A blackjack cheat sheet is a chart showing the mathematically best move for every hand you can be dealt against the dealer's up card. Following it is called basic strategy, and it lowers the house edge to around 0.5%. Use the interactive helper below to look up any hand instantly, or read the full chart to memorise it.
A blackjack cheat sheet takes the guesswork out of every hand. Instead of relying on instinct, you follow the play that the maths says loses the least over time. This guide gives you an interactive helper that answers any hand in one tap, the full colour coded strategy chart to study, and plain English rules for hitting, standing, doubling and splitting. It pairs naturally with our complete guide to blackjack.
- A cheat sheet is just basic strategy in a grid, the best move for your hand against the dealer's up card.
- It cuts the house edge to about 0.5%, the lowest of almost any casino game, but it does not beat the house.
- Always split Aces and 8s, never split 5s or 10s, and stand on any hard 17 or higher.
- Using a cheat sheet is legal and allowed online, where you can keep it open beside you as you play.
What is a blackjack cheat sheet?
A blackjack cheat sheet is a quick reference chart that tells you the single best move for any hand, based on the two cards you hold and the dealer's up card. That best move is not opinion, it is the result of running every possible situation through the maths, which is why the cheat sheet is really just basic strategy in a form you can read at a glance.
The chart covers three kinds of hand: hard totals (no Ace, or an Ace counted as one), soft totals (an Ace counted as eleven), and pairs you can split. Learn to read those three sections and you have every decision in the game covered. Our chart assumes the most common online rules: four or more decks, the dealer stands on a soft 17, and doubling after a split is allowed.
Interactive blackjack cheat sheet
Pick your hand and the dealer's up card, and the helper gives you the correct play at once. It uses the same basic strategy as the full chart below.
The complete blackjack strategy chart
This is the full blackjack cheat sheet. The rows are your hand, the columns are the dealer's up card, and each cell is the best play. Screenshot it, print it, or keep this page open while you play online.
| Hand | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|
| Hand | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
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| Hand | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
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A double marked in the chart means double down if you can, otherwise hit (for soft 18 against a low card, stand instead). A pair of 5s is never split, you treat it as a hard 10 and usually double.
Hard totals: when to hit and when to stand
Hard totals are hands without an Ace, or where the Ace can only count as one without busting. The key idea is the dealer's weak cards. When the dealer shows a 2 through 6, they are more likely to bust, so you stand on stiff totals and let them take the risk. When they show a 7 through Ace, you hit until you reach a strong total.
- 11 or less: always hit, you cannot bust.
- 12: stand against a dealer 4, 5 or 6, otherwise hit. This is the hand most players get wrong.
- 13 to 16: stand against a dealer 2 through 6, hit against 7 through Ace.
- 17 or higher: always stand.
Soft totals and when to double down
A soft total contains an Ace counted as eleven, so you cannot bust with one more card. That safety net is why soft hands double down far more often than hard ones. The best doubling spots are against the dealer's weakest cards.
- Soft 13 to 16 (Ace plus 2 to 5): double against a dealer 4, 5 or 6, otherwise hit.
- Soft 17 (Ace plus 6): double against 3 through 6, otherwise hit.
- Soft 18 (Ace plus 7): double against 3 through 6, stand against 2, 7 or 8, hit against 9, 10 or Ace.
- Soft 19 or 20: always stand, these are already winning hands.
Pairs: when to split in blackjack
Splitting turns one hand into two, each with its own bet, so you only do it when it improves your position. Two rules never change: always split Aces and 8s, and never split 5s or 10s. Splitting Aces gives you two shots at a strong hand, and splitting 8s escapes a weak 16. Splitting 10s breaks up a near certain winning 20, and splitting 5s throws away a strong doubling hand.
- Always split: Aces and 8s, no matter what the dealer shows.
- Never split: 5s (double instead) and 10s (stand on 20).
- 2s, 3s and 7s: split against a dealer 2 through 7.
- 6s: split against 2 through 6.
- 9s: split against 2 through 9, but stand against 7, 10 or Ace.
