Blackjack basic strategy: the full chart, explained

How to use a basic strategy chart

Each chart has your hand down the side and the dealer's face-up card across the top: find the square where they meet and make that move. A hard hand has no ace counting 11 (10 and 6 is hard 16). A soft hand has an ace still counting 11 (ace and 6 is soft 17), so one more card can't bust it. A pair is two cards of the same rank. Check the pairs chart first, then soft, then hard. When the chart says double and the game won't allow it, fall back to the second move: hit for D, stand for Ds.

H hit · S stand · D double (if you can't, hit) · Ds double (if you can't, stand) · P split. Read across from your hand to the dealer's up-card.

Hard totals chart

The pattern to remember is the dealer's weak cards, 2 to 6. The dealer must draw to 17, and from a 4, 5 or 6 it busts more often than from any other start, so you stand on 12 to 16 and let it take the risk. Against 7 or higher, standing on 12 to 16 loses more often than hitting, so you hit, even though it feels wrong.

Doubling is the other side of it: more money in when your hand is strong and the dealer's is weak. Eleven is the best doubling hand, because every 10 and picture card takes it to 21.

Soft totals (hands with an ace)

A soft hand can't bust on the next card, so the chart is more aggressive: soft 13 to 17 improve often, so you double them against a weak dealer card and otherwise hit.

Soft 18 (A7) is the hand most players get wrong. Eighteen sounds strong, but against a dealer 9, 10 or ace it loses more often than not, so you hit. Against a 2, 7 or 8 you stand, and against 3 to 6 you double if the game lets you and stand if it doesn't.

Pairs: when to split

Splitting turns one hand into two, with a second bet equal to the first, and it's right when two hands starting with that card beat the pair played as a total. Aces and 8s are always split: two aces beat a soft 12, and two 8s lose less than a hard 16. Never split 5s (a hard 10 is a doubling hand) or 10s (20 is already strong). Small pairs are split against weak dealer cards, helped by doubling after a split.

European blackjack and Face Up 21: what changes

Fair Go lists Classic Blackjack, European Blackjack, Face Up 21 and Pontoon. The charts are built for the classic game, where the dealer checks for blackjack before you act; the others change that, so check each game's own rules.

European Blackjack

Under the usual European rules the dealer's second card comes after you play, so a dealer blackjack can take your doubles and splits too, and doubling is often limited to 9, 10 or 11. Against a dealer 10 or ace, play more cautiously than the classic chart shows.

Face Up 21

With both dealer cards showing, you play against a known total rather than one card, so an up-card chart doesn't apply. Draw while the dealer's total beats yours; when the dealer sits on 12 to 16 and must draw, a weak total can stand. The game pays for that information with even-money blackjacks and dealer-wins ties, in its usual form.

Our blackjack rules guide covers the three versions and the two side bets in more detail.

Pontoon plays differently

Pontoon sits in Fair Go's blackjack family, but the charts don't carry across cleanly. Both dealer cards are hidden, ties usually go to the dealer, and a five-card hand of 21 or under earns a bonus in the traditional game. If Fair Go's version pays like blackjack and pushes ties, the charts are a fair guide; if it plays the traditional way, treat them as a rough start only.

What basic strategy can and can't do

Played perfectly under the rules above, basic strategy brings the house edge down to around 0.5%, lower than almost anything else in a casino. It does that by making the best play every time, not by winning more hands: you still lose slightly more hands than you win, and doubles and splits make up part of the gap.

It can't remove the edge. Over a long run the game still costs about 50 cents per $100 bet, and one session swings far more than that, so a losing run with perfect play is normal.

• Check the payout. Basic strategy assumes blackjack pays 3:2. A 6:5 table costs more than good play saves.
• Check the soft 17 rule. These charts assume the dealer stands on soft 17. If it hits, a few close plays change, such as doubling 11 against an ace.
• Mind the bonus cap. While you're wagering a Fair Go bonus, bets are capped at $10, and a double counts as a second stake on the same hand.

Decide what you'll spend before the first hand. Our responsible gambling page has tools and free support.

Where to use it at Fair Go

Classic Blackjack is where these charts apply directly. Pontoon needs its own adjustments, and baccarat and European roulette are the low-effort alternatives.

• • Table game

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  Classic Blackjack

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  Baccarat

• • Table game

  Play now: Pontoon (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Info about Pontoon

  Pontoon

• • Table game

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  European Roulette

Blackjack basic strategy FAQ