best
play. And you can use a strategy chart or card at the table while playing in a
live casino or when playing online.

If you play in a live casino some of the other players may try to pressure
you if you take too long to make a decision. But it’s none of their business and
you can play any way you want as long as you don’t hold up the game too long.

If you’re worried about holding up the game sit in the middle of the table or
to the dealer’s right hand side so you have longer before you have to act. This
gives you more time to consult your strategy chart before being force to make a
decision.

You don’t even need to memorize the best plays.

But with a little effort and time you can quickly memorize the most common
plays and in time memorize all of the best plays.

The next section has a chart and the following section has the hand by hand
explanations. Then you’ll find a section explaining a few ways to start
memorizing all of the plays.

Basic Strategy Chart

This is the most universal basic strategy chart and can be used in all
blackjack games with any rule combinations. A few small adjustments can be made
against certain rules combinations, but it becomes complicated to memorize
multiple charts. We’ve included a short section later explaining these
adjustments for the dedicated player.

The dealer’s up card is listed across the top. Your cards are listed down the
first column to the left. Simply go down the left column until you find your
cards and then go across to the column with the dealer’s card to find the best
play.

The key for each play is as follows:

• Hit – Hit
• Stand – Stand
• DblH – Double
• DblS – Double if permitted, otherwise stand
• Split – Split
• SplitD – Split if double after split is permitted, otherwise hit
• SUR – Surrender if permitted, otherwise hit

Expand | Shrink

Text Version and Vision Impaired

Many players use the chart listed above but a few players prefer to read the
correct plays. Having the correct plays written out also is valuable to people
who have vision problems and use software to hear what’s on the page.

We’ve listed the proper plays for each situation below in four sections.
Simply find the section that describes your hand and follow the instructions.

Hands with an Ace or Soft Hands

Any starting hand you hold with an ace is called a soft hand. A soft hand is
when you have an ace that can be used as a one or 11. In the following
combinations, if you have more than two cards, simply add the cards that aren’t
an ace.

This can happen when you start with an ace and a different side card and hit.
Starting with an ace two and receiving a four after hitting leaves you with ace
two four. Looking at the chart you look at the line for a soft 17. Using the
list below you look at the one for ace six because the two and four add up to
six.

• Ace ace – Always split a pair of aces. Split aces as many times as allowed.
• Ace two or soft 13 – You always hit with a soft 13 and double if allowed
  against a dealer five or six.
• Ace three or soft 14 – Always hit and double against a five or six if
  allowed.
• Ace four or soft 15 – You always hit with a soft 15 and double if allowed
  against a dealer four, five, or six.
• Ace five or soft 16 – Always hit and double against a four, five, and six if
  allowed.
• Ace six or soft 17 – Double against a three, four, five, and six if allowed
  and otherwise hit.
• Ace seven or soft 18 – Stand against a dealer two, seven, and eight, hit
  against a nine, 10, or ace, and double if allowed against three, four, five, or
  six.
• Ace eight or soft 19 – Stand at all times.
• Ace nine or soft 20 – Always stand.
• Ace 10 – Blackjack! Always stand.

Pairs

Whenever you have a pair for your first two cards you need to decide if you
should split.

• Two two – Split against a dealer four, five, six, and seven, hit against a
  dealer eight, nine, 10, and ace, and against a dealer two or three split if you
  can double after split and hit if double after split isn’t allowed.
• Three three – Play your hand exactly the same as two two. If double after
  split is allowed split against a dealer two or three, otherwise hit against
  these two cards. Hit against a dealer eight, nine, 10, and ace, and split
  against a dealer four, five, sis, and seven.
• Four four – When double after split is allowed split against a dealer five
  and six, otherwise hit. Hit against all other dealer cards.
• Five five – Never split fives. Hit against a dealer 10 or ace and double
  against all other dealer cards if allowed.
• Six six – Hit against a dealer seven, eight, nine, 10, and ace. Split against
  a dealer three, four, five, and six. Split against a dealer two if double after
  split is allowed, otherwise hit.
• Seven seven – Split against a dealer two, three, four, five, six, and seven.
  Hit against a dealer eight, nine, 10, and ace.
• Eight eight – Always split eights.
• Nine nine – Split against a dealer two, three, four, five, six, eight, and
  nine. Stand against a dealer seven, 10, and ace.
• Ten ten – Always stand with a total of 20.
• Ace ace – Aces should always be split. If you receive another ace on one of
  your split aces you should split again. Do this as many times as possible.

Hard Totals

A hard total is any hand that doesn’t have an ace where you can use it as a
one or 11. In any two card starting hand you can use an ace as either one or 11,
but after you hit one or more times you can reach a total where the ace can’t be
used as an 11 without busting. When this happens you hold a hard hand.

• Hard four – The only hard four is a pair of twos. This is covered in the two
  two line under pairs. If splitting isn’t allowed then always hit with a hard
  four.
• Hard five – Always hit with hard five.
• Hard six – Hit against all dealer cards with a hard six.
• Hard seven – Always hit with a hard seven.
• Hard eight – Hit against all dealer totals with hard eight.
• Hard nine – If double is allowed, double against a dealer three, four, five,
  or six, otherwise hit. Hit against all other dealer cards.
• Hard 10 – When double is allowed, double against a dealer two, three, four,
  five, six, seven, eight, and nine, otherwise hit. Hit against a dealer 10 and
  ace.
• Hard 11 – Double against any dealer car except an ace if doubling is
  permitted, otherwise hit. Hit against a dealer ace.
• Hard 12 – Stand against a dealer four, five, and six. Hit against all other
  dealer cards.
• Hard 13 – Stand against a dealer two, three, four, five, and six. Hit against
  a dealer seven, eight, nine, 10, and ace.
• Hard 14 – Stand against a dealer two, three, four, five, or six and hit
  against seven or higher.
• Hard 15 – Against a dealer two, three, four, five, and six you should stand.
  Against a dealer seven, eight, nine, 10, and ace you should hit.
• Hard 16 – Stand against a dealer total of two, three, four, five, and six.
  Hit against all other dealer totals.
• Hard 17 – Stand against all dealer hands.
• Hard 18 – Always stand with a hard 18.
• Hard 19 – Stand against all dealer hands.
• Hard 20 – Always stand with a hard 20.
• Hard 21 – Stand against all dealer totals.

Surrender

If surrender is allowed you should surrender with a hard 15 against a dealer
10 and with a hard 16 against a dealer nine, 10, or ace. If surrender isn’t
allowed then hit in these four situations.

Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Tableau

Adjustments for Different Rules

The chart and instructions above are designed for a game where the dealer
stands on a soft 17. If you play in a game where the dealer hits on a soft 17
you can make the following adjustments.

As we mentioned above, it can be complicated to keep two different charts
straight in your mind so learning the first chart is best. However, there are
only six hands that change so it’s possible to learn and use the differences.

Split hands

Instead of splitting eight eight against a dealer ace,
surrender if allowed, otherwise split.

Soft hands

With a soft 18 against a dealer two and with a soft 19 against a
dealer six double if allowed, otherwise stand.

Hard hands

With a hard 11 against a dealer ace double if allowed, hit
otherwise. With a hard 15 against a dealer ace surrender if permitted, otherwise
hit. With a hard 17 against a dealer ace, surrender if permitted and otherwise
stand.

Insurance or Even Money

Notice that there’s not a single hand that recommends taking insurance or
even money. This is because taking insurance is always a losing proposition.

When the dealer has an ace showing you have the option of making another bet
equal to the size of your first bet that pays two to one if the dealer has a 10
hole card. If you take insurance and the dealer has a 21 you lose your first bet
but get double on your second so you break even.

But when the dealer doesn’t have 21 you lose the insurance bet and your first
bet plays out as normal.

On the surface this may seem like a good bet, but a simple look at the math
behind the bet shows why you should never take insurance.

When the dealer has an ace showing she has a blackjack any time a 10, jack,
queen, or king is her down card. This means four of the 13 possible cards pay
off on the insurance bet.

But this also means that the other nine cards, two through nine and ace, make
you lose the insurance bet. This is a ratio of nine to four, with nine losing
cards and four winning cards. But the bet only pays two to one.

The odds of nine to four is worse than two to one, so it’s a losing bet.

Forget your normal hand because it doesn’t have anything to do with the
insurance offer. Insurance is just a bet on what the dealer has as a down card.
And since it’s offered at bad odds you can now see that it should be avoided.

This is just another way the casinos try to be sneaky and build a bigger long
term edge against you.

How to Memorize Basic Strategy

The easiest way to start memorizing basic strategy is to use the chart
provided above to make every playing decision. As you play you’ll start
recognizing the correct play for most hands before checking your chart.

Sign up for a free account at one of our recommended online casinos and start
playing the free blackjack games. You can play over 100 hands per hour in most
cases so you can get a great deal of practice in a short amount of time.

Eventually you’ll only need to check your chart on the most difficult plays
and if you play long enough all of the plays will come from memory.

The other way is more difficult for most players, but if you have a strong
mind for memory you can simply start memorizing the chart.

A quick tip is to group similar hands together.

All of the hard hands totaling four, five, six, seven, and eight are played
the same way. On all of these hands you always hit. If you’re playing a game
where doubling isn’t allowed, you can add all of the hard totals of nine, 10 and
11 to this. As a side note, you should avoid games where doubling isn’t allowed
as they have a higher house edge.

Other easy to learn hands include:

• Always split aces and eights.
• Soft 13 and 14 are played the same.
• Soft 15 and 16 are played the same.
• Soft 17 only has one dealer card played differently than soft 15 and 16.
• Hard 13, 14, 15, and 16 are played the same unless surrender is allowed.
• Hard 10 and 11 are the same except for one dealer card.
• Two two and three three are played the same.
• All of the hard totals 17 and above are played the same.
• All of the soft totals of 19 and above are played the same.

The majority of hands are hard hands and the complete hard hand strategy is
fairly simple. Memorize it first and you’ll find that you won’t need to refer to
the chart often.

The next chart to memorize after you’ve mastered the hard hands is the soft
hands. Most of them are straightforward as well, with the main changes of
knowing when to double down.

Once you have the hard and soft hands memorized the splits will come easy to
finish out your mental chart. You only need to learn the split rules for twos,
threes, fours, sixes, sevens, and nines.

The main thing is to not be afraid that you can’t learn the chart and to get
started right away. Almost anyone can improve their results and reduce the house
edge with a small amount of effort and time.

Card Counting

If you learn how to count cards you can play with a small edge against the
house while playing blackjack. This page is about basic strategy so we aren’t
going to dig into the realm of card counting, but it does have quite a bit to do
with basic strategy.

Card counters learn perfect basic strategy before they start trying to learn
about counting. If you can’t put in the work to learn perfect strategy you have
no hope of being a successful card counter.

Once you master basic blackjack strategy then you should investigate card
counting to see if it’s something you might want to learn. Counting cards online
won’t get you an edge because the software shuffles the cards after each deal,
but if you play live it might be able to help you win or at least play a break
even game.

Conclusion

Learning and using blackjack basic strategy gives you the best chance to win.
It reduces the house edge as much as possible and helps you have more winning
playing sessions.

Most players don’t take the time to learn basic strategy, but if you use the
information above you can quickly start using the best play for every situation.
Use the tips in the how to memorize basic strategy section and you’ll be a
master in no time.

And don’t forget to use the chart provided as you’re learning. Once you get
used to it you can find the proper play in a second or two.