Blackjack basic strategy
One correct decision for every hand and dealer upcard. Learn it by category, then drill the exact hands that trip you up.
Short answer
Basic strategy is the mathematically correct hit, stand, double, split or surrender decision for every combination of your hand and the dealer's upcard, for a given rule set (six decks, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split allowed, in the reference chart below). It is organized into four categories: hard totals (no ace, or an ace counted as 1), soft totals (a hand with an ace counted as 11), pairs (whether to split), and surrender (whether to give up half your bet instead of playing on). The full interactive chart is the blackjack decision library.
Every cell in the chart links to its own page with the exact expected value of every option, the dealer's bust chance, and how the play shifts across deck counts and the soft-17 rule — all from the same engine that grades the trainer.
Hard totals
A hard total has no ace, or an ace that must count as 1 to avoid busting. The dealer's upcard is the deciding factor: against a weak upcard (4, 5 or 6) the dealer busts often, so you stand on stiff totals (12–16) and let the dealer take the risk; against a strong upcard (7 through ace) the dealer usually makes a hand, so you hit your stiffs instead. See the exact bust rates behind this logic on the odds page. Examples: hard 16 vs 10, hard 12 vs 3, hard 11 vs 10.
Soft totals
A soft total counts an ace as 11 (soft 18 is ace-7, for example). Because the ace can drop to 1 if you draw a high card, soft hands can never bust on the next card, which makes doubling and hitting far more attractive than the same hard total. Examples: soft 18 vs 9, soft 17 (ace-6) vs 3.
Pairs
When your first two cards match, you can split them into two hands. Some pairs always split (aces and 8s), one pair never splits (10s — a made 20 is too strong to break up), and the rest depend on the dealer's upcard. See the full pair-by-pair breakdown on the decision library. Examples: splitting 8s vs 10, pair of 9s vs 7.
Surrender
Late surrender lets you give up half your bet before taking any other action, on your first two cards only. It is correct only for a handful of the very worst hands, where every other option loses more than half your bet on average — for example hard 16 vs 10. Where surrender is not offered at your table, each hand's page in the decision library lists the correct fallback play.
Common questions
Does basic strategy change with the rules?
A handful of borderline hands do, mainly around soft-17 and the deck count. Each hand's page in the decision library flags where the play changes.
Is basic strategy the same as card counting?
No. Basic strategy assumes a freshly shuffled shoe and never changes hand to hand. Card counting tracks the shoe as it depletes and occasionally deviates from basic strategy when the count favors it — see card counting.
Do I need to memorize all 186 hands?
No. Most cells are obvious (always hit a hard 8, always stand on a hard 18). The chart highlights the roughly 90 real decisions worth learning, and the trainer's drill modes let you practice just those.