How to read a blackjack strategy chart

What a blackjack strategy chart actually tells you

A strategy chart is a lookup table of basic strategy: the single play that loses least, on average, for every starting hand against every dealer up card. Nobody has to memorise the whole thing before playing. The chart does the remembering, and you only need to know how to find the right square.

Each square was worked out by computer for one specific rule set. The best-known public charts come from Wizard of Odds, whose 4 to 8 deck basic strategy chart (opens in a new tab) assumes the dealer stands on soft 17 and checks for blackjack. The idea itself is old: the first mathematically sound optimal strategy was published by Baldwin, Cantey, Maisel and McDermott in September 1956, as our history of blackjack explains.

What a chart cannot do is turn blackjack into a profitable game. It reduces the casino’s edge to its lowest point for that rule set, typically well under 1% on good rules, and that edge still applies to every hand you play.

The layout: three blocks of rows and ten columns

Almost every chart follows the same grid. Across the top run ten columns for the dealer’s visible card: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and A. All picture cards share the 10 column because they count 10 points, as set out in our guide to card values.

Down the side, rows are split into three blocks, and picking the wrong block is the commonest reading error:

• Hard totals – hands with no ace, or with an ace that must count as 1. A 10 and a 6 is hard 16. See hard hands for more.
• Soft totals – hands with an ace that can still count as 11 without busting. An ace and a 7 is soft 18, often printed as A,7. See soft hands.
• Pairs – two cards of the same rank, used only when you are deciding whether to split. A pair of 8s is printed as 8,8.

If your pair is one you should not split, such as 5,5, you leave the pairs block and read the hand as a hard total instead. The same applies after you draw a third card: a soft hand that takes a high card can become hard, and you then switch blocks.

Letter codes and colours on a strategy chart

Charts print a short code in each square, usually with a colour so you can scan quickly. Colours vary between publishers, but the letters are fairly standard. The two-letter codes matter most because they tell you what to do when the first choice is not allowed.

Doubling is only possible on your first two cards, so on a three-card soft 18 a Ds square simply means stand. Surrender, explained on our surrender rule page, is also limited to the first two cards, and some games do not offer it at all.

How to read a blackjack strategy chart, step by step

1. Check the game’s rules screen: number of decks, whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17, whether the dealer peeks for blackjack, doubling limits and surrender.
2. Pick a chart built for those rules. If none matches exactly, use the closest one and accept that a few squares may be slightly off.
3. Look at your two cards. If they are a pair, start in the pairs block; if one is an ace that can count as 11, use the soft block; otherwise use the hard block.
4. Find the dealer’s up card along the top. Any 10, jack, queen or king goes in the 10 column.
5. Read the code where the row and column meet, and apply its fallback if the first move is not allowed.
6. After every new card, total the hand again and repeat from step 3, because the right block can change.

Sample rows from a 4–8 deck chart (dealer stands on soft 17)

The rows below follow the Wizard of Odds 4 to 8 deck chart for a game where the dealer stands on soft 17, checks for blackjack and allows doubling after splitting, with surrender shown where the game offers it. They are a teaching sample, not the full chart: for every row, use our interactive blackjack strategy chart tool.

Notice the patterns. Stiff hands from 13 to 16 stand only against a weak up card from 2 to 6. Hard 12 is the odd one out, hitting against a 2 or 3. Soft 18 surprises most people: it is not a hand to stand on automatically against a 9, 10 or ace. And the surrender rule for 16 does not apply to a pair of 8s, which are always split, as our page on splitting aces and eights covers.

Worked examples: reading the chart with real stakes

These hands use a £10 starting bet on the rule set above.

10,6 against a dealer 10

Hard block, row 16, column 10: Rh. If the game offers surrender, you give up the hand and get £5 back, losing half the bet. If it doesn’t, the fallback is hit. Neither choice feels good, but the chart picks the one that loses least over many hands.

A,7 against a dealer 5

Soft block, A,7 row, column 5: Ds. On your first two cards you add another £10 and receive exactly one card, with £20 riding. If doubling were not allowed, you would stand on 18 instead.

6,5 against a dealer ace

Hard 11, column A: H. This is one of the few columns where 11 is not doubled under these rules, so you hit and keep £10 at stake. See when to double down for the reasoning behind doubling.

Dealer ace showing and insurance offered

No chart square covers insurance because basic strategy says never take it. Ignoring your own cards, a full eight-deck shoe with an ace showing leaves 128 ten-value cards among 415, so a 2 to 1 insurance bet carries a house edge of 31/415, about 7.47%. Our insurance page sets out the full sum.

Matching the chart to the table rules

A chart built for one game can give slightly wrong answers at another. The Wizard of Odds rule variations table (opens in a new tab) measures each rule against an eight-deck baseline where the dealer stands on soft 17, which shows how much the rules themselves move the cost before strategy even comes into it.

The European no-hole-card game is the clearest case. There, a dealer blackjack takes your doubled or split money too, so Wizard of Odds publishes a separate European blackjack strategy (opens in a new tab), and doubling or splitting against a dealer 10 or ace is rarely right. Read more on our European blackjack page and the dealer soft 17 rule.

Common errors when you read a blackjack strategy chart

• Using the pairs block for every pair. 5,5 and 10,10 are never split, so read them as hard 10 and hard 20.
• Treating A,6 or A,7 as hard totals. An ace that can still count as 11 puts the hand in the soft block, where doubling and hitting are far more common.
• Forgetting the fallback. A Ds square on a three-card hand means stand, not hit.
• Reading the wrong column for picture cards. A queen up is the 10 column, not a separate one.
• Mixing rule sets. A peek chart used at a no-peek table will double and split too often against a 10 or ace.
• Deviating after a losing run. Previous hands do not change the right play. See our list of common blackjack mistakes.

Strategy chart myths, corrected

‘The chart guarantees you win.’ It doesn’t. It shows the play with the smallest average loss. You will still lose some hands, sessions and weeks.

‘Charts are cheating.’ A chart is simply published maths. Using one is a different thing from card counting, which our card counting page covers as history and theory only, and online RNG games reshuffle every round anyway.

‘Never bust, so never hit 12.’ The chart hits hard 12 against a 2 or 3 and against 7 to ace. Standing more often hands the dealer extra chances to beat you. Our page on blackjack myths goes through more of these.

‘The dealer is due a bust.’ Each hand is dealt fresh. The chart never changes because of what happened before, as our guide to the gambler’s fallacy explains.

Using a strategy chart at live and online tables in the UK

Online RNG blackjack lets you play at your own pace, which makes a printed chart or a second window easy to use. UK rules require at least 5 seconds per game cycle for casino games other than slots, have banned autoplay for all online casino games since 17 January 2025, and stop you playing several games at once. None of that prevents you checking a chart before you act.

At live blackjack tables you work against a decision timer, so learn the hard 12 to 16 rows and the soft 17 and 18 rows before you sit down; they cause the most hesitation. Shared-hand games such as Infinite Blackjack still let you make your own decisions, so the chart applies as normal, provided its rules match.

Blackjack is entertainment that costs money. Set a budget before you start and treat it as spent. Our guide to blackjack bankroll and budget shows the expected cost of a session in pounds.

Using a strategy chart at our partner casinos

The welcome deals below are mainly slot offers, and blackjack is often excluded from bonus wagering or counts for less, so check each casino’s table lobby and terms before relying on one. 18+ and terms apply.

• Casumo: new customers who opt in can get a 50% bonus up to £100 on a first deposit of £20 or more; the bonus must be wagered 10x within 7 days, bets are capped at £5 while it is active, and game, play and payment restrictions apply.
• 10bet Casino: new UK customers choosing the casino welcome bonus get a 100% match up to £25 on a first deposit made within 7 days; wager it 10x on slots within 3 days, with bonus winnings capped at £1,000 and Skrill or Neteller deposits excluded.
• Coral Casino: deposit and bet £10 on slots to get 100 free spins worth 10p each on selected games, with no wagering on spin winnings; accept within 48 hours and use within 7 days. Runs 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027, and some payment types don’t qualify.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.