Blackjack Basics Before the Chart
You sit down, the dealer turns one card face up and you have a few seconds before the table expects your move. That is the moment a plan helps most, and basic blackjack strategy is that plan. The aim is to get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over, with cards two to ten at face value, picture cards at ten and an ace at one or eleven.
Each round starts with your stake. You and the dealer are dealt cards, and the dealer shows one of theirs. You only need to beat the dealer, so the other players at the table do not compete with you. A natural blackjack, an ace with a ten-value card on your first two cards, usually pays 3 to 2.
| Move | What it does | When it is open |
|---|---|---|
| Hit | Takes another card | Until you stand or bust |
| Stand | Keeps your total | At any point |
| Double down | Doubles the stake for one more card | Usually on your first two cards |
| Split | Turns a pair into two hands with a second stake | When you hold a pair |
| Surrender | Gives up the hand for half the stake | Only where the table offers it |
Rules differ by table, so the table’s rule card or the game’s help page shows which chart fits. Dealer behaviour on a soft 17, the payout for a natural and the doubling rules decide which chart fits. The generator at the top of this page lets you set those rules and redraws the chart to match.
How to Read a Blackjack Strategy Chart
Your hand is 12 and the dealer shows a 4. Do you hit or stand? A chart answers that for each combination, because the best move depends on your total and on the one dealer card you can see.
The chart reads in two steps. Your hand sits down the left side and the dealer’s up-card sits across the top. The letter in the cell where they meet is the move, so your row, then the dealer column gives the answer.
The chart on this page is calculated from the rules you pick, not copied from a poster. Change the dealer’s soft 17 rule or the number of decks and the cells that move are redrawn. You can save the result as an image and keep it beside your screen while you practise.
| Dealer’s rule | Effect on the chart |
|---|---|
| Stands on soft 17 | Fewer doubles on 11 and soft hands |
| Hits soft 17 | A few extra doubles and surrenders |
| Letter | Move | Example |
|---|---|---|
| H | Hit | 12 against a dealer 7 |
| S | Stand | Hard 17 against any dealer card |
| D | Double, otherwise hit | 11 against a dealer 6 |
| Ds | Double, otherwise stand | Soft 18 against a dealer 6 |
| P | Split | 8 and 8 against a dealer 10 |
Why does the chart say what it says? Each cell holds the move with the lowest expected loss for that exact spot, worked out from each card that can come next. A move can feel wrong and still be right. Standing on 12 against a dealer 4 feels timid, yet the dealer busts often enough to make it the better play.
Hard Hands, Soft Hands and Pairs
Basic blackjack strategy starts with two hand types. A hard hand has no ace, or an ace that must count as one. A soft hand holds an ace counted as eleven, so a hit cannot bust it. Ace and six is soft 17, which is why you hit it where you would stand on a hard 17.
| Hard hand | Usual play | Exception |
|---|---|---|
| 17 or more | Stand | None |
| 13 to 16 | Stand against a dealer 2 to 6, hit against 7 to ace | Surrender 16 against a 9, 10 or ace, and 15 against a 10, where allowed |
| 12 | Stand against a dealer 4 to 6, hit otherwise | None |
| 11 | Double against a dealer 2 to 10 | The ace depends on the soft 17 rule |
| 10 | Double against a dealer 2 to 9 | Hit against a 10 or ace |
| 9 | Double against a dealer 3 to 6 | Hit otherwise |
| 8 or less | Hit | None |
Soft hands give more room because the next card cannot bust them. Soft 13 and 14 double against a dealer 5 or 6, soft 15 and 16 double against a 4 to 6, soft 17 doubles against a 3 to 6, and otherwise each is hit. Soft 18 stands against a 7 or 8, hits against a 9, 10 or ace, and doubles against weak cards in the middle, while soft 19 and 20 stand.
Pairs follow their own pattern. You split aces and eights each time, since a pair of aces gives two strong starts and a pair of eights escapes the weak total of 16. Two tens already make 20, and a pair of fives plays better as a 10 for doubling, so neither is split.
| Pair | Play |
|---|---|
| Aces and eights | Split |
| Tens and fives | Do not split |
| 2s, 3s and 7s | Split against a dealer 2 to 7 |
| 6s | Split against a dealer 2 to 6 |
| 9s | Split except against a 7, 10 or ace |
| 4s | Split only against a 5 or 6, when doubling after a split is allowed |
Table Rules That Change the Chart
Two tables can look alike and play differently. A table where the dealer stands on a soft 17 is better for you than one where the dealer hits it, and a table that pays 6 to 5 for a natural is far worse than one that pays 3 to 2. The rules deserve a check before sitting down, because they move the house edge more than any single play does, and blackjack strategy for your table rules is the chart that matches them.
Five rule sets are compared in the next table, worked out for this site with basic strategy and a six-deck shoe. House edge is the average share of each stake the casino keeps over a long run, so a figure near 0.5% means about £5 in each £1,000 staked. Return to player is 100% minus that figure.
| Table rules | Blackjack pays | House edge | Expected loss per £1,000 staked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, double any two cards | 3 to 2 | 0.51% | £5.09 |
| Same rules plus late surrender | 3 to 2 | 0.42% | £4.24 |
| Dealer hits soft 17, double after split, double any two cards | 3 to 2 | 0.73% | £7.29 |
| Dealer stands on soft 17, no double after split, double on 10 and 11 only | 3 to 2 | 0.81% | £8.10 |
| Dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, but blackjack pays 6 to 5 | 6 to 5 | 1.86% | £18.62 |
Two lines in that table matter most. Moving the natural from 3 to 2 down to 6 to 5 lifts the edge from about 0.5% to about 1.9%, which is more than three times the cost per hand. Late surrender trims the edge a little, but only where the table offers it.
Deck count matters less than the rules above, though it still shifts a few plays. Fewer decks help you slightly. The practical order is to pick the table with the best natural payout first, then the dealer’s soft 17 rule, then the deck count.
Blackjack Odds, Insurance and Side Bets
The dealer shows an ace and offers insurance. It pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack, which sounds like protection. It is a separate bet, and it loses money over time, because the dealer holds a ten-value card under the ace less than one time in three.
| Offer | Pays | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance | 2 to 1 | Costs money over time |
| Even money | 1 to 1 on your natural | The same bet in disguise |
| Side bets | Varies by game | Usually a higher edge than the main hand |
Even money is insurance with a different name. When you hold a blackjack and the dealer shows an ace, it pays 1 to 1 at once instead of risking 3 to 2 on the dealer having no blackjack. The chart says to decline insurance and even money when they are offered.
Side bets such as pairs or 21+3 are separate games with their own edge, and basic strategy does not touch them. They are extra stakes that count in the bankroll, and a plain main hand is the simpler and cheaper way to play.
Betting Systems and Card Counting
A system that raises the stake after a loss promises a way around the house edge. The Martingale doubles after each loss so that one win recovers the lot. The catch is that losing runs happen, the stake grows fast, and table limits stop the doubling before the bankroll does.
| System | Idea | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Martingale | Double after a loss | Stakes outgrow the limit or the bankroll |
| Paroli | Double after a win | One loss wipes out the streak |
| Flat betting | Same stake on each hand | Slow, but easy to budget |
None of these changes the house edge, because each hand is independent of the last. They change only how the swings look. Flat stakes keep losses predictable, and you can test a stake size with the bankroll calculator.
Card counting tracks the mix of high and low cards left in the shoe. It is generally not treated as cheating, but a casino can ask you to stop or leave. Online random-number tables deal from a fresh deck each hand, so there is nothing to count, and the chart is the tool you can use.
Practise With the Strategy Coach
Knowing the chart and playing it under pressure are different skills. The Practise tab at the top of this page deals a hand and shows the dealer’s card. You choose a move, and the coach tells you whether blackjack strategy for your table rules agrees.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Set the rules to match the table you plan to play |
| 2 | Play 15 hands in the coach |
| 3 | Look at the cells you missed on the chart |
| 4 | Repeat on another day |
The coach uses six decks, a dealer who stands on soft 17 and double after split, so it matches the first rule set in the house edge table above. No stake is involved, so a wrong answer costs nothing. With practice the chart feels automatic, and the saved image can stay beside the screen.
A short session works better than a long one. Ten or fifteen hands, then a look at the misses, builds the habit faster than an hour of guessing.
Playing Within Limits at the Table
A chart lowers the cost of each hand but cannot remove it, because the house edge stays in front of you. A session gets a fixed amount of money and time before play begins, and those limits can be made real in the account.
The blackjack strategy chart at the top of this page cuts the cost of each hand, and the limits below cap the rest.
| Tool | What it does | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit limit | Caps money paid in per day, week or month | Account settings or the cashier |
| Time-out | Pauses your account for a break you choose | Account settings |
| GamStop | Self-excludes you from all UK licensed sites | gamstop.co.uk |
If gambling stops being fun, stop and speak to GambleAware, which offers free, confidential support. The responsible gambling page has the self-test and the helplines.
A session amount and a usual bet entered in the bankroll calculator show what the session can cost before the first hand.