Blackjack Odds Calculator & Strategy Chart

Work out your table’s house edge from its rules, and see the correct play for every hand against every dealer upcard.

What your table costs

Blackjack is described as a 0.43% game, and that is true of a good table only. Four or five rules printed on the felt move it between roughly 0.43% and well over 2% — a fivefold difference for the same game, decided before you are dealt a card. Set your table below.

The table

Decks in the shoe

Fewer decks favour you, which is why single-deck games usually pay less on a blackjack.

Dealer on soft 17

Payouts and doubling

Blackjack pays

The most expensive rule on the table, and the easiest to overlook.

You may double on

Other rules

Double after split allowed−0.14% versus not allowedRe-splitting aces allowed−0.08% for youLate surrender allowed−0.08% for youDealer takes no hole card+0.11% — common on European tables

Your session

Average bet

Hours played

Speed

Online play deals several times faster than a live table, which is what turns a small edge into real money.

House edge on these rules0.43%Return to player 99.57%.

Expected cost, 600 hands$64.50$32.25 an hour at 300 hands/hour.

Benchmark table (8 decks, stands soft 17, 3:2): 0.43%
Total staked on initial bets: $15,000.00

Assumes correct basic strategy for these rules. Rule effects are the published figures added together, which is the standard way to compare tables and accurate to a few hundredths of a percent — not a hand-by-hand simulation, and not card counting. Expected cost is an average over many hours; a single session lands well either side of it.

Hit or stand: the strategy chart

The house edge above assumes you play every hand correctly. This is what correctly means — the best move for each hand against each dealer upcard. Look up a single hand, or read the grid to see the shape of it: almost every decision comes down to what the dealer can make from the card they are showing.

Your table's soft 17 rule

Switching this updates the lookup and the grid, and lists the 6 hands that change — seeing how few there are is the point.

Look up one hand

Your hand

Dealer shows

Correct playSurrenderGive up half your bet. Hit if surrender is not offered.

H: Hit — Take another card.
S: Stand — Take no more cards.
D: Double — Double your bet and take exactly one card. Hit if doubling is not allowed.
Ds: Double / stand — Double your bet and take one card. Stand if doubling is not allowed.
P: Split — Split the pair into two hands.
Rh: Surrender — Give up half your bet. Hit if surrender is not offered.
Rs: Surrender — Give up half your bet. Stand if surrender is not offered.
Rp: Surrender — Give up half your bet. Split if surrender is not offered.

Hard totals

No ace, or an ace you are counting as 1.

Hard totals: correct play against each dealer upcard
Hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
5–8	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
9	H — Hit	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
10	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	H — Hit	H — Hit
11	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	H — Hit
12	H — Hit	H — Hit	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
13	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
14	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
15	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	Rh — Surrender	H — Hit
16	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	H — Hit	H — Hit	Rh — Surrender	Rh — Surrender	Rh — Surrender
17	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand
18–21	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand

Soft totals

A hand with an ace counted as 11, so it cannot bust.

Soft totals: correct play against each dealer upcard
Hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,2	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	D — Double	D — Double	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
A,3	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	D — Double	D — Double	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
A,4	H — Hit	H — Hit	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
A,5	H — Hit	H — Hit	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
A,6	H — Hit	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
A,7	S — Stand	Ds — Double / stand	Ds — Double / stand	Ds — Double / stand	Ds — Double / stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
A,8	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand
A,9	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand

Pairs

Two cards of the same rank, where splitting is on the table.

Pairs: correct play against each dealer upcard
Hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,A	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split
2,2	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
3,3	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
4,4	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	P — Split	P — Split	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
5,5	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	D — Double	H — Hit	H — Hit
6,6	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
7,7	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit	H — Hit
8,8	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split
9,9	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	P — Split	S — Stand	P — Split	P — Split	S — Stand	S — Stand
10,10	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand	S — Stand

This chart is for 4–8 decks, double after split allowed, and the soft 17 rule you selected above. Those are the most common configurations online. Basic strategy is the mathematically best play for a given rule set — it does not make blackjack a winning game, it reduces the house edge to the figure the calculator above reports and no further. Anything promising more than that is describing card counting, which this is not.

Clearing a bonus at the table

Blackjack has the best return in the casino, which makes it the obvious game for clearing a wagering requirement — until you read the contribution rate. Most casinos count blackjack at 10%, so a bonus takes ten times the turnover to clear there than on slots, and many exclude it from bonus play altogether.

Work out the break-even return for a specific offer with the bonus playthrough calculator, or compare wheels on our roulette odds page.