Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart

How to read the chart

1. Choose the table rules above. The chart changes to match them. If you don't know, leave it on dealer stands on soft 17, no surrender, double after split.
2. Find the dealer's face-up card in the top row.
3. Find your hand down the left side: hard totals if you have no ace, soft totals if you have an ace counted as 11, pairs if your first two cards match.
4. Where the row and column meet is the best move. Letters are explained in the key under the chart.

Use it as the same chart each time. Basic strategy only works if you stick to it for every hand, including the ones that feel wrong.

The rules to remember

• Always split aces and 8s. Two aces are strong starts, and 16 is the worst total in the game. (The one exception: if surrender is allowed and the dealer hits soft 17, surrender 8s against an ace.)
• Never split 10s, and never split 5s. 20 is too good to break up, and a pair of 5s is a strong 10 to double.
• Always stand on hard 17 or more. (The one exception: if surrender is allowed and the dealer hits soft 17, surrender hard 17 against an ace.)
• Stand on 12 to 16 against a dealer 2 to 6 (except 12 against 2 and 3, where you hit). The dealer is likely to bust.
• Hit 12 to 16 against a dealer 7 to ace. The dealer probably has a strong hand. Surrender some of these if allowed.
• Double 11 against anything up to 10 (and against an ace if the dealer hits soft 17), and 10 against a dealer 2 to 9.
• Never take insurance. It is a bad bet however the hand looks.

What the chart assumes

This is the standard chart for games with four to eight decks where the dealer checks for blackjack before the players act. In games where the dealer does not check first, a few plays against a 10 or an ace are slightly different. It follows the late surrender rule when you choose to allow it. It is a total-based chart, so it gives the same advice for every hand of the same type and total, whichever cards make it.

Single-deck and double-deck games have a few small differences, and blackjack games that pay less than 3 to 2 for a natural have a much bigger house edge that no strategy can fix.

Learn it faster

Reading a chart is one thing, knowing it at the table is another. Use the strategy trainer to get random hands and see straight away whether your move matches the chart, or look up any hand in the blackjack calculator.

Guides for the trickiest parts: 16 against 10, soft hands, splitting pairs, surrender and the dealer soft 17 rule.