House edge
0.5%
With the chart played exactly
Played on instinct
2-3%
What guessing typically costs
Natural blackjack
4.75%
Roughly one hand in twenty-one
Chart variants
7
One per common rule set
The one-sentence version
Blackjack is a decision game against a fixed dealer procedure. Your job is not to get as close to 21 as possible at all costs. It is to choose the action with the best expected result against the dealer’s visible card.
Start here
The order to learn it in.
Nobody should start with a thirty-row grid. Understand the objective, learn the language, understand the dealer, learn the actions, and only then open the chart.
01
The objective
Beat the dealer without going over 21.
02
Cards & hand types
Hard hands, soft hands, pairs and blackjack.
03
How a round works
Bet → deal → your decisions → dealer → settlement.
04
Player actions
Hit, stand, double, split, surrender and insurance.
05
House edge
What the percentage means and why rules matter.
06
The blackjack payout
3:2 versus 6:5, the rule to check first.
07
Stats that matter
Win, loss and push rates, dealer bust rates, blackjack frequency.
08
The dealer upcard
Why the dealer’s visible card drives every decision.
09
Risk vs expected value
Why “I might bust” is not enough information.
10
Table selection
S17, DAS, surrender and the other rule labels.
11
Basic strategy
What the chart is, and what it is not.
12
The memory map
A rough anchor before the exact grid.
13
Examples & myths
Six hands explained, then the myths to drop.
14
Variance & discipline
Why correct play can still lose a session.
15
At the table
Live and online etiquette, and the checklist.
16
Glossary
Every abbreviation you will see.
17
Charts appendix
Seven rule-specific strategy charts.
18
Sources
Where every number comes from.
01
The foundation
What blackjack actually is.
Blackjack is played against the dealer, not against the other players. Every player has an independent hand. The dealer follows fixed rules; you have decisions. That difference is where strategy comes from.
Your goal
Finish with a better valid hand than the dealer, or stay in the game when the dealer busts. Any total above 21 loses immediately.
The dealer
The dealer does not choose freely. They must draw to at least 17, with the exact soft-17 rule depending on the table.
Blackjack
An ace plus any ten-value card on the first two cards. A natural blackjack is not the same as a three-card total of 21.
Push
If you and the dealer finish on the same total, the main bet returns to you. No win, no loss.
How hands are settled
You bust above 21: you lose immediately, even if the dealer later busts too.
The dealer busts while you have 21 or less: you win.
Neither busts: the higher total wins.
Same total: push.
Your blackjack beats a dealer non-blackjack 21, and should pay 3:2 at a good table.
Your blackjack against a dealer blackjack: push in standard blackjack.
Beginner trap
“I only need to beat 17” is not correct. The dealer can finish on 18, 19, 20 or 21. Your decision depends heavily on the dealer’s upcard.
02
Learn the language
Cards, totals and hand types.
Card
Value
Note
2–9
Face value
A seven is worth seven.
10 / J / Q / K
10
All four ranks are ten-value cards.
Ace
1 or 11
The ace takes whichever value keeps the hand alive and best.
Hard 16
10 + 6. No ace can safely count as eleven. Hit and draw a ten and you bust.
Soft 16
A + 5. The ace counts as eleven now but can fall back to one. Draw a ten and the hand is 16, not 26.
Pair
8 + 8. A pair may be eligible to split into two separate hands.
Natural blackjack
Ace plus a ten-value card as the first two cards only. Seven-seven-seven is 21, but it is not blackjack.
A soft hand gives you flexibility, because the ace can change from eleven to one. That is why many soft hands are hit or doubled more aggressively than the same-looking hard total.
Example
A + 7 is soft 18. 10 + 8 is hard 18. Both total eighteen right now, but they are not strategically identical.
03
What actually happens
One round, step by step.
01
Place your wager before the betting window closes.
02
You receive two cards. The dealer receives an upcard; in American-style games the dealer also takes a facedown hole card.
03
If the dealer shows an ace, insurance may be offered. Basic-strategy players decline it.
04
If the dealer is eligible to check for blackjack under the rules, that check may happen before you act.
05
You act on your hand: hit, stand, double, split, or surrender when allowed.
06
After all players finish, the dealer completes the hand according to the table’s fixed rule.
07
Bets are settled. Standard winning hands pay 1:1; a natural blackjack should pay 3:2.
American peek versus European no-hole-card matters more than it sounds. In many American-style games the dealer checks for blackjack before you commit more money to doubles and splits. In European no-hole-card games the second card comes later, and depending on the rule a dealer blackjack can cost your split and double bets as well.
Before you use any chart
Confirm five things: number of decks, S17 or H17, whether doubling after a split is allowed, whether surrender is offered, and American peek or European no-hole-card. Then load the matching chart. There is no universal table.
04
Player decisions
Your actions: what every button means.
Hit
Take another card. You can usually keep hitting until you stand or bust.
Stand
Take no more cards. Your total is locked and play moves on.
Double
Increase the original bet by the permitted amount and receive exactly one more card. Strategy uses it when the situation is favourable enough to justify the extra money.
Split
With an eligible pair, add a second wager and turn one hand into two. Each hand is then played separately under the table’s split rules.
Surrender
Give up the hand at the start and lose only half the original wager. Availability and timing depend on the game.
Insurance
A separate side bet offered when the dealer shows an ace. It wins if the dealer has blackjack. It is not protection in the mathematical sense, and ordinary basic strategy declines it.
Two split rules beginners miss
A ten drawn to a split ace usually makes 21, not a natural blackjack.
DAS means double after split. Where DAS is allowed, several pair decisions become more valuable.
05
The maths before the chart
House edge, RTP, and what the numbers mean.
House edge is the casino’s expected long-run advantage, expressed as a percentage of the initial wager. It is not a prediction of what happens in your next hand, your next hour, or your next session.
If a rule set carries a 0.50% house edge under correct basic strategy, the long-run expected loss is about half a unit per hundred units wagered. On a $10 bet that is roughly five cents in expectation per hand, not an actual five-cent loss every hand.
There is no single universal blackjack house edge. The exact figure changes with the number of decks, S17 or H17, the double and split rules, surrender, no-hole-card treatment, and the blackjack payout.
Rule
Effect
What it means
Well-configured 8-deck example
~0.43%
Illustrative example with favourable rule components and correct strategy.
European 6-deck example
0.62%
S17, double hard 9–11, DAS, no peek: the whole bet can be lost to a dealer blackjack.
6:5 instead of 3:2
+1.39 points
One of the most damaging common rule changes.
Dealer H17 instead of S17
+0.22 points
A dealer hitting soft 17 is worse for you.
No DAS
+0.14 points
Taking away double-after-split hurts your return.
Late surrender available
−0.08 points
Small but useful improvement in your favour.
RTP
If the house edge is 0.43%, the theoretical return to player is about 99.57% over a very large sample, under the assumed strategy and rules. Short sessions finish far above or below that, because blackjack has real variance.
06
Table selection
3:2 versus 6:5. Check this first.
The payout on a natural blackjack is the most important piece of text on the table. “3:2” and “6:5” look similar. They are not.
Bet
At 3:2
At 6:5
Difference
$10
$15 profit
$12 profit
$3 less
$25
$37.50 profit
$30 profit
$7.50 less
$100
$150 profit
$120 profit
$30 less
$500
$750 profit
$600 profit
$150 less
Replacing a 3:2 blackjack payout with 6:5 costs roughly 1.39 percentage points of expected return. A $20 natural at 3:2 wins $30 profit; your $20 stake also returns, so $50 comes back. A regular winning hand wins $20 on a $20 bet.
Simple rule
If two otherwise similar tables are open, take the 3:2 one. A “single deck” sign does not make a 6:5 table good.
07
Numbers with context
The statistics that actually help.
With six decks, the chance that your first two cards are an ace plus a ten-value card is about 4.75%, roughly one in twenty-one hands. The figure moves slightly with the number of decks.
Net result
Probability
What to take from it
Win
42.43%
You do not need to win more than half your rounds for the house edge to be low.
Push
8.48%
The main wager returns.
Loss
49.09%
The dealer wins more rounds, partly because you act first and can bust first.
So why is the edge still small?
Not every win and loss is worth exactly one unit. Naturals can pay 3:2, doubles put extra money out in favourable spots, splits create extra hands, and surrender limits some losses. Win rate alone is not house edge.
08
Weak versus strong dealer cards
The dealer upcard is the centre of everything.
Your cards matter, but the dealer’s visible card changes the value of every decision you can make. A five or six is weak; a nine, ten or ace is strong.
Dealer upcard
Bust probability
Read it as
A
16.7%
Strong
2
35.3%
Weak-ish
3
37.4%
Weak
4
39.6%
Weak
5
41.9%
Very weak
6
42.3%
Very weak
7
26.2%
Stronger
8
24.3%
Strong
9
23.0%
Strong
10
23.0%
Strong
The intuition
Against a 4, 5 or 6 you avoid unnecessary risk with medium hard totals, because the dealer often breaks on their own. Against a 9, 10 or ace, standing on a weak total usually loses anyway, so strategy turns aggressive. Figures are approximate six-deck S17 values.
09
Risk versus expected value
“I might bust” is not enough information.
Beginners stand because drawing feels dangerous. Basic strategy compares the danger of hitting against the danger of standing and losing to the dealer anyway.
Hard total
Bust on the next hit
Note
12
30.8%
On its own this does not decide the play.
13
38.5%
The dealer upcard decides it.
14
46.2%
The dealer upcard decides it.
15
53.8%
The dealer upcard decides it.
16
61.5%
The dealer upcard decides it.
17
69.2%
The dealer upcard decides it.
18
76.9%
The dealer upcard decides it.
19
84.6%
The dealer upcard decides it.
20
92.3%
The dealer upcard decides it.
The classic case
Hard 16 against a dealer ten feels horrible because hitting can bust. Standing is also horrible, because sixteen is usually behind a dealer ten. Basic strategy picks the less-bad option, not the one that feels safer. Figures are an infinite-deck approximation for intuition.
10
Before you sit down
How to recognise a better table.
Rule
Signal
What to do
Blackjack pays 3:2
Good
Priority check. Avoid 6:5 when a comparable 3:2 game exists.
Dealer stands on soft 17
Good
Better for you than H17.
DAS allowed
Good
Improves several split situations.
Late surrender
Good
Lets you give up the worst starting hands for half a bet.
Fewer decks, all else equal
Usually good
Deck count matters less than a bad payout like 6:5.
Re-split aces
Good
Small rule in your favour.
ENHC / no peek losing doubles and splits
Worse
Changes strategy and costs return.
Side bets with unknown paytable
Check first
Separate wagers, often with a much larger house edge than the main bet.
The fast table check
Is blackjack paid 3:2?
Does the dealer stand or hit on soft 17?
How many decks?
Is double after split allowed?
Is surrender available?
American peek or European no-hole-card?
Any special restrictions on doubling or splitting?
11
The decision engine
What basic strategy really is.
Basic strategy is a mathematically derived set of decisions that maximises expected return for a specified rule set. It does not predict the next card and it does not guarantee a winning session.
It uses
Your current hand, the dealer upcard, and the rules of the game.
It does not use
Hunches, streaks, “the table is hot”, unrelated previous hands, or how much you are currently down.
Total-dependent
Most public charts tell you what to do based on your total or pair against the dealer card.
Composition-dependent
Advanced analysis distinguishes hands with the same total but different exact cards. The extra gain is small for ordinary players.
Basic strategy is not card counting. Counting estimates whether the remaining shoe is rich in high or low cards and changes bets and a few decisions accordingly. Basic strategy is the starting point; counting is a separate advantage-play topic and sits outside this guide.
Most important
Use the chart that matches the table rules. S17 and H17 are not interchangeable. No-hole-card games change decisions. DAS and surrender matter too.
12
A common multi-deck S17 / DAS anchor
A memory map before the full chart.
This is a memory aid, not a replacement for the exact chart. It describes a common multi-deck S17 game with doubling after a split allowed, and deliberately leaves the rule-sensitive exceptions to the appendix.
Hard totals
17 and up: usually stand.
13 to 16: stand against a dealer 2 through 6; hit against 7 through ace.
12: stand against 4 through 6; hit against 2, 3, and 7 through ace.
11: a strong doubling hand in most rule sets; the ace decision depends on the rules.
10: double mainly against 2 through 9; hit against a ten or ace.
9: double mainly against 3 through 6; otherwise hit.
8 or less: hit.
Pairs
A,A: split.
8,8: split. Two bad eights become two fresh hands.
10,10: stand. You already have twenty.
5,5: treat as hard ten. Do not split.
9,9 / 7,7 / 6,6 / 4,4 / 3,3 / 2,2: rule- and upcard-dependent. Use the chart.
Soft totals
Soft 19 and up: usually stand, with a few H17 doubling exceptions.
Soft 18 is the famous mixed hand: sometimes double, sometimes stand, sometimes hit.
Soft 17 and lower: often hit or double, depending on how weak the dealer is.
Why soft 18 confuses people
A+7 looks like eighteen, so beginners stand automatically. Against a strong 9, 10 or ace the hand is worth improving, because the ace protects you from an immediate bust.
13
Practice
Six hands, and the logic behind them.
Hand
Play
Why
Hard 16 vs dealer 6
Usually stand
A dealer six is weak and busts often. Taking a card risks destroying a hand that wins when the dealer breaks.
Hard 16 vs dealer 10
Usually hit, or surrender where the chart says so
Standing on sixteen against a strong ten is also a poor position. Strategy picks the better expected value, not the safer feeling.
Hard 11 vs dealer 6
Double
You cannot bust with one more card from eleven, and many high cards make strong totals. The weak dealer card makes the extra money attractive.
A,7 vs dealer 9
Hit, in common S17 multi-deck play
Soft 18 is not locked. Against a strong nine, improving the hand beats standing.
8,8 vs dealer 6
Split
Hard sixteen is weak. Splitting creates two starting hands against a weak dealer card.
10,10 vs dealer 6
Stand
Do not break up a twenty because the dealer looks weak. Twenty is already excellent.
14
What not to learn
The myths worth dropping.
Myth
Reality
“Never hit 16.”
Wrong. The dealer upcard changes the decision.
“Always try to make 21.”
Wrong. Standing on 12 to 16 against a weak dealer is often correct.
“Insurance protects a good hand.”
Misleading. It is a separate wager on the dealer having blackjack, and ordinary basic strategy declines it.
“Even money is free money.”
No. It is an insurance decision in disguise, taken when you hold blackjack against an ace.
“A losing streak means a win is due.”
No. Independent random outcomes do not owe you a recovery.
“Martingale removes the house edge.”
No. Changing bet size does not turn negative expectation into positive. Table limits and bankroll make progressions fragile.
“The dealer is trying to beat me.”
The dealer follows fixed drawing rules. The procedure creates the game, not the dealer’s choices.
“More side bets, more chances to win.”
More wagers also mean more exposure. Judge every side bet by its own paytable and edge.
The insurance rule
For ordinary non-counting basic strategy: decline insurance and even money, every time. Advantage players make different insurance decisions because they have information about the remaining deck. That is outside this guide.
15
Why good play can still lose
Variance, bankroll and session reality.
A low house edge does not mean a smooth result. Blackjack has meaningful short-term variance, because naturals, doubles and splits change how much is won or lost on individual rounds.
House edge
A long-run expectation under a defined strategy and rule set.
Variance
How widely actual results swing around that expectation in the short run.
Flat betting
Keeps stake size stable. It does not remove the house edge, but it stops a progression magnifying stakes after losses.
Chasing losses
Raising bets because you must get it back changes your risk, not the mathematics of the game.
Practical discipline
Choose the table before choosing the bet size.
Know the rules and the minimum and maximum stakes.
Use a stake you can afford to lose without needing to chase it.
Do not treat a short-term win as proof that a system beats the game.
If gambling stops being entertainment, or the spending becomes uncomfortable, stop the session.
Important
Basic strategy removes avoidable mathematical mistakes. It does not make blackjack risk-free and it does not guarantee profit.
16
First session confidence
At the table, live and online.
Bet before the timer closes. Late chips normally wait for the next round.
At a physical face-up shoe game, do not touch the dealt cards unless house procedure permits it.
At a land-based table hand signals matter, because surveillance records the decision. Online live blackjack uses on-screen buttons instead.
Ask the dealer, or read the game info, for the blackjack payout, the soft-17 rule, double restrictions, split rules and surrender.
Do not assume another player “took your card”. The next-card story is hindsight, not strategy.
Other players’ bad decisions do not change what is correct for your hand.
Know what you are looking at
Before the chart, read the table’s badge: 6 decks · S17 · DAS · late surrender · 3:2. Those five labels tell you which chart on this page applies.
17
Sixty-second review
Before your first real-money hand.
01
Is blackjack paid 3:2?
02
Does the dealer stand or hit on soft 17?
03
How many decks?
04
Is double after split allowed?
05
Is surrender available?
06
American peek or European no-hole-card?
07
Am I looking at the matching strategy chart?
08
Do I understand hit, stand, double and split?
09
Have I declined insurance?
10
Is the stake comfortable without chasing losses?
The best beginner habit
Do not memorise scattered blackjack tips. Learn one correct chart for the rules you actually play, and understand the logic of the dealer upcard.
18
Terms you will see
Glossary.
Term
Meaning
3:2
The preferred standard payout for a natural blackjack.
6:5
A short blackjack payout that materially worsens your return.
Basic strategy
The mathematically best standard decision for each hand under a specified rule set.
Bust
A total above 21.
DAS
Double after split.
ENHC
European no hole card.
H17
Dealer hits soft 17.
S17
Dealer stands on soft 17.
Hard hand
No ace can count as eleven without busting.
Soft hand
Contains an ace currently counted as eleven.
Hole card
The dealer’s facedown second card in hole-card games.
Upcard
The dealer card visible to players.
Natural
Ace plus a ten-value card on the first two cards.
Peek
The dealer checks the hole card for blackjack before players act.
Push
A tie. The wager returns.
RSA
Re-split aces.
Shoe
The device holding multiple decks.
Surrender
Forfeit half the wager instead of playing the hand out, where allowed.
Penetration
How much of a shoe is dealt before reshuffling. Mainly relevant to counting.
CSM
Continuous shuffling machine.
19
Charts appendix
The chart, for your table.
There is no single correct chart. The right play depends on the number of decks and whether the dealer hits soft 17. Pick your table below and the chart changes with it: seven variants, transcribed from the published references.
Source
All
BJA
WH
Decks
All
Single
4-8
Any
Dealer
All
S17
H17
ENHC
S17 · any decks
Apprenticeship
H17 · any decks
Apprenticeship
ENHC · any decks
Apprenticeship
Single deck · S17
William Hill
Single deck · H17
William Hill
4-8 decks · S17
William Hill
4-8 decks · H17
William Hill
4-8 decks · S17
The shoe game most live tables run. Learn this one first if you play live dealer.
William Hill
Hard hand
You
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
A
17+
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
Rh
16
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
Rh
Rh
Rh
15
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
Rh
H
14
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
13
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
12
H
H
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
Dh
11
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
H
10
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
H
H
9
H
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
H
H
H
H
H
4-8
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
Soft hand
You
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
A
19+
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
18
S
Ds
Ds
Ds
Ds
S
S
H
H
S
17
H
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
H
H
H
H
H
16
H
H
Dh
Dh
Dh
H
H
H
H
H
15
H
H
Dh
Dh
Dh
H
H
H
H
H
14
H
H
H
Dh
Dh
H
H
H
H
H
13
H
H
H
Dh
Dh
H
H
H
H
H
Split hand
You
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
A
A,A
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
10,10
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
9,9
P
P
P
P
P
S
P
P
S
S
8,8
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
7,7
P
P
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
6,6
Ph
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
H
5,5
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
Dh
H
H
4,4
H
H
H
Ph
Ph
H
H
H
H
H
3,3
Ph
Ph
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
2,2
Ph
Ph
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
What the letters mean
H
Hit
Take another card.
S
Stand
Keep what you have.
Dh
Double, else hit
Double the bet for one card. If the table will not let you, hit.
Ds
Double, else stand
Double for one card. If you cannot, stand.
P
Split
Split the pair into two hands.
Ph
Split if DAS, else hit
Split only when the table allows doubling after a split.
Rh
Surrender, else hit
Give up half the bet. If surrender is not offered, hit.
How to read a row
Find your own hand down the left edge, then follow it across to the dealer's face-up card along the top. The cell where they meet is the play. Nothing else on the table matters: not the shoe, not the last hand, not the player beside you.
Reference layer
Sources and method.
This guide is a reference, not a claim that one chart fits every game. Every statistic is labelled with the rule assumptions behind it.
Wizard of Odds: blackjack basics
Core rules, action definitions, and the basic-strategy framework.
Wizard of Odds: house edge calculator
Which rule inputs move the edge, and by how much.
Wizard of Odds: rule variations
Approximate return effects for H17, DAS, surrender and the 6:5 payout.
Wizard of Odds: European basic strategy
The European no-hole-card example with its stated 0.62% house edge.
Wizard of Odds: dealer odds
Dealer bust probabilities by upcard and deck count.
Wizard of Odds: general Q&A
Win, push and loss probabilities under the Liberal Strip rules example.
Wizard of Odds: insurance
Why ordinary basic strategy declines insurance and even money.
Blackjack Apprenticeship charts
The S17, H17 and ENHC chart layouts in the appendix.
William Hill charts
The single-deck and multi-deck chart variants in the appendix.
How to read the numbers
House edge is a long-run expected value, not a guaranteed session result.
Win, loss and push frequencies vary with the rules and with how split-hand results are counted.
Dealer bust probabilities vary with deck count and the soft-17 procedure.
The bust-on-next-hit figures are an infinite-deck approximation for intuition, not a substitute for the chart.
Always attach the chart to the exact rules of the game in front of you.
Take it with you
The whole guide, as a PDF.
Every section on this page plus all seven charts, laid out for print. Keep it on your phone beside the table.
Download the PDF
Opens the print-ready guide
Before you use it
House-edge figures and probabilities vary with the rules. The strategy you use should always match the game you are actually playing.
Registration code
JBREWARDS
JOHNNYBRAVO REWARDS
A members club inside 1win.
18+ only. Play responsibly. Basic strategy narrows the house edge but does not remove it. Never wager more than you can afford to lose.