Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart: 4–8 Deck S17/H17

How to read the chart

Use pair strategy first when the opening cards have the same value. Otherwise, use the soft table when an ace can count as 11; use the hard table for every other total.

HHit

SStand

DDouble; hit if unavailable

PSplit

Rules: 4, 6, or 8 decks

Blackjack: Pays 3:2

Dealer: Peeks for blackjack

Double: Allowed after split

Splits: Up to four hands

Not offered: Surrender or insurance

Table 1

Hard totals

No ace counts as 11.

Recommended action by hard player total and dealer up-card
Player	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
8 or less	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
11 · S17	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H
11 · H17	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13–16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
17 or more	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

When double is unavailable, hit. Learn the patterns and exceptions in Hard Hands.

Table 2

Soft totals

An ace counts as 11.

Recommended action by soft player hand and dealer up-card
Player	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,2–A,3	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,4–A,5	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,6	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,7 · S17	S	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A,7 · H17	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A,8 · S17	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,8 · H17	S	S	S	S	D	S	S	S	S	S
A,9 or more	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

If doubling is unavailable on A,2 through A,6, hit. For A,7 or A,8, use the non-double action shown in the same row. See Soft Hands.

Table 3

Pairs

Check pairs before totals.

Recommended action by opening pair and dealer up-card
Player	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
10,10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
9,9	P	P	P	P	P	S	P	P	S	S
8,8	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
7,7	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
6,6	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
3,3 or 2,2	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H

A pair of fives is played as hard 10. If splitting is unavailable, use the corresponding hard or soft total. See Pairs and Splitting.

S17 and H17 changes at a glance

Only three two-card decisions change in the Third Base table when doubling is available.

Dealer soft-17 rule differences
Player hand	Dealer	S17	H17
Hard 11	Ace	Hit	Double
A,7 (soft 18)	2	Stand	Double
A,8 (soft 19)	6	Stand	Double

Read the full explanation in S17 vs H17, or test any opening hand with the strategy calculator.

Scope and limits

This chart intentionally matches the trainer rather than every blackjack game. It omits surrender, insurance, side bets, composition-dependent exceptions, and true-count index deviations. Single-deck, 6:5, no-DAS, European-no-hole-card, and other rule sets can require different decisions.

Basic strategy reduces decision error; it does not guarantee profit. Read Responsible Gambling & Support before treating casino-game practice as more than education.

Verification

Every table is derived from the readable Third Base strategy function. Complete hard-, soft-, and pair-matrix tests protect the published decisions from accidental drift. The methodology page documents the simulator assumptions.