When to hit or stand in blackjack

Hard totals

Under the default multi-deck rules, hard 12 stands against 4 through 6. Hard 13 through 16 stand against 2 through 6. First check for a legal surrender, split or double recommendation.

Against 7 through ace, keep hitting hard 12 to 16 unless surrender applies. Hard 17 and above stand against every upcard in the default chart.

A worked example

With 10 and 6 against a dealer 10, the default chart says Rh: surrender if available, otherwise hit. With a pair of 8s against 10, use the pair row instead; the recommendation is split. See when to surrender and when to split for those rows.

Soft hands

A soft hand contains an ace counted as 11. It can accept another card without immediately busting. A,7 is soft 18; against 9, 10 or an ace in the default multi-deck chart, hit. Soft and hard hands explains the difference in detail.

Check the specific rule set

Single-deck, double-deck and H17 tables can differ. Use the blackjack hand calculator or the full chart for the complete decision, including fallback actions.

Hard-total hit or stand chart

This reference uses the default 4–8 deck S17, double-after-split and late-surrender rules. It includes doubles and surrender because hit or stand alone is not always the best initial decision. H = hit, S = stand, Dh = double otherwise hit, Rh = surrender otherwise hit. Pairs and soft hands use their own rows.

Hard 12 vs 2 or 3, and 13 vs 3

In the default multi-deck chart, hit hard 12 against 2 or 3; stand against 4, 5 or 6. Hard 13 against 3 stands. Against 9, hard 12 hits. The dealer’s weak upcard does not make every low player total a stand.

Hard 14 follows the hard-13 row in these rules. Hard 15 against 10 surrenders if allowed, otherwise hits. Hard 16 against 7 hits; against 10 it surrenders if allowed, otherwise hits. A pair of 8s must first use pair splitting strategy.

Hard 11, hard 18 and drawing limits

Hard 11 doubles against 2 through 10 under the default S17 rules, otherwise hits; against an ace it hits. Hard 18 stands against every upcard, including 3. Soft 18 is different: soft-hand strategy can call for a hit or double.

A normal hit can be followed by another hit while the hand remains live. Once you double, you normally receive just one additional card. The chance of busting on the next hit helps explain risk, but it does not replace a full strategy decision.