Blackjack Strategy

Eleven guides, in the order they build on each other — from what makes a hand soft, through the decisions that actually cost money, to whether card counting is worth your evening. Start at the top: the first three are the ones that change your results.

Recommended sequence

The learning path

Eleven guides, in the order they build on each other. The first three are the ones that actually change your results; everything after that is refinement.

Start here — play every hand correctly
01
Beginner
Soft hands and hard hands
Why an ace changes every decision you make, and why two hands that both total 18 are played seven different ways.
02
Beginner
Basic strategy
The mathematically correct play for every hand against every upcard. It takes a normal six-deck game down to about half a percent.
Coming soon
03
Beginner
The basic strategy chart
The same thing as a grid you can actually memorise, split into hard totals, soft totals and pairs.
Coming soon
The decisions worth getting right
04
Intermediate
Doubling down
When to put out a second bet, and the restricted tables where you are not allowed to.
Coming soon
05
Intermediate
Pair splitting
Which pairs to split against which upcards, and why tens are never one of them.
Coming soon
06
Intermediate
Surrender
The rule most players never use, worth about a tenth of a percent wherever it is offered.
Coming soon
07
Intermediate
Insurance
Why it loses money at any count you are not tracking, whatever the dealer calls it.
Coming soon
Choosing the game, not just the play
08
Intermediate
Table selection
Reading the felt before you sit down. Worth more than every playing decision you will make in a session.
Coming soon
09
Intermediate
Bankroll
How much to bring, sized against the swing rather than the expected loss.
Coming soon
Going further
10
Advanced
Betting systems
Martingale, Paroli, and why no staking pattern changes a negative edge into a positive one.
Coming soon
11
Advanced
Card counting
What it actually requires, what it actually returns, and whether it is worth your evening.
Coming soon
Joshua's note

“People spend weeks looking for a single-deck game and then sit down at a table paying 6 to 5. Learn the three guides at the top of this list, then read the one about table selection. That order is worth more than anything else on this page.”

Joshua Hill, Owner and Editor in Chief
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All guides

Every blackjack guide

The same eleven guides, grouped by what they are about rather than by what to read first.

Playing the hand
3 guides
Soft hands and hard handsBeginner The one piece of vocabulary you actually need
Basic strategyBeginner The correct play for every hand Coming soon
The chartBeginner Hard totals, soft totals and pairs Coming soon
The individual decisions
4 guides
Doubling downIntermediate The bet that pays for basic strategy on its own Coming soon
Pair splittingIntermediate Always aces and eights, never tens or fives Coming soon
SurrenderIntermediate Losing half a bet on purpose Coming soon
InsuranceIntermediate The worst bet on the table Coming soon
Choosing your game
3 guides
Table selectionIntermediate Reading the rules before you sit Coming soon
BankrollIntermediate Sized against the swing, not the edge Coming soon
Betting systemsAdvanced Why none of them work Coming soon
Beating the game
1 guide
Card countingAdvanced What it requires and what it returns Coming soon