Learn the reason behind the move
Single-deck Blackjack Strategy & Charts
Single-deck blackjack strategy needs its own chart. Compare S17 and H17 decisions, double-after-split options and late-surrender fallbacks.
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Single-deck rules before the chart
1 × 52 = 52 cards
Sample ranks in every standard deck
A natural uses two initial cards
These tables use 1 standard deck, a dealer peek, 3:2 blackjack and doubling on any initial two cards. They show total-dependent strategy, with conditional actions for double after split (DAS) and late surrender. They are not the homepage’s four-to-eight-deck calculator.
Read the pair row first when splitting is permitted; otherwise use the hand total. A two-card natural is settled under the blackjack rule. These charts do not model count-based deviations or a depleted shoe.
How to read the conditional actions
Dealer upcard
Player hand
Double, otherwise stand
If this table permits the double, take one card; otherwise keep soft 18.
Each row groups dealer upcards by action. “Double, otherwise hit” applies when a double is legal; if it is not, hit. “Double, otherwise stand” instead falls back to stand. A late-surrender instruction falls back to the other named action when surrender is unavailable.
DAS means double after split. A conditional split with DAS becomes the listed hit, stand or double when DAS is prohibited. Treat aces and split-ace draw restrictions separately. Decline insurance and even money under basic strategy.
Single deck versus multi-deck strategy
Dealer upcard
Player hand
Double, otherwise hit
Use the page’s S17 reference.
Fresh single-deck natural
2 × (4/52) × (16/51) ≈ 4.83%
For S17, hard 8 doubles against 5–6 and hard 9 doubles against 2–6. Those are examples of why a multi-deck chart cannot simply be relabeled. The S17 soft-18 row stands against an ace; H17 changes that cell to hit.
One deck means 52 cards before play. The probability of a natural in the first two cards is 2×(4/52)×(16/51), about 4.83%. A smaller deck count alone does not offset every unfavorable payout or rule; compare 3:2 with 6:5 before judging the game.
Single-deck S17: hard totals
Dealer upcard
Player hand
Double, otherwise hit
1 deck · S17 · dealer peek · 3:2 · double any initial two cards · DAS and late-surrender conditions shown in each row.
| Your hand | Action by dealer upcard |
|---|---|
| 4–7 | Hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 8 | Hit vs 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise hit vs 5, 6. |
| 9 | Double, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 10 | Double, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Hit vs 10, ace. |
| 11 | Double, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 12 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Stand vs 4, 5, 6. |
| 13–15 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 16 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 7, 8, 9; Late surrender, otherwise hit vs 10, ace. |
| 17–21 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
Single-deck S17: soft hands
Dealer upcard
Player hand
Stand
Initial two-card soft 18.
1 deck · S17 · dealer peek · 3:2 · double any initial two cards · DAS and late-surrender conditions shown in each row.
| Your hand | Action by dealer upcard |
|---|---|
| A,2 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise hit vs 4, 5, 6. |
| A,3 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise hit vs 4, 5, 6. |
| A,4 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise hit vs 4, 5, 6. |
| A,5 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise hit vs 4, 5, 6. |
| A,6 | Double, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| A,7 | Stand vs 2, 7, 8, ace; Double, otherwise stand vs 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 9, 10. |
| A,8 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise stand vs 6. |
| A,9–10 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
Single-deck S17: pairs
Dealer upcard
Player hand
DAS: split
- No DAS
- Double, otherwise hit
1 deck · S17 · dealer peek · 3:2 · double any initial two cards · DAS and late-surrender conditions shown in each row.
| Your hand | Action by dealer upcard |
|---|---|
| 2,2 | Split with DAS, otherwise hit vs 2; Split vs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Hit vs 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 3,3 | Split with DAS, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 8; Split vs 4, 5, 6, 7; Hit vs 9, 10, ace. |
| 4,4 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Split with DAS, otherwise hit vs 4; Split with DAS, otherwise double (hit if doubling unavailable) vs 5, 6. |
| 5,5 | Double, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Hit vs 10, ace. |
| 6,6 | Split vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Split with DAS, otherwise hit vs 7; Hit vs 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 7,7 | Split vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Split with DAS, otherwise hit vs 8; Hit vs 9, ace; Late surrender, otherwise stand vs 10. |
| 8,8 | Split vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 9,9 | Split vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9; Stand vs 7, 10, ace. |
| 10,10 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| A,A | Split vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
Single-deck H17: hard totals
Dealer upcard
Player hand
Double, otherwise hit
1 deck · H17 · dealer peek · 3:2 · double any initial two cards · DAS and late-surrender conditions shown in each row.
| Your hand | Action by dealer upcard |
|---|---|
| 4–7 | Hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 8 | Hit vs 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise hit vs 5, 6. |
| 9 | Double, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 10 | Double, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Hit vs 10, ace. |
| 11 | Double, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 12 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Stand vs 4, 5, 6. |
| 13–14 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 15 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 7, 8, 9, 10; Late surrender, otherwise hit vs ace. |
| 16 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 7, 8, 9; Late surrender, otherwise hit vs 10, ace. |
| 17 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; Late surrender, otherwise stand vs ace. |
| 18–21 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
Single-deck H17: soft hands
Dealer upcard
Player hand
Hit
Initial two-card soft 18.
1 deck · H17 · dealer peek · 3:2 · double any initial two cards · DAS and late-surrender conditions shown in each row.
| Your hand | Action by dealer upcard |
|---|---|
| A,2 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise hit vs 4, 5, 6. |
| A,3 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise hit vs 4, 5, 6. |
| A,4 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise hit vs 4, 5, 6. |
| A,5 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise hit vs 4, 5, 6. |
| A,6 | Double, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| A,7 | Stand vs 2, 7, 8; Double, otherwise stand vs 3, 4, 5, 6; Hit vs 9, 10, ace. |
| A,8 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Double, otherwise stand vs 6. |
| A,9–10 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
Single-deck H17: pairs
Dealer upcard
Player hand
DAS: split
- No DAS
- Double, otherwise hit
1 deck · H17 · dealer peek · 3:2 · double any initial two cards · DAS and late-surrender conditions shown in each row.
| Your hand | Action by dealer upcard |
|---|---|
| 2,2 | Split with DAS, otherwise hit vs 2; Split vs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Hit vs 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 3,3 | Split with DAS, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 8; Split vs 4, 5, 6, 7; Hit vs 9, 10, ace. |
| 4,4 | Hit vs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace; Split with DAS, otherwise hit vs 4; Split with DAS, otherwise double (hit if doubling unavailable) vs 5, 6. |
| 5,5 | Double, otherwise hit vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Hit vs 10, ace. |
| 6,6 | Split vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Split with DAS, otherwise hit vs 7; Hit vs 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 7,7 | Split vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Split with DAS, otherwise hit vs 8; Hit vs 9; Late surrender, otherwise stand vs 10; Late surrender, otherwise hit vs ace. |
| 8,8 | Split vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| 9,9 | Split vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9; Stand vs 7, 10; Split with DAS, otherwise stand vs ace. |
| 10,10 | Stand vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
| A,A | Split vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ace. |
Printable single-deck strategy reference
Use your browser’s Print command to print these tables or save them as a PDF. Keep the rule line and the action wording with the hand rows. The separate PDF on our multi-deck chart page is not a substitute for this reference.
