Blackjack Strategy Chart Stand On Soft 17
Blackjack is a negative expectancy game, meaning you will lose money over time as the casino has an edge over you. If you want to lower that edge, then your best bet are the different blackjack charts found below.
Advanced Blackjack Strategy Chart
The house edge in Blackjack is 8%. If you’re an active player that number will add up over time. The best (and only correct) mathematical strategy for achieving optimal play is to use a blackjack chart.
Example not using a chart: Alfred is a recreational player who doesn’t make use of a strategy. If he wagers €10.000, he is expected to lose €800.
Looking at the blackjack chart, the blackjack strategy card tells us to stand whenever you have 17 points or more in your hand, regardless of what the dealer is showing for an up card. Reduce the value of your hand by one point to 16, and the chart says to stand when the dealer’s up card is a 6 or lower.
- The type of strategy chart depends on some factors such as whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17. There is a 4 deck to 8 deck Blackjack strategy. For you to use the basic strategy, you look up your hand from the vertical edge and the upcard of the dealer. In these two cases, an A stands for an Ace.
- A soft 17 occurs when the dealer shows an Ace, and a 6 after two cards. This way of adding up to 17 is considered ’soft’ because, since the Ace can be valued at one or eleven, this hand could also.
- Longer answer: The main reason is whether the Basic Strategy Chart is based off of a dealer Hitting a Soft 17, known as an “H17 game” or Standing on a Soft 17, known as an “S17 game.” Our advice is to learn this chart, then move on to learning card counting and the blackjack deviations associated with the game you will be playing (H17 vs S17).
- Basic strategy instructs a player to hit a soft seventeen in every situation, yet most players are hesitant to do so, assuming their chances of winning are better if they stand on 17 than if they risk decreasing the value of the hand with subsequent hits. A closer examination of the math behind the advice can be helpful in understanding why it makes sense always to hit a soft 17.
Example using a chart: Nicholas plays with a goal, aiming to achieve perfect play by using a blackjack chart. If he wagers €10.000, his expected loss can be as little as €20.
Question is, which one of these players are you?
How to Use the Strategy Charts
The blackjack strategy charts list the player’s two-card hand total and a possible multi-card hand total as a result of hitting a previously different hand one or more times. (In other words, play the multi-card hand as if it were an original two-card holding.)
For example, suppose you are dealt a 9-3 against a dealer’s 2 upcard in a six-deck game with Soft 17 and DAS. The strategy charts and tables state “hit.” You draw a 3 and you now have 15 against a dealer’s 2. If you look up the strategy for 15 against a 2 (table or chart), it states to “stand” against a dealer’s 2. And so you should stand.
For soft hands, since you can’t double down on more than two cards, any total that would have resulted in a double down, were it only two cards, now must become a hit or stand decision.
For example, suppose you are dealt an A-3 against a dealer’s 4 upcard. You hit (per the blackjack chart or table), and draw a 4. You now have A-3-4, which you should consider as A-7. If it were a two-card A-7, you would double down against a 4; however, since the A-7 is actually three cards, and you can’t double down, you stand.
Here’s another situation that could occur with pairs if the casino rules either don’t allow resplits, or if they do, but you have split up to a maximum of four hands. For example, suppose you are dealt a pair of 6s, the dealer’s upcard is a 6, and the rules don’t allow resplits. You split the 6s and on one 6 you draw another 6. Because you can’t resplit, you once again have to consider just the total of the hand (12) against the dealer’s 6 upcard and decide whether to stand or hit (for which, in this example, the blackjack strategy charts and tables state to stand). Suppose instead the casino rules allow resplits and you draw two more 6s, giving you four hands, each one starting with a 6. On one (or more) of the 6s you draw yet another 6 (which could occur in a multi-deck game). Since you can’t split again, you must consider this hand as a 12 against a dealer’s 6 to determine how to play it.
Another point to keep in mind is that the strategy in the following tables and charts (also known as blackjack strategy card) does not consider the composition of the cards in the hand. For example, the strategy charts and tables state that you should hit hard 16 against a dealer’s 10 (assuming surrender is not offered), regardless of your 16 is composed of 10-6 or 8-4-4.
Single-Deck Blackjack Game
Dealer Stand on Soft 17, DAS Chart
Dealer Stands on Soft 17, NDAS Chart
Dealer Hits on Soft 17, DAS Chart
Dealer Hits on Soft 17, NDAS Chart
Double-Deck Blackjack Game
Dealer Stands on Soft 17, DAS Chart
Dealer Stands on Soft 17, NDAS Chart
Dealer Hits on Soft 17, DAS Chart
Dealer Hits on Soft 17, NDAS Chart
Four or More Decks Blackjack Game
Dealer Stands on Soft 17, DAS Chart
Dealer Stands on Soft 17, NDAS Chart
Flip Chart Stand
Dealer Hits on Soft 17, DAS Chart
Simple Blackjack Strategy Chart
Dealer Hits on Soft 17, NDAS Chart
Multi-deck blackjack is played with 4+ decks and this Basic Blackjack Strategy Chart below is where the dealer stands on a soft 17.
The rules and conditions of multi-deck blackjack may vary from one casino to another. Make sure that you are familiar with both the rules and basic blackjack strategy to prepare yourself to play, whether as a top card counter or as an amateur who enjoys an occasional casino outing.
Depending on the individual casino policy, a dealer may or may not hit on soft 17. Soft 17 is a blackjack that consists of an Ace used as 11 plus a Six. Any other hand that adds up to 17 points (Seven plus a Ten or a face card, for example) is referred to as hard 17.
The blackjack table layout will tell you whether the dealer hits on soft 17. It will be written right there: “Dealer Hits Soft 17.” Otherwise it will say: “Dealer Must Stand on all 17.” The house edge is somewhat higher when the soft 17 rule is used.
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