Skip to game
Blackjack Online

Blackjack basic strategy

Basic strategy is the mathematically best play for every combination of your hand and the dealer's upcard. It cannot make blackjack a winning game, but it cuts the house edge to roughly a third of a percent — far better than playing on instinct.

Five rules that do most of the work

  1. Always split aces and eights. Never split tens or fives.
  2. Double a hard 11 against anything the dealer shows.
  3. Stand on hard 12 through 16 when the dealer shows 2 to 6 — let them bust.
  4. Hit hard 12 through 16 when the dealer shows 7 or higher. Standing there is the most expensive habit in blackjack.
  5. Never take insurance and never take even money.

Play every hand from the chart and the house keeps about 0.3% of what you wager on this table. Guessing instead costs roughly six times that.

The hint button on the table applies this chart to your current hand.

Hard totals

Dealer upcard
Your hand2345678910A
5HHHHHHHHHH
6HHHHHHHHHH
7HHHHHHHHHH
8HHHHHHHHHH
9HDDDDHHHHH
10DDDDDDDDHH
11DDDDDDDDDD
12HHSSSHHHHH
13SSSSSHHHHH
14SSSSSHHHHH
15SSSSSHHHRH
16SSSSSHHRRR
17SSSSSSSSSS
18SSSSSSSSSS
19SSSSSSSSSS
20SSSSSSSSSS
21SSSSSSSSSS

Soft totals

Dealer upcard
Your hand2345678910A
A,2HHHDDHHHHH
A,3HHHDDHHHHH
A,4HHDDDHHHHH
A,5HHDDDHHHHH
A,6HDDDDHHHHH
A,7VVVVVSSHHH
A,8SSSSVSSSSS
A,9SSSSSSSSSS
A,10SSSSSSSSSS

Pairs

Dealer upcard
Your hand2345678910A
2,2PPPPPPHHHH
3,3PPPPPPHHHH
4,4HHHPPHHHHH
5,5DDDDDDDDHH
6,6PPPPPHHHHH
7,7PPPPPPHHHH
8,8PPPPPPPPPP
9,9PPPPPSPPSS
10,10SSSSSSSSSS
A,APPPPPPPPPP

Legend

  • HHit
  • SStand
  • DDouble, otherwise hit
  • VDouble, otherwise stand
  • PSplit
  • RSurrender, otherwise hit

More games in the network

The same calm design, a different table each time.

  • Blackjack Gameblackjackgame.casinoComing soon
  • Backgammonbackgammon.ggComing soon
  • FreeCellfreecell.ggComing soon
  • Poker Onlinepokeronline.ggComing soon
  • Roulette Onlinerouletteonline.ggComing soon
  • Rummyrummy.ggComing soon
  • Slots Onlineslotsonline.ggComing soon
  • Spider Solitairespidersolitaire.ggComing soon
  • Spider Gamespidergame.orgComing soon
  • Spadesspades.onlineComing soon