When to Hit or Stand in Blackjack: The Chart by Dealer Card

The hit-or-stand chart

Rows are your total, columns are the dealer's up-card (A is an Ace). H hit, S stand, D double if the table lets you, otherwise hit. The cells come from the same code as the in-game hint and the full basic strategy chart, for six decks with the dealer standing on soft 17. Pairs are not shown here: 8s and Aces are always split, and the other pairs follow the pairs table on the full chart.

Hard totals (no Ace, or an Ace counting 1)
You	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
17 or more	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
8 or less	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H

Soft totals (an Ace counting 11)
You	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,8 (soft 19) or more	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,7 (soft 18)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H
A,6 (soft 17)	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,5 (soft 16)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,4 (soft 15)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,3 (soft 14)	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,2 (soft 13)	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H

Why the dealer's card decides

The dealer has no choices: they draw on 16 or less and stand on 17 or more. So the up-card tells you roughly how the dealer's hand will end. Sixteen of the fifty-two card values count ten, so a dealer showing 7, 8, 9, 10 or Ace most often finishes with 17 to 21. A weak hand of yours loses to that unless you improve it, which is why 12 to 16 hit against those cards even though hitting busts you often: it loses less than standing.

A dealer showing 4, 5 or 6 most often holds 14 to 16 and must draw. They bust about 40 percent of the time or more, so with a stiff hand you stand and make them take the risk. A 2 or 3 busts a little less often (around 35 percent), which is why 12, the stiff hand that busts least when hit, takes a card against them while 13 to 16 still stand.

The hands people get wrong

16 against a 10. It feels wrong to hit a hand that busts more often than not, but standing wins only when the dealer busts, about 23 percent of the time from a ten. Hitting wins a little more often. Both are bad; hitting is less bad.
12 against a 2 or 3. Most players stand on any 12. Only the four ten-value cards bust a 12, and a dealer 2 or 3 makes a hand more often than a 4, 5 or 6 does, so take the card.
Soft 17. Ace-6 is not a 17, it is a hand that cannot bust and usually improves. Hit it (or double against 3 to 6). A standing 17 wins only when the dealer busts.
Soft 18 against a 9, 10 or Ace. Eighteen sounds good, but the dealer beats it more often than not from those cards. Hit.
Hard 17 against an Ace. Stand. It is a poor hand, but any card of 5 or higher busts it, and no rule set ever hits a hard 17.

When hitting is not the best play

This page answers only "card or no card". On a two-card hard 9, 10 or 11 and on several soft hands, doubling beats plain hitting when the table allows it, and a pair of 8s or Aces should be split rather than played as 16 or 12. The full basic strategy chart covers those, and the printable one-page version fits next to the keyboard. Insurance and even money are never worth taking.

Frequently asked questions

Do you hit on 16 in Blackjack?

Against a dealer 7, 8, 9, 10 or Ace, yes: hard 16 busts often when you hit, but standing loses even more often because the dealer makes 17 or better most of the time from those cards. Against a dealer 2 to 6, stand and let the dealer draw. A pair of 8s is the exception: split them against everything.

Do you hit on 12 in Blackjack?

Hit 12 against a dealer 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10 or Ace. Stand only against a 4, 5 or 6. Twelve is the one stiff hand you hit against a 2 and a 3, because only four of the thirteen card values bust it and the dealer busts less often from a 2 or 3 than from a 4, 5 or 6.

Do you hit on 13 against a dealer 2?

No, stand. From 13 upward every stiff hand stands against a dealer 2 through 6 and hits against 7 through Ace. Only 12 hits against the 2 and 3.

Do you hit a soft 17?

Yes, always. An Ace and a 6 cannot bust with one more card, and 17 is a weak total that wins only when the dealer busts. Against a dealer 3 to 6 doubling is better still. Standing on soft 17 is a common mistake.

When do you stand on a soft 18?

Stand on Ace-7 against a dealer 2, 7 or 8. Against a 9, 10 or Ace hit it, since the dealer usually finishes with 19 or better and 18 loses. Against a 3 to 6 double if you can, otherwise stand.

Does the dealer hit on 16?

Yes. The dealer has no choice: they must draw on 16 or less and stand on 17 or more. On CardCouch the dealer also stands on a soft 17. That fixed rule is why your decision depends on the dealer's up-card: it tells you how likely they are to bust.

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When to Hit or Stand in Blackjack

Hit or stand in six lines