Much of the skill in Blackjack boils down to a few key decisions you have to make:

• when to hit
• when to stand
• when to double down
• when to split
• whether to insure against a dealer’s blackjack

These decisions depend on what cards you hold and what face card is being held by the dealer. The table below is a straightforward summary of recommended basic strategies.

What is insurance?

If the dealer’s face up card is an ace, players have the option to buy insurance. This is an additional 0.5 times the initial bet. If the dealer has Blackjack, the player loses the original bet, but with insurance the players wins 2 to 1 for an even result. Subsequently, the insurance win covers the loss of the original bet. However, if the dealer does not have Blackjack the insurance bet is lost and play continues as normal.

Pairs

	Dealer's Upcard
Player	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	T	A
(A,A)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
(T,T)	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(9,9)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	N
(8,8)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
(7,7)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N
(6,6)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N
(5,5)	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(4,4)	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(3,3)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N
(2,2)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N

Y = Split, N = Don't split.

-

Soft Totals

	Dealer's Upcard
Player	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	T	A
(A,9)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
(A,8)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
(A,7)	S	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
(A,6)	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,5)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,4)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,3)	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,2)	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H

H = Hit, S = Stand, D = Double

-

Hard Totals

	Dealer's Upcard
Player	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	T	A
17	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	D	H
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H

Note that strategies vary slightly, depending on Blackjack rules and some books will recommend variations on the above. Note that you may also vary from this guide depending on whether you are ahead of or behind your opponent in a match on this site.