How to use the hand checker
- Choose your hand — a hard total (no ace counted as 11), a soft total (an ace counted as 11) or a pair.
- Choose the dealer's up-card.
- The checker shows the basic strategy move: hit, stand, double, split or surrender.
Below the checker you'll find the full chart, colour-coded so you can learn it at a glance.
Reading the colour codes
- Stand — keep your hand.
- Hit — take another card.
- Double (otherwise hit) — double your bet and take exactly one card; if doubling isn't allowed, hit.
- Double (otherwise stand) — as above, but stand if you can't double.
- Split — split a pair into two hands.
- Surrender (otherwise hit) — give up half your bet if late surrender is offered; otherwise hit.
If the dealer hits soft 17
This chart assumes the dealer stands on soft 17. At tables where the dealer hits soft 17 (written "H17" on the table), make these changes:
| Your hand | Dealer up-card | S17 (this chart) | H17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard 11 | Ace | Hit | Double |
| Soft 18 (A,7) | 2 | Stand | Double (otherwise stand) |
| Soft 19 (A,8) | 6 | Stand | Double (otherwise stand) |
| Hard 15 | Ace | Hit | Surrender (otherwise hit) |
| Hard 17 | Ace | Stand | Surrender (otherwise stand) |
| 8,8 | Ace | Split | Surrender (otherwise split) |
H17 adds about 0.2% to the house edge; a 6:5 blackjack payout adds about 1.4% — far worse. See how rules change the edge.
Tips for learning the chart
- Learn hard totals first — they come up most.
- Then the pairs — easy to remember with a few fixed rules.
- Finally soft totals — the trickiest, but they matter less often.
For the reasoning behind each move and how table rules change the edge, read our full guide to blackjack basic strategy. Ready to play? Our online blackjack page lists casinos with 3:2 tables.
