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Blackjack strategy

The chart of plays and the house edge, worked out for exactly the rules at your table. Basic strategy lowers the house edge; it does not remove it.

Your table’s rules

Start from a province’s published rules or from your table’s signs, then change anything that differs. The chart and the figures follow.

House edge 0.53% ≈ $3.68 an hour on average at $10 a hand, 70 hands an hour (Las Vegas Strip rating table)

Basic strategy lowers the house edge; it does not remove it. This is a long-run average, not a forecast for one evening: a session can end far below or above it. B.C. rules: BCLC states every rule the chart depends on, except a limit on re-splits.

The chart

Blackjack · six decks · dealer hits soft 17 · blackjack pays 3:2 · double after splitting · surrender · house edge 0.53%

Find your hand in the first column and the dealer’s face-up card in the column headings. Cells outlined differ from the standard chart (six decks, dealer hits soft 17, 3:2, double after splitting, no surrender).

Hard totals
Hard2345678910A
5–8HHHHHHHHHH
9HDhDhDhDhHHHHH
10DhDhDhDhDhDhDhDhHH
11DhDhDhDhDhDhDhDhDhDh
12HHSSSHHHHH
13SSSSSHHHHH
14SSSSSHHHHH
15SSSSSHHHRhRh
16SSSSSHHRhRhRh
17SSSSSSSSSRs
18+SSSSSSSSSS
Soft totals (an ace counted as 11)
Soft2345678910A
A,2HHHDhDhHHHHH
A,3HHHDhDhHHHHH
A,4HHDhDhDhHHHHH
A,5HHDhDhDhHHHHH
A,6HDhDhDhDhHHHHH
A,7DsDsDsDsDsSSHHH
A,8SSSSDsSSSSS
A,9SSSSSSSSSS
Pairs
Pair2345678910A
2,2PPPPPPHHHH
3,3PPPPPPHHHH
4,4HHHPPHHHHH
5,5DhDhDhDhDhDhDhDhHH
6,6PPPPPHHHHH
7,7PPPPPPHHHH
8,8PPPPPPPPPRp
9,9PPPPPSPPSS
10,10SSSSSSSSSS
A,APPPPPPPPPP
  • Hhit
  • Sstand
  • Dhdouble, otherwise hit
  • Dsdouble, otherwise stand
  • Psplit
  • Rhsurrender, otherwise hit
  • Rssurrender, otherwise stand
  • Rpsurrender, otherwise split
  •  differs from the standard chart

Never take insurance. We have no source on whether casinos in Canada let you use a strategy card at the table; ask before you do.

What changes against the standard chart

Cell by cell, for these rules.

  • Hard 15 against 10 or an ace: surrender, otherwise hit. Standard chart: hit.
  • Hard 16 against 9, 10 or an ace: surrender, otherwise hit. Standard chart: hit.
  • Hard 17 against an ace: surrender, otherwise stand. Standard chart: stand.
  • A pair of 8s against an ace: surrender, otherwise split. Standard chart: split.
What each rule costs

The same bet and pace with one rule the other way. Worked out: the house edge for the changed rules minus the house edge for yours, by the same engine, times your bet and 70 hands an hour.

Rule the other wayAn hour at $10
Blackjack pays: 6:5Your table: 3:2+$9.52+1.36% house edge
Dealer on soft 17: standsYour table: hits−$1.38−0.20% house edge
Double after splitting: noYour table: yes+$1.01+0.14% house edge
Surrender: noYour table: yes+$0.62+0.09% house edge
Five common mistakes

What each costs on average, every time it happens. Worked out: the average result of the chart’s play minus that of the mistake, for these rules, by the same engine, times your bet; insurance: 2 to 1 on a dealer blackjack against the share of tens among the unseen cards.

MistakeCosts each time at $10
Taking insurance (half your bet) when the dealer shows an aceThe chart: no insurance$0.37
Standing on hard 16 against a 10The chart: surrender, otherwise hit$0.40
Hitting a pair of 8s against a 10The chart: split$0.61
Hitting hard 11 against a 10The chart: double, otherwise hit$0.59
Standing on soft 18 (A,7) against a 9The chart: hit$0.84

Rules used

Each rule with the words it was taken from. A preset is what a province or casino publishes for its tables, not a statement about any one casino.

B.C. (BCLC rules) · Blackjack

Rules published by BCLC for B.C. casinos: a preset for this tool, not a statement about any one casino.

  • Deckssix decks
  • Dealer on soft 17hits
  • Blackjack pays3:2
  • 6:5 tablesa 3:2 table must also be open
  • Double onany two cards
  • Double after splittingyes
  • Split tono limit stated (we count up to 8 hands)
  • Split acesonce, one card each
  • Surrenderyes, not against a dealer blackjack
  • Dealer’s hole cardnone; a dealer blackjack takes only your original bet

Free Bet Blackjack is on the game lists of 35 casinos we cover; Spanish 21 is on the game lists of 8 casinos we cover (where to play blackjack).

How it’s worked out

Every hand, card by card. For each starting hand and each dealer card, the engine goes through every card that can come next, for the exact shoe that is left, and adds up the dealer’s possible totals. The chart shows, for each total, the play with the higher average result over all two-card hands of that total. From the third card on, each hand is played the way that gives its own cards the higher average result.

Checked against published charts. For one, two, four, six and eight decks, dealer hitting or standing on soft 17, with or without doubling after splitting and surrender, this engine gives the same chart as Wizard of Odds, cell by cell, and a test in our code repeats the check. For Free Bet Blackjack and Spanish 21 it matches Wizard of Odds’ charts too, with the exceptions below.

House edge, and how close it is. For the rules of Wizard of Odds’ table by number of decks it gives 0.548% for six decks (0.551% there) and 0.331% for two (0.341%). Free Bet Blackjack: 1.01% against Wizard of Odds’ 1.04%. Spanish 21: 0.80% when the dealer hits soft 17 (0.76% there) and 0.39% when he stands (0.40%). Treat the second decimal as approximate.

Where it is approximate. A split hand is worked out as if the other split hands did not use up cards, and each further split is priced with the same chance of drawing another pair card. Past the fifth card of a hand, the shoe is taken as it was at the fifth. These shave hundredths of a percent off the house edge and change no cell of the published charts.

The cards are shuffled after every hand, as with a continuous shuffler. With a cut card the house edge is a little higher.

Spanish 21. The deck has no tens (jacks, queens and kings stay). Some plays depend on how many cards you hold: “S4” means stand with two or three cards and hit with four or more; “D5” means double with up to four cards and hit with five or more. The 6-7-8 bonus changes a few plays by the suits of your first two cards (the marks * † ‡). Wizard of Odds’ chart agrees with this engine when the bonuses are paid after a split too, as the game was designed; most casinos do not pay them, and this chart follows them, so a pair of 2s against an 8 is hit here and split there. Its chart for a dealer standing on soft 17 agrees with this engine’s eight-deck chart; with six decks, hard 11 against an ace and soft 18 against a 6 are doubled here with one card more.

Free Bet Blackjack. After a free split the second hand carries a free-bet chip instead of money. That chip is paid only if the hand is paid, and a push returns nothing, so that hand has its own chart.

No card counting. The chart is basic strategy: it uses your cards and the dealer’s face-up card, nothing else.

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

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