A soft hand in blackjack is any hand holding an ace that is currently counted as 11, such as ace-6 (soft 17). Because that ace can drop to 1 whenever a card would push you past 21, a soft hand cannot bust on the next card, which makes it a hand to improve or double rather than a hand to fear.
Soft means an ace is counting as 11: ace-6 is soft 17, ace-2-4 is also soft 17.
No single card can bust a soft hand, because the ace switches to 1 when needed.
Standard strategy doubles many soft hands against a weak dealer card and never stands on soft 17 or less.
A dealer who hits soft 17 costs the player about 0.22% compared with a dealer who stands.
Definition
Hand with an ace counted as 11
Range
Soft 13 (A-2) to soft 21
Can one card bust it?
No
Dealer hits soft 17
Costs the player about 0.22%
Soft 18 (A-7), S17 strategy
Stand v 2, 7, 8; double v 3–6; hit v 9, 10, A
What a soft hand means
In blackjack, an ace is worth 1 or 11, whichever suits the hand. When the ace is counted as 11 without going over 21, the total is called soft. Ace-5 is soft 16, ace-7 is soft 18, and ace-ace is soft 12 (one ace as 11, one as 1). The label comes from flexibility: the total can shrink by 10 if it needs to.
The opposite is a hard hand, where there is no ace or every ace must count as 1. The difference matters more than the number itself. A soft 16 and a hard 16 show the same total, yet one can take a card in complete safety and the other busts about 8 times in 13 if it does. This entry sits in our A to Z glossary, and the strategy side is covered in full on our soft hands strategy page.
How a soft hand turns hard
A soft hand stays soft only while the ace can count as 11. The moment a new card would take the total above 21, the ace drops to 1 and the hand becomes hard. The table follows soft 17 (ace-6) through every possible next card.
What one more card does to a soft 17 (ace-6)
Next card
New total
Soft or hard?
Share of ranks
Ace
18
Soft
1 in 13
2
19
Soft
1 in 13
3
20
Soft
1 in 13
4
21
Soft
1 in 13
5
12
Hard
1 in 13
6
13
Hard
1 in 13
7
14
Hard
1 in 13
8
15
Hard
1 in 13
9
16
Hard
1 in 13
10, J, Q or K
17
Hard
4 in 13
Four ranks in 13 improve soft 17 to a better soft total, and nothing busts it. Nine ranks in 13 turn it into a hard hand of 12 to 17, which you then play as any hard total. That is why soft 17 is a drawing hand under basic strategy: the worst a card can do is leave you with a weaker hard total you could keep playing.
Soft hand strategy: when to hit, stand or double
The Wizard of Odds 4 to 8 deck strategy (opens in a new tab), for a dealer who stands on soft 17 with doubling after splits allowed, plays soft totals like this. Where doubling is not allowed, hit instead (except soft 18, which stands).
Soft hand plays, 4–8 decks, dealer stands on soft 17
Your hand
Double against
Stand against
Hit against
A-2 or A-3 (soft 13–14)
5, 6
Never
2–4, 7–A
A-4 or A-5 (soft 15–16)
4–6
Never
2, 3, 7–A
A-6 (soft 17)
3–6
Never
2, 7–A
A-7 (soft 18)
3–6
2, 7, 8
9, 10, A
A-8 or A-9 (soft 19–20)
Never
Everything
Never
The pattern is simple once you see it. Small soft totals cannot win by standing, so you either hit or, when the dealer’s up card is weak, double down because the hand cannot bust on its one extra card. Soft 18 is the hand most players misplay; our answer on soft 18 explains why hitting against a 9, 10 or ace is correct. For other rule sets, use the blackjack strategy chart.
Basic strategy lowers the house edge but never removes it, so the casino still expects to win over time.
Soft 17 and the dealer: why one rule changes the odds
Dealers have no choices, but tables differ on one soft hand. Some require the dealer to stand on soft 17; others make the dealer hit it. Hitting gives the dealer more chances to reach 18 to 21, and the Wizard of Odds rule-variation table (opens in a new tab) puts the cost to the player at about 0.22%.
In pounds: across £1,000 of total bets, that rule alone adds about £2.20 to the average loss. It looks small, but it is larger than the benefit of playing six decks instead of eight. Our page on the dealer soft 17 rule shows how to spot it, usually printed on the felt or in the game’s help screen.
How to play a soft hand step by step
Count the ace as 11 and check the total is 21 or less; if so, the hand is soft.
Look at the dealer’s up card and find your soft total on a strategy chart for your table’s rules.
Double if the chart says so and your table allows doubling on that hand; otherwise hit or stand as shown.
After each new card, recount: if the total would pass 21, the ace now counts as 1 and the hand is hard.
Play any resulting hard total from the hard-hand section of the chart.
Soft hand: related blackjack terms
Hit: take another card, always safe for one card on a soft hand.
Bust: go over 21, which a soft hand cannot do on its next card.
Natural: an ace and a 10-value card, the best soft 21 of all.
Soft hands, blackjack tables and our partner offers
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Frequently asked questions
What is a soft hand in blackjack?
A soft hand is a blackjack hand in which an ace is counted as 11 without the total going over 21. Ace-6 is soft 17 and ace-8 is soft 19. The ace can switch to 1 if a later card would bust you, so no single card can take a soft hand past 21. Hands without that flexible ace are hard. Our card values page explains how every card counts.
Can you bust on a soft hand?
No, you cannot bust a soft hand with one card, because the ace simply changes from 11 to 1. Take ace-5 (soft 16) and draw a king: the ace becomes 1 and you hold hard 16. From there the hand is hard and can bust on later cards. That safety is why standard strategy never stands on soft 17 or below. See our bust entry for when hands do go over.
Should you hit soft 17?
Yes, you should hit or double soft 17 and never stand on it under standard basic strategy. Standing on 17 rarely wins, and drawing cannot bust you. With four to eight decks and the dealer standing on soft 17, the chart doubles ace-6 against a dealer 3 to 6 and hits it against everything else. Our blackjack basic strategy guide covers the full set of plays.
What does it mean when the dealer hits soft 17?
It means the table rules make the dealer take another card on a soft 17, such as ace-6, instead of standing. That gives the dealer extra chances to reach a stronger total and raises the house edge by about 0.22%. Tables print the rule on the felt or in the game rules, usually as ‘dealer hits soft 17’ or ‘dealer stands on all 17s’. Read more on the dealer soft 17 rule.
Is a soft 18 a good hand?
Soft 18 is a decent hand against weak dealer cards but a poor one against strong cards. With four to eight decks and the dealer standing on soft 17, strategy stands against a 2, 7 or 8, doubles against 3 to 6, and hits against a 9, 10 or ace, because 18 often loses to those dealer cards. Our answer on hitting or standing on soft 18 walks through it.
Is a blackjack a soft hand?
Yes, a blackjack (an ace plus a 10-value card) is technically soft 21, because the ace counts as 11. It is usually treated separately as a natural, since it pays 3 to 2 at standard tables and ends your turn at once. A three-card 21 that includes an ace, such as ace-4-6, is also soft but pays only even money. Our natural entry covers the difference.
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