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Blackjack strategy chart

The standard basic strategy for blackjack played with four to eight decks, where the dealer stands on soft 17 and you can double after splitting. It cuts the house edge to its lowest for those rules; it can’t remove it.

By the BonusKing editorial team. Last checked .

Find your hand down the left and the dealer’s face-up card across the top. H = hit, S = stand, D = double if allowed, otherwise hit, Ds = double if allowed, otherwise stand, P = split. This chart assumes no surrender. If the dealer hits soft 17, or you play single-deck, European no-hole-card or a branded variant, a few plays change: see blackjack basic strategy and dealer soft 17 rules. Source: Wizard of Odds 4–8 deck basic strategy (opens in a new tab).

Hard totals (dealer’s up card across the top)
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5–8HHHHHHHHHH
9HDDDDHHHHH
10DDDDDDDDHH
11DDDDDDDDDH
12HHSSSHHHHH
13SSSSSHHHHH
14SSSSSHHHHH
15SSSSSHHHHH
16SSSSSHHHHH
17+SSSSSSSSSS
Soft totals (dealer’s up card across the top)
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A,2HHHDDHHHHH
A,3HHHDDHHHHH
A,4HHDDDHHHHH
A,5HHDDDHHHHH
A,6HDDDDHHHHH
A,7SDsDsDsDsSSHHH
A,8SSSSSSSSSS
A,9SSSSSSSSSS
Pairs (dealer’s up card across the top)
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2,2PPPPPPHHHH
3,3PPPPPPHHHH
4,4HHHPPHHHHH
5,5DDDDDDDDHH
6,6PPPPPHHHHH
7,7PPPPPPHHHH
8,8PPPPPPPPPP
9,9PPPPPSPPSS
10,10SSSSSSSSSS
A,APPPPPPPPPP

Basic strategy lowers the cost of playing; under good rules the house edge is still roughly 0.3% to 0.6% of every stake. Never take insurance as part of basic strategy. 18+.

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.