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Blackjack basic strategy charts

Basic strategy is the best way to play each hand using only your total and the dealer’s up card. Both the chart and the house edge depend on the table’s rules, so we computed them exactly for the 26 games casinos deal most. The best is Single-Deck S17 No DAS (-0.002%, a hair in the player’s favor); the best shoe game is 6-Deck S17 DAS RSA Late Surrender (0.265%). The most common Las Vegas game, 6-Deck H17 DAS Late Surrender, is 0.530%. The worst are the 6:5 games: 8-Deck H17 DAS 6:5 costs 2.005%, 3.1 times as much as the same table paying 3:2.

Practice these rulesHouse edge

House edge of every rule set

Pick your table’s rules to narrow the list. Games run from the best for you to the worst, and each one links to its full chart.

RulesHouse edgePerfect play
1Single-Deck S17 No DASSingle-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, no double after split-0.002%-0.041%
2Single-Deck H17 DASSingle-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split0.046%0.010%
3Single-Deck H17 No DASSingle-deck, dealer hits soft 17, no double after split0.189%0.153%
4Double-Deck S17 DASDouble-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split0.194%0.180%
56-Deck S17 DAS RSA Late Surrender6-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, resplit aces, late surrender0.265%0.262%
6Double-Deck H17 DAS Late SurrenderDouble-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, late surrender0.330%0.316%
76-Deck S17 DAS Late Surrender6-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, late surrender0.334%0.331%
88-Deck S17 DAS Late Surrender8-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, late surrender0.357%0.355%
9Double-Deck H17 DASDouble-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split0.393%0.382%
106-Deck S17 DAS6-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split0.407%0.403%
118-Deck S17 DAS8-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split0.433%0.431%
126-Deck H17 DAS RSA Late Surrender6-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, resplit aces, late surrender0.462%0.460%
13European 6-Deck S17 DASEuropean no hole card, 6-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split0.518%0.515%
146-Deck H17 DAS Late Surrender6-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, late surrender0.530%0.528%
15Double-Deck H17 No DASDouble-deck, dealer hits soft 17, no double after split0.537%0.526%
166-Deck S17 No DAS6-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, no double after split0.548%0.545%
178-Deck H17 DAS Late Surrender8-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, late surrender0.555%0.553%
186-Deck H17 DAS6-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split0.619%0.616%
198-Deck H17 DAS8-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split0.647%0.645%
20European 6-Deck S17 DAS Double 9–11 Split OnceEuropean no hole card, 6-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, double on 9–11 only, double after split, split once0.665%0.661%
21Double-Deck H17 No DAS Double 10–11Double-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double on 10–11 only, no double after split0.752%0.740%
226-Deck H17 No DAS6-deck, dealer hits soft 17, no double after split0.763%0.760%
23Single-Deck H17 No DAS 6:5Single-deck, dealer hits soft 17, no double after split, blackjack pays 6:51.583%1.547%
24Double-Deck H17 DAS 6:5Double-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, blackjack pays 6:51.767%1.755%
256-Deck H17 DAS 6:56-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, blackjack pays 6:51.978%1.976%
268-Deck H17 DAS 6:58-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, blackjack pays 6:52.005%2.003%

Chart for the most common game: 6-deck, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, late surrender

Dealer’s up card

Hard totals
Your hand2345678910A
5–8HHHHHHHHHH
9HDDDDHHHHH
10DDDDDDDDHH
11DDDDDDDDDD
12HHSSSHHHHH
13SSSSSHHHHH
14SSSSSHHHHH
15SSSSSHHHRR
16SSSSSHHRRR
17SSSSSSSSSRs
18+SSSSSSSSSS
Soft totals
Your hand2345678910A
A,2HHHDDHHHHH
A,3HHHDDHHHHH
A,4HHDDDHHHHH
A,5HHDDDHHHHH
A,6HDDDDHHHHH
A,7DsDsDsDsDsSSHHH
A,8SSSSDsSSSSS
A,9SSSSSSSSSS
Pairs
Your hand2345678910A
2,2PPPPPPHHHH
3,3PPPPPPHHHH
4,4HHHPPHHHHH
5,5DDDDDDDDHH
6,6PPPPPHHHHH
7,7PPPPPPHHHH
8,8PPPPPPPPPRp
9,9PPPPPSPPSS
10,10SSSSSSSSSS
A,APPPPPPPPPP

Find your hand on the left and the dealer’s up card on top. “Else” is the play when the first one isn’t allowed, for example after you have taken a card.

Questions and answers

What is basic strategy in blackjack?

The play for every hand against every dealer up card that loses least on average, computed from the rules of the table: hit, stand, double, split or surrender. It needs no counting and no memory of past hands, only the chart.

Do I need a different chart for different rules?

A few cells change with the rules: whether the dealer hits soft 17, surrender, double after split and the number of decks move a handful of plays. This page has a chart for each of the common rule sets, and every chart page lists what differs from the common Las Vegas game.

How much does basic strategy save?

It brings the house edge down to the figure shown for each rule set, 0.530% at the common Las Vegas game. Playing by hunches costs several times that; every mistake the trainer catches is priced in chips.

Where do these charts come from?

From the open-source blackjack engine, which plays out every hand against the exact cards left in the shoe with the dealer’s exact outcome probabilities. The house edges agree with published combinatorial analyses to within 0.005% of the bet; the methodology page says what is exact and what is approximated.

How these numbers were computed

Our blackjack engine plays out every hand against the exact cards left in the shoe, with the dealer’s exact chances of each final total, and picks the best play for each total over all the hands that reach it. Only splits use a small approximation. Its house edges agree with published combinatorial results to within 0.005% of the bet. Figures assume a fresh shoe every round, like a continuous shuffler; a cut card adds a little to the house edge.