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Blackjack guide

Blackjack best practices

Tips for playing well, the most useful first.

  1. Learn the basic-strategy chart for our table’s rules (6 decks, dealer stands on soft 17). It’s the mathematically best play for every hand, and it does more for your results than anything else at the table.
  2. Skip insurance (a side bet, offered when the dealer shows an ace, that pays if the dealer has blackjack), even when it’s offered as “even money” on your own blackjack. It costs the average player money over time, whatever your hand.
  3. Hit (take another card) on a hard total of 8 or less. A hard total is any hand where an ace can only count as 1, or there’s no ace at all — no card can bust it, so there’s nothing to gain by standing. The one exception is a pair: split 2s or 3s against a dealer 2 through 7, and 4s against a 5 or 6.
  4. Stand (take no more cards) once you reach a hard 17 or higher. Taking another card busts far more often than it helps.
  5. With a hard 13 through 16, stand when the dealer’s up card is 2 through 6, and hit when it’s 7 or higher. A low up card busts the dealer often, so let the dealer take the risk.
  6. A hard 12 is the exception: stand only against a dealer 4, 5 or 6, and hit against everything else, including a 2 or 3.
  7. Double down (double your bet and take exactly one more card) on a hard 11 against any dealer up card except an ace, where you hit instead. An 11 is your best hand to double: one card can’t bust it, and any 10 or face card makes 21.
  8. Double a hard 10 against a dealer 9 or lower; hit against a 10 or an ace.
  9. A soft total (a hand where an ace counts as 11) cannot bust on the next card, so hit or double most soft totals of 17 or below rather than standing early.
  10. A soft 18 (ace plus 7) is a close call: double or stand against a dealer 2 through 8, but hit against a 9, 10 or ace.
  11. Split (play two cards of equal value as two separate hands, each with its own bet) aces and 8s every time, whatever the dealer shows. Splitting aces gives two shots at a strong hand; splitting 8s turns a weak 16 into two hands with a much better chance each.
  12. Never split 10s or 5s. A pair of 10s is already a strong 20; play a pair of 5s like a hard 10 and double instead of splitting.
  13. Surrender (give up half your bet and end the hand) a hard 16 against a dealer 9, 10 or ace, and a hard 15 against a dealer 10. Played out, these hands lose more than half your bet on average, so giving up half is the smaller loss.
  14. Basic strategy cuts the house’s edge on our table to about 0.4% of what you bet. It can’t remove the house’s edge or guarantee a winning session — Blackjack is still a game of chance against the house.