Blackjack Strategy

Blackjack is a game of strategy: in every situation, there’s always one optimal action you can take (see How to Play Blackjack). To recap, these actions include:

The following 12 tables show you the best action to take in nearly every possible blackjack scenario. Please note that these strategies don’t guarantee you’ll win a hand; they just give you the best odds of winning. If you follow these guidelines for every hand, you’ll reduce the house edge as much as possible. You can also extend your money, or bankroll, as far as possible if you learn to manage it correctly. And by learning to count cards, you can actually turn the odds of blackjack in your favor.

In each of the following strategy tables, the rows indicate your hand’s total value, while the columns indicate the card the dealer shows. For example, if you have a soft 18 and the dealer’s upcard is a 7, look at the intersection of the row for soft 18 and the column for 7.