Blackjack Basic Strategy for Six Decks, Dealer Hits Soft 17

Blackjack is the one casino table where the decisions you make change the house edge by whole percentage points. Play by feel and a typical player gives the house 2% or more. Play basic strategy and, under good rules, that drops to roughly half a percent. This guide is written for the exact game on the Halfonred floor: a six-deck shoe, dealer hits soft 17, double after split allowed, no surrender.

The complete chart

Find your hand on the left and the dealer's upcard across the top. Pairs are listed separately; if you choose not to split, play the pair as its hard total.

Why the rules matter

Basic strategy is not one chart. It is the mathematically best play for one specific rule set, worked out by simulating every player hand against every dealer upcard. Change the number of decks, whether the dealer hits soft 17, or whether surrender is offered, and a handful of plays flip. The chart above assumes the rules above. Using a chart built for a different game costs you a little on every hand where they differ.

The single biggest rule is the blackjack payout. A natural paying 3 to 2 is the standard. A table paying 6 to 5 adds about 1.4 percentage points to the house edge — more than every strategy mistake below combined for most players. Always read the felt before you sit down.

Hard totals

A hard total is a hand with no ace, or one where the ace has to count as 1. These cover most of the decisions you will make.

The logic behind 12 through 16 is the dealer's bust rate. A dealer showing 2 through 6 has to keep drawing and busts often, so you let them take the risk. Against 7 or higher, the dealer is likely to finish on 17 or better, so a stiff hand has to try to improve.

Soft totals

A soft hand contains an ace counted as 11. You cannot bust by taking one card, which is why soft hands are your best doubling spots against a weak dealer.

Soft 18 is the most misplayed hand in blackjack. Standing on 18 feels safe, but against a 9, 10 or ace it loses more often than it wins, and hitting improves it. If doubling is not allowed after you have already taken a card, stand on soft 18 against 2 through 8. There is a full breakdown of soft 18 if you want the reasoning card by card.

Pairs

With double after split allowed, splitting low pairs becomes a little more attractive, because a good second card can be doubled.

Splitting eights against a 10 is the classic hand players hate. Sixteen is the worst total in the game. Two hands starting on 8 still lose money on average against a 10, but they lose less than one hard 16 does — here is why splitting 8s against a 10 is right.

Insurance

When the dealer shows an ace you will be offered insurance: a side bet, at half your stake, that pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack. In a six-deck shoe the house edge on insurance is over 7%. Decline it every time, including when you hold blackjack yourself. “Even money” is the same bet with a friendlier name.

Common mistakes

• Standing on 12 against a dealer 2 or 3. Hit it.
• Not doubling 11 against an ace in a game where the dealer hits soft 17.
• Hitting soft 18 against a 6, or standing on it against a 10.
• Splitting 10s because the dealer shows a 5 or 6. Twenty already wins most of the time.
• Changing bet size after a streak. Past hands in a shuffled shoe do not change the next one.

Basic strategy lowers the house edge; it does not remove it. Set a budget before you sit down and treat the remaining edge as the price of the game.

Practice basic strategy at the Blackjack table