--- title: "Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart with EV | BlackJackal" description: "Free interactive blackjack strategy chart. Switch H17 or S17, double after split and surrender, then tap any hand to see the EV of every play." url: https://blackjackal.ca/strategy updated: 2026-09-29 --- # Blackjack basic strategy chart The best play for every hand in six-deck blackjack, for your table’s rules. Tap any cell to see what each option is worth. ## The chart - H: Hit - S: Stand - D: Double, or hit if you can’t - Ds: Double, or stand if you can’t - P: Split - Rh: Surrender, or hit if you can’t - Rs: Surrender, or stand if you can’t - Rp: Surrender, or split if you can’t Six decks, dealer hits soft 17, double after split allowed, no surrender, blackjack pays 3:2. ## Hard totals No ace counted as 11, and not a pair. **Hard totals: hands with no ace counted as 11, and no pair. Rows are your hand; columns are the dealer's upcard.** | Your hand | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 8 or less | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | | 9 | H | D | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H | | 10 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H | H | | 11 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | | 12 | H | H | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H | | 13 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H | | 14 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H | | 15 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H | | 16 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H | | 17 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | | 18+ | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | ## Soft totals An ace still counting as 11. A soft hand can’t bust on one card. **Soft totals: hands where an ace counts as 11. Rows are your hand; columns are the dealer's upcard.** | Your hand | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | A,2 soft 13 | H | H | H | D | D | H | H | H | H | H | | A,3 soft 14 | H | H | H | D | D | H | H | H | H | H | | A,4 soft 15 | H | H | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H | | A,5 soft 16 | H | H | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H | | A,6 soft 17 | H | D | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H | | A,7 soft 18 | Ds | Ds | Ds | Ds | Ds | S | S | H | H | H | | A,8 soft 19 | S | S | S | S | Ds | S | S | S | S | S | | A,9 soft 20 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | ## Pairs Two cards of the same value. If a split isn’t the play, play the hand as its total. **Pairs: two cards of the same value. Rows are your hand; columns are the dealer's upcard.** | Your hand | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2,2 | P | P | P | P | P | P | H | H | H | H | | 3,3 | P | P | P | P | P | P | H | H | H | H | | 4,4 | H | H | H | P | P | H | H | H | H | H | | 5,5 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H | H | | 6,6 | P | P | P | P | P | H | H | H | H | H | | 7,7 | P | P | P | P | P | P | H | H | H | H | | 8,8 | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | | 9,9 | P | P | P | P | P | S | P | P | S | S | | 10,10 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | | A,A | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | For 4 to 8 decks with blackjack paying 3:2 and a dealer who checks for blackjack. Every cell was checked against an exact EV calculation for its two-card hand. Single- and double-deck games move a few cells (9 against a 2 becomes a double, for one), and the app adjusts for them. ## How to use it Find your hand down the side and the dealer’s card across the top. The cell is the play that loses least or wins most over the long run. 1. **Classify the hand**: Is it a pair, a soft total with an ace counting as 11, or a hard total? Check pairs first, then soft, then hard. 2. **Read the dealer’s card**: Against 2 through 6 the dealer busts often, so the chart stands and doubles more. Against 7 through ace, it hits more. 3. **Take the special play first**: Surrender, split and double are only offered on your first two cards. If the cell says double and you can’t, follow the fallback in the key. ## Which rules change the chart Only a handful of cells move with the rules. They are all close calls, which is why a single rule is enough to tip them. ### Dealer stands on soft 17 Three cells soften: hard 11 against an ace becomes a hit, and soft 18 against a 2 and soft 19 against a 6 become stands. ### No double after split Splitting small pairs is worth less when you can’t double the new hands, so 2,2 and 3,3 against a 2 or 3, 4,4 against a 5 or 6, and 6,6 against a 2 become hits. ### Late surrender Give up half the bet on hard 16 against a 9, 10 or ace, and hard 15 against a 10. When the dealer hits soft 17, also surrender hard 15 and hard 17 against an ace, and 8,8 against an ace. ## Turn the chart into instinct. Reading a chart is step one. BlackJackal deals the hands, grades each call, and drills the cells you miss until they stick. [https://apps.apple.com/app/blackjackal/id6759573470](https://apps.apple.com/app/blackjackal/id6759573470) Free, with 21 hands a day. No subscription. ## The math behind the hard cells [EV explainerWhy you hit 16 against a 10Hitting busts 62% of the time and it’s still right, barely.](https://blackjackal.ca/why-hit-16-vs-10) [EV explainerNever take insuranceThe friendliest-sounding bet on the felt costs about 7.7 cents per dollar.](https://blackjackal.ca/never-take-insurance) --- BlackJackal is a blackjack strategy trainer for iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/app/blackjackal/id6759573470. More pages: https://blackjackal.ca/llms.txt