Atlassino Academy · Blackjack · Lesson 18 of 21

Blackjack Switch: when to trade the second cards

Two hands, one trade of their second cards, and a table that pays for the trade with an even-money blackjack and a dealer 22 that pushes.

About 21 minutes
Illustrated hosts: Leo and Maya
Last checked 2 October 2026

Two hands are in front of you, and the dealer offers to swap their second cards. Is the swap a gift from the table, or something the table charges for?

The short answer

Two hands and one trade: the switch is the move this table is built around, and it is paid for with a blackjack that pays even money and a dealer 22 that pushes. Take the trade when the two hands after it, added together, are worth more than the two hands as dealt; keep a dealt blackjack; and play the hands that follow by this game’s own chart, because the ordinary chart answers for a different game.

Leo points at two cards sliding past each other between two blackjack hands — a six of hearts leaving the left hand and a ten of clubs leaving the right — while Maya looks across at the dealer’s six of clubs; each hand sits behind its own betting circle with one chip.

Leo smiling, explaining with an open hand.

Leoformer dealer · rules and maths

The first time people sit at this table they treat the trade as a way to rescue the worse of their two hands. The trade is not a rescue. It is a choice between two pairs of hands: the two hands as they were dealt, and the two hands as they would be after the trade.

Two hands and one trade

Each round you put two bets of the same size down, one on each of two hands, and the cards come the way they come at any blackjack table. A round runs in this order.

How a round of Blackjack Switch runs, step by step.
The step	What happens at the table
The shoe and the table	At one operator’s casinos, six to eight decks and no more than five players at the table.
The deal	A first card to each of your two hands and one face up to the dealer; then a second card to each of your hands and one face down to the dealer.
The trade	If the dealer has no blackjack, you keep the two hands as dealt or ask for the second cards of the two hands to be swapped with each other — once, and only before any other move.
A blackjack dealt to you	At one casino, a dealt blackjack you keep, rather than trade away, is paid on the spot. Against a dealer blackjack, a dealt blackjack of yours pushes.
After the trade	Both hands are played out with the usual moves, doubling and splitting included; at one operator’s tables a pair of aces is split only once, with one card on each ace.

As dealt

Dealer

Hand 1 16

Hand 2 15

After the trade

Dealer

Hand 1 20

Hand 2 11

As dealt: The dealer shows the six of clubs. Hand 1: the ten of spades and the six of hearts, a total of 16. Hand 2: the five of diamonds and the ten of clubs, a total of 15. After the trade: The dealer shows the six of clubs. Hand 1: the ten of spades and the ten of clubs, a total of 20. Hand 2: the five of diamonds and the six of hearts, a total of 11.

The first cards stay where they were dealt: the 10 on the first hand and the 5 on the second. Only the second cards change places — the 6 goes to the second hand and the other 10 to the first — and a 16 and a 15 against the dealer’s 6 become a 20 and an 11.

What the table cuts to pay for the trade

A trade that turns two weak hands into one strong hand is worth a great deal to the player, and the table takes that value back in three places, each one written into the rules of the game.

What changes between Blackjack Switch and an ordinary blackjack table.
What the table settles	At this table	At an ordinary table
A blackjack dealt to you	Paid even money. Some tables post their own payment for a blackjack, anywhere from one to one up to ten to one.	Paid three to two.
An ace and a 10-value card brought together by a trade	A soft 21, and not a blackjack.	There is no trade to make one.
A dealer hand of exactly 22	A push for every hand still standing: the bet comes back and nothing is added.	A dealer bust: every hand still standing is paid.
Hands and bets every round	Two hands and two bets of the same size.	One hand and one bet.

The same rules, with no trade allowed9.84%

The rules of this game with the trade taken away, played by the full chart.

The same rules, with the trade0.54%

The rules of this game with the trade, played by the full chart and taking the trade whenever it is worth more.

Same rules in both bars, each played by its own full chart; only the trade is taken away from the upper one. The longer the bar, the larger the share of every bet the house keeps.

Two bets go down every round, so a round here puts twice as much money on the felt as one hand at an ordinary table. That is a price per round, set by the size of your bets, and not a share of each bet the house keeps.

When to trade, and when to keep

Compare the two hands as dealt with the two hands after the trade by how each pair stands against the dealer’s card, not by adding up the card totals, which the trade never changes. Worked out over every deal, the trade is worth more in about 35% of deals.

Judge the two hands as a pair.Two hands after the trade against the same two hands as dealt. One strong hand — a 20, a 21, an 11 or a 10 — is usually worth more than two middling ones.
Keep a dealt blackjack.Kept, it is paid even money; traded away, the ace and the 10-value card are only a soft 21.

Kept as dealt

Dealer

Hand 1 blackjack

Hand 2 12

If traded

Dealer

Hand 1 soft 18

Hand 2 15

Kept as dealt: The dealer shows the ten of diamonds. Hand 1: the ace of spades and the king of hearts, a blackjack. Hand 2: the five of clubs and the seven of diamonds, a total of 12. If traded: The dealer shows the ten of diamonds. Hand 1: the ace of spades and the seven of diamonds, a soft total of 18. Hand 2: the five of clubs and the king of hearts, a total of 15.

Traded, the blackjack is gone: the same four cards make a soft 18 and a 15. Keeping is the answer here, and in almost every deal that brings a blackjack.

After the trade: this game’s chart

Once the trade is decided, both hands are played by a chart, and at this table it is a chart of its own. The dealer 22 that pushes is the reason: a move that leans on the dealer going over 21 — putting a second bet up, splitting a pair, standing on a low total — is worth less when one of the dealer’s busts is taken back from you.

A hard 9 against a 3 or a 4Take a card, where the ordinary chart puts a second bet up.
A hard 10 against a 9Take a card, where the ordinary chart puts a second bet up.
A hard 11 against a 10 or an aceTake a card, where the ordinary chart puts a second bet up.
A pair of 2s against a 2, a 3 or a 4Take a card, where the ordinary chart splits the pair.
A pair of 3s against a 2, a 3 or a 4Take a card, where the ordinary chart splits the pair.
A hard 12 against a 4Take a card, where the ordinary chart stands.
A hard 13 against a 2Take a card, where the ordinary chart stands.

Against the ordinary chart for the same six decks and the same dealer rule, this game’s chart names a different move in 38 of its 330 cells. The full chart, with those cells marked, is on the lesson card below.

Which table, which price

The dealer rule is written on the felt, not in the name of the game: a table may have the dealer hit a soft 17 or stand on it, and at one casino the dealer hits. The number of decks moves the price as well, by much less.

Six decks, dealer hits a soft 170.54%

Six decks, the dealer hits a soft 17.

Eight decks, dealer hits a soft 170.58%

Eight decks, the dealer hits a soft 17.

Six decks, dealer stands on a soft 170.14%

Six decks, the dealer stands on a soft 17.

The same game three times, each played by the full chart for its own rules and taking the trade whenever it is worth more. A dealer who stands on a soft 17 takes 0.40 percentage points off the share the house keeps; two more decks in the shoe add a little to it.

The smallest and largest betAt one casino, posted at the table along with the largest payout; the smallest bet goes down twice every round here.
A side bet, at one casinoOne casino deals a side bet on matches among your first four cards. It is a separate bet with a price of its own, and every side bet is a risky gamble.

The game is dealt at a handful of casinos, and a casino’s list of games can change. Read the felt of the table in front of you, not your memory of another one.

Maya with a hand on her chest, speaking gently and seriously.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

The trade makes this table cheap only because the payouts were cut first. Played without it, this is the dearest blackjack on the floor.

Decide how much money the evening gets while you are still at home — counting two bets a round, not one — and stop when it is used up. Get up from the table for a break now and then, too. A bad run is not something the next round owes you back, and chasing it only makes the evening dearer. If the money on the table starts to feel like money you need, call one of the lines below; that is what they are for.

If it stops being fun

If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. 19+ in most of Canada; 18+ in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. More on responsible gaming.

1-866-531-2600Ontario · ConnexOntario · 24 hours

1-800-461-0140Quebec · Jeu: aide et référence · 24 hours

1-888-795-6111British Columbia · Gambling Support BC · 24 hours

1-866-332-2322Alberta · Addiction Helpline (Recovery Alberta) · 24 hours

1-800-463-1554Manitoba · Problem Gambling Helpline · 24 hours

1-800-306-6789Saskatchewan · Problem Gambling Help Line · 24 hours

1-888-429-8167Nova Scotia · Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line · 24 hours

1-800-461-1234New Brunswick · Gambling Information Line

1-855-255-4255Prince Edward Island · PEI Gambling Support Line · 24 hours

811Newfoundland and Labrador · Gambling Help Line · 24 hours

1-844-533-3030Yukon · Reach Out Support Line (CMHA Yukon)

If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8

The chart on one card

That is the lesson. The chart for this game is on one card: print it, or keep it on your phone.

Blackjack SwitchSix decks assumed · dealer hits a soft 17

Hard totals after the trade
Hard	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
5–8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
9	H	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
10	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H	H
11	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17
12	H	H	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	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	H	H
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
17+	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Soft hands after the trade
Soft	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,2	H	H	H	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H	H	H	H	H
A,3	H	H	H	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H	H	H	H	H
A,4	H	H	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H	H	H	H	H
A,5	H	H	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,6	H	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,7	S, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	S, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	S, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	Ds	Ds	S	S	H	H	H
A,8	S	S	S	S	S, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	S	S	S	S	S
A,9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Pairs after the trade
Pair	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
2,2	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
3,3	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H	H
6,6	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
7,7	S, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
8,8	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	H, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17
9,9	S, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	S, differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17	P	P	P	S	P	P	S	S
10,10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P

Hhit
Sstand
Dhdouble, otherwise hit
Dsdouble, otherwise stand
Psplit
•differs from the ordinary chart for six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17

19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Set a limit before you sit down · Play responsibly · the line for your province is at Helplines by province

If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8

Practice: switch or keep?

Level 1 deals clear trades: deals where trading, or keeping the hands as dealt, is worth a good deal more than the other choice. Level 2 deals close calls, where the two choices are near each other and only adding up both hands decides. Level 3 is the hand after the trade, in the cells where this game’s chart and the ordinary chart name different moves.

The practice table asks for your first decision only: it does not play the rest of the round, and there is no money on it.

The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one hand from it, with the answer.

Blackjack Switch · two hands · six decks · dealer hits a soft 17

Hand 1 is a 5 and a 10; Hand 2 is a queen and a 6. The dealer shows an 8. Trade the second cards, or keep both hands as dealt?

The answer: Trade: 11 and 20.

Judge the two hands as a pair, before and after: against an 8, 11 and 20 are worth more together than 15 and 16. The trade is decided by the pair, not by rescuing the weaker hand. These are averages over many deals like this one: either hand can still lose, and over all hands the house keeps its share.

Every answer in the practice table comes from the engine that works out the chart for this game; none of them is typed in by hand.

How the practice run works

Where the deals come from. On levels 1 and 2 the two hands as dealt and the two hands after the trade are each valued against the dealer’s card, and the answer is whichever pair of hands is worth more, added together. Where an answer shows an amount, it is an average for an example bet on each hand — an example, not a suggested bet, and not a forecast of any one deal. On level 3 the answer is the cell of this game’s chart.

One strip, and no rounds. Every square on the strip is one deal of this lesson, and all of the squares are there from the start. Your first answer fills the square it belongs to; when the squares of one level are full, the next level begins by itself. Practising a deal you got wrong turns its cross into “fixed in practice” and does not change the count, because only first answers count.

Your progress stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Check yourself

Maya with a finger raised and a knowing look.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Three quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.

1Your first hand is a 10 and a 6, your second hand is a 5 and a 10, and the dealer shows a 6. Do you trade the second cards?

Trade the second card of the first hand only.Yes: the trade makes a 10 and a 10, and a 5 and a 6 — a 20 and an 11 against a 6.No: both hands are already there, and the trade only moves cards around.

Show the answer

Answer: Yes: the trade makes a 10 and a 10, and a 5 and a 6 — a 20 and an 11 against a 6. Judge the two hands as a pair, as dealt and after the trade. As dealt they are a 16 and a 15, two totals paid only when the dealer goes past 22; after the trade they are a 20 and an 11 against the same 6.

Trade the second card of the first hand only. There is no trade for one hand alone. The trade swaps the second card of each hand with the other, so it is one move made for both hands at once.
Yes: the trade makes a 10 and a 10, and a 5 and a 6 — a 20 and an 11 against a 6. A 20 is a hand the dealer’s 6 rarely reaches, and an 11 against a 6 is a strong hand to play on. Added together, the two hands after the trade are worth far more than a 16 and a 15.
No: both hands are already there, and the trade only moves cards around. The trade adds no hand, but it changes what the two hands hold, and a 20 and an 11 are worth more against a 6 than a 16 and a 15.

2At this table you are dealt an ace and a king on your first hand, and you keep it. What is it paid?

Nothing beyond your bet back, because there are two hands.Even money: one to one, like any other bet settled in your favour.Three to two, as at an ordinary table.

Show the answer

Answer: Even money: one to one, like any other bet settled in your favour. A blackjack kept at this table is paid even money, one to one, like any other bet settled in your favour. Some tables post a different payment for a blackjack, so read the felt before you sit.

Nothing beyond your bet back, because there are two hands. Two hands change how many bets go down, not what a blackjack on one of them is paid. A kept blackjack is paid even money.
Even money: one to one, like any other bet settled in your favour. That is the payment for a blackjack at this table, unless the felt posts something else.
Three to two, as at an ordinary table. Three to two is the ordinary table’s payment, and it is the first thing this game cuts to pay for the trade.

3After a trade your first hand is an ace and a jack. The dealer finishes on 21 with three cards. What happens to that hand? new situation

It is paid one to one, because an ace and a jack is a blackjack.A push: after a trade the ace and the jack are a soft 21, not a blackjack.It is lost, because the dealer acts last.

Show the answer

Answer: A push: after a trade the ace and the jack are a soft 21, not a blackjack. An ace and a 10-value card brought together by a trade are a soft 21 at this table, not a blackjack, and a hand of 21 or less against a dealer hand of the same value is a push.

It is paid one to one, because an ace and a jack is a blackjack. A blackjack only comes on the cards as dealt. A hand made by a trade cannot be one, so this hand is a soft 21 against the dealer’s 21.
A push: after a trade the ace and the jack are a soft 21, not a blackjack. A soft 21 and a dealer 21 are the same total, and the same total is a push: the bet comes back and nothing is added.
It is lost, because the dealer acts last. Acting last decides the order of play, not who an equal total belongs to. Two equal totals push.

Back to the question we opened with. The trade is not a gift from the table. The table pays for it in advance, with an even-money blackjack and a push on a dealer 22, and without the trade the same rules would cost many times more.

Where to play, and further reading

Blackjack in Canada The casinos that list blackjack, with the minimum bets they quote. Free Bet Blackjack Another table where a dealer 22 pushes, with doubles and splits on the table’s chips instead of a trade. Spanish 21 A table with a deck of its own and a chart of its own, set beside the ordinary chart cell by cell.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page

How it’s worked out

Rules, numbers and hosts

Where this happens. Every table on this page is a real table in a room you can walk into, and every rule quoted on it comes from a rule book or a rules card its publisher makes public. Where two documents say different things — what a blackjack is paid, and what the dealer does on a soft 17 — the page gives both, with each publisher behind its own button.

Numbers. Every share of a bet on this page is worked out when the page is built, by the blackjack engine behind our strategy tool, for each set of rules played by the full chart worked out for it and taking the trade whenever it is worth more. Six decks are an assumption: the operator’s rule book prints six to eight, and the casino rules card that prints the dealer rule does not print a number of decks, so eight decks are shown as a second price beside the first. The share of deals where the trade is worth more comes from the same engine. In the engine the two hands are valued independently, the way split hands are — each as if the shoe were missing that hand’s own two cards and the dealer’s card; a simulation puts the effect of that shortcut on the price at less than one hundredth of a percentage point.

The count of cells. This game’s chart is compared cell by cell with the ordinary chart for the same six decks and the same dealer rule, with a blackjack paid three to two and a dealer 22 counted as a bust. A cell counts when the two charts name different moves. The cells the text names one by one — the hard 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 and the pairs of 2s and 3s — are checked against the engine every time the page is built.

What the prices assume. The operator’s rule book caps a split at four hands without saying whether that counts both of your hands together; the prices assume up to four hands from each hand, doubling after a split, no surrender, and a dealer blackjack settled before the trade is offered. Insurance at the casino whose rules card is quoted is not printed there and is left out. Every answer in the practice comes from the same engine as the chart. There is no figure here for how long money lasts at this table. The ordinary chart has lessons of its own earlier in the track (3.6 to 3.10), and so do the side bets (3.13), Free Bet Blackjack (3.14), Spanish 21 (3.15), Zappit (3.19), Double Down Madness (3.20) and Bahama Bonus (3.21).

Sources. Every claim on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it.

Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.

No promise. Blackjack Switch is played against the house, like every other game in this course. The trade lowers the share of each bet the house keeps compared with the same rules without it; it does not make the game free of cost, a hand played by the chart can still lose, and nothing on this page says how an evening will end.

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Blackjack Switch: when to trade the second cards

The short answer

Two hands and one trade

What the table cuts to pay for the trade

When to trade, and when to keep

After the trade: this game’s chart

Which table, which price

If it stops being fun

The chart on one card

Practice: switch or keep?

Lesson done

Blackjack Switch · two hands · six decks · dealer hits a soft 17

Check yourself

Where to play, and further reading

Further reading

How it’s worked out