Blackjack Strategy
When your cards are first dealt, you should always look at THREE cards before deciding what to do next:
- your own two cards
- the Dealer's first card
The Dealer must always Draw if they have less than 17, and Stand if they have 17 or more, which means that you don't always have to get a score close to 21 in order to win.
For example, if the Dealer's card is a 5, the chances are that their next card will be a 10 (there are 16 cards worth 10, compared with 4 cards worth 2, 4 cards worth 3 and so on). This will give them a score of 15, and they will have to draw again. In all likelihood, the Dealer will go over 21, and your hand will win regardless of its value.
If, however, the dealer's card is a 7, the chances are that their next card will give them a score of 17, at which point they will have to Stand. In this case you should aim to score more than 17 with your hand in order to win.
Basic Strategy
Your best chance at winning at Blackjack is to stick to what's known as the Basic Strategy, the mathematically correct way to play every possible player's hand against every combination of dealer's card. Although this will not guarantee your success, it will give you better odds at coming out ahead over a long session of Blackjack.
The following strategies are correct for UK rules playing 4 or 6 decks, and will keep the house edge down to around 1%.
Hard Totals
The following table shows the whether you should Hit, Double (Dbl) or Stand (Stnd) when you have been dealt 2 cards with a hard total (that is, you have not been dealt an Ace). The total of your hand is shown in the left hand column, whilst the dealer's up card is listed in the top row.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 6 | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 7 | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 8 | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 9 | Hit | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 10 | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Hit | Hit |
| 11 | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Dbl | Hit | Hit |
| 12 | Hit | Hit | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 13 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 14 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 15 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 16 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 17 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd |
| 18 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd |
| 19 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd |
| 20 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd |
Soft Totals
The following table shows the whether you should Hit or Stand (Stnd) when you have been dealt 2 cards with a soft total (that is, you have been dealt an Ace). Your two cards are shown in the left hand column, whilst the dealer's up card is listed in the top row.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-2 | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| A-3 | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| A-4 | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| A-5 | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| A-6 | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| A-7 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| A-8 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd |
| A-9 | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd | Stnd |
Split Hands
The following table shows the whether you should Hit, Stand (Stnd) or Split (Spt) when you have been dealt a matching pair of cards. Your two cards are shown in the left hand column, whilst the dealer's up card is listed in the top row.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-A | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Hit |
| 2-2 | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 3-3 | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 6-6 | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 7-7 | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
| 8-8 | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Hit | Hit |
| 9-9 | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Spt | Stnd | Stnd |
Note: In British casinos, you cannot split pairs of 4, 5 or 10.
