What Is Basic Strategy?

Basic strategy is a set of rules derived from computer simulations of millions of blackjack hands. For every possible combination of your hand and the dealer’s up-card, it tells you the mathematically optimal action.

Following basic strategy reduces the house edge from roughly 5% (average player) to approximately 0.5%.

How to Read the Charts

  • Find your hand total in the left column
  • Find the dealer’s up-card in the top row
  • The intersection tells you the correct play

Key:
H = Hit | S = Stand | D = Double Down (hit if not allowed) | Ds = Double Down (stand if not allowed) | P = Split | Ph = Split (hit if not allowed) | Rh = Surrender (hit if not allowed) | Rs = Surrender (stand if not allowed)

Hard Hands

A hard hand has no Ace (or an Ace counted as 1).

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 Rh Rh
16 S S S S S H H Rh Rh Rh
17+ S S S S S S S S S S

Hard Hand Highlights

  • Always hit 8 or below — you can’t bust
  • Double 10 and 11 — these are your best opportunities
  • Stand 13-16 vs. 2-6 — the dealer is likely to bust
  • Hit 13-16 vs. 7-A — the dealer likely has a good hand
  • Surrender 15 vs. 10 and 16 vs. 9/10/A when available

Soft Hands

A soft hand includes an Ace counted as 11.

Your Hand 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A
A,2 H H H D D H H H H H
A,3 H H H D D H H H H H
A,4 H H D D D H H H H H
A,5 H H D D D H H H H H
A,6 H D D D D H H H H H
A,7 Ds Ds Ds Ds Ds S S H H H
A,8 S S S S Ds S S S S S
A,9 S S S S S S S S S S

Soft Hand Highlights

  • Never stand on soft 17 (A,6) — always hit or double
  • Double soft hands against dealer 4-6 — the dealer is weak
  • Soft 18 (A,7) is tricky — stand vs. 2, 7, 8; double vs. 3-6; hit vs. 9, 10, A

Pairs

Your Hand 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A
A,A P P P P P P P P P P
10,10 S S S S S S S S S S
9,9 P P P P P S P P S S
8,8 P P P P P P P P P P
7,7 P P P P P P H H H H
6,6 Ph P P P P H H H H H
5,5 D D D D D D D D H H
4,4 H H H Ph Ph H H H H H
3,3 Ph Ph P P P P H H H H
2,2 Ph Ph P P P P H H H H

Pair Highlights

  • Always split Aces and 8s — no exceptions
  • Never split 10s or 5s — 20 is great; 10 is great for doubling
  • Split 9s against everything except 7, 10, A
  • Split 2s, 3s, 6s, 7s against weak dealer cards

Quick Summary Rules

If you can’t memorize the full chart, these rules cover the most common situations:

  1. Always stand on hard 17+
  2. Always hit hard 11 or less
  3. Double 11 vs. everything; double 10 vs. 2-9
  4. Stand on 12-16 vs. dealer 2-6; hit vs. 7+
  5. Always split Aces and 8s
  6. Never split 10s or 5s
  7. Hit soft 17; stand soft 19-20
  8. Never take insurance