In blackjack the casino has a statistical advantage over the players that will play itself out in the long run. However, blackjack, unlike other games, has an element of player choice; players can actually reduce the casino advantage to a small percentage by playing basic blackjack strategy. This strategy finds out when to hit and when to stand, and also clarify when doubling down or splitting is the correct action. Basic strategy is based on the player's point total and the dealer's visible card.
Learn this table and became a much better blackjack player:
Your Hand |
Dealer's face-up card |
|
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
A |
Hard totals |
17-21 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
13-16 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
12 |
H |
H |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
11 |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
H |
10 |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
9 |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
5-8 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
Soft totals |
A,8-10 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
A,7 |
S |
D |
D |
D |
D |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
A,6 |
H |
D |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
A,4-5 |
H |
H |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
A,2-3 |
H |
H |
H |
D |
D |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
Pairs |
A,A 8,8 |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
10,10 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
9,9 |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
S |
S |
7,7 |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
H |
H |
H |
H |
6,6 |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
5,5 |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
4,4 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
2,2 3,3 |
H |
H |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
H |
H |
H |
H |
Key: S = Stand H = Hit SP = Split D = Double
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