Blackjack Basic Strategy

This page provides the optimal basic strategy and Hi-Lo card counting deviations for blackjack. Rules: 2–6 decks, Dealer Stands on Soft 17, Late Surrender, Double After Split (DAS), Blackjack pays 3:2.

Hard Hands

Soft Hands

Split Pairs

Surrender

Hi-Lo Card Counting Deviations

The Hi-Lo system assigns: 2–6 (+1), 7–9 (0), 10–A (-1). Calculate the true count as running count ÷ decks remaining. Deviate from basic strategy when the true count meets or exceeds the index below.

Your Total	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
4–7	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
8	H	H	H	D/H	D/H	H	H	H	H	H
9	H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	H	H	H	H	H
10	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	H	H
11	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	Su/H	Su/H
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	Su/H	Su/H	Su/H
17	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
18+	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Your Hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,2 (13)	H	H	H	D/H	D/H	H	H	H	H	H
A,3 (14)	H	H	H	D/H	D/H	H	H	H	H	H
A,4 (15)	H	H	D/H	D/H	D/H	H	H	H	H	H
A,5 (16)	H	H	D/H	D/H	D/H	H	H	H	H	H
A,6 (17)	H	D/H	D/H	D/H	D/H	H	H	H	H	H
A,7 (18)	D/S	D/S	D/S	D/S	D/S	S	S	H	H	H
A,8 (19)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,9 (20)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,10 (21)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Your Pair	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
2,2	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N
3,3	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N
4,4	N	N	N	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N
5,5	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
6,6	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N
7,7	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N
8,8	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
9,9	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	N
10,10	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
A,A	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

Player Hand	Dealer Upcard	Action	Fallback if No Surrender
Hard 15	10	Su	Hit
Hard 16 (not 8,8)	9, 10, A	Su	Hit
8,8	10	Su	Split

Rank	Player Hand	Dealer Upcard	Basic Strategy	Deviation Action	True Count (≥)
1	Insurance	A	Decline	Ins	3.0
2	16	10	Surrender/Hit	S	0.0
3	15	10	Surrender/Hit	S	4.0
4	10	10	Hit	D	4.0
5	12	3	Hit	S	2.0
6	12	2	Hit	S	3.0
7	11	A	Double	H	-1.0
8	9	2	Hit	D	1.0
9	10	A	Hit	D	4.0
10	16	9	Surrender/Hit	S	5.0
11	13	2	Stand	H	-1.0
12	12	4	Stand	H	0.0
13	9	7	Hit	D	3.0
14	13	3	Stand	H	-2.0
15	12	5	Stand	H	-2.0
16	12	6	Stand	H	-1.0
17	8	10	Hit	D	5.0
18	A,8	6	Stand	D	1.0
19	15	A	Surrender/Hit	H	2.0
20	16	A	Surrender/Hit	S	5.0
21	10,10	5	No_split	Sp	5.0
22	10,10	6	No_split	Sp	4.0
23	9,9	A	No_split	Sp	1.0
24	3,3	8	No_split	Sp	2.0
25	2,2	8	No_split	Sp	4.0

Notes

H: Hit - Take another card (Green).
S: Stand - Keep your hand as is (Red).
D/H: Double - Double your bet, take one more card, then stand (if not allowed, hit) (Blue).
D/S: Double if allowed, else stand (Blue).
Y: Split - Split the pair into two hands, each with a new card (Blue in Pairs table).
Sp: Split - Split the pair into two hands, each with a new card (Yellow in Deviations table).
N: Do not split - Refer to Hard Hands or Soft Hands tables for the action to take (Red in Pairs table).
Su/H, Su/S, Su/Sp: Late Surrender - Forfeit half your bet after dealer checks for blackjack (if not allowed, follow fallback action) (Orange).
Ins: Insurance - Take insurance when offered (only for card counters at high true counts) (Brown).
Pairs Table: Y means split the pair (Blue); N means do not split (Red), refer to Hard Hands or Soft Hands tables for the action to take.
Rules: 2–6 decks, Dealer Stands on Soft 17, Late Surrender, Double After Split (DAS), Blackjack pays 3:2, Split up to 3 times, Double on any two cards.
Late Surrender: Allows surrendering after dealer checks for blackjack, most effective against 9, 10, or A for weak hands (e.g., Hard 16).
Hi-Lo Counting: Track running count (2–6: +1, 7–9: 0, 10–A: -1). True count = running count ÷ decks remaining. Use deviations to optimize play.
2 Decks: Basic strategy is similar; Hi-Lo indices may shift (e.g., 11 vs. A at -2). Adjust for precision in 2-deck games.