When playing blackjack at a physical or land-based casino, the most frequent decision you’ll have to make is whether to hit or stand. While you can gain a feel for this over time simply through experience, you can expedite the process by studying up on the best moves to make in any given situation. If you’re ready to win more cash during blackjack games, read our handy guide to learn when to hit and when to stand.

Master the Basics

Before we delve into strategies, we want to make sure that you have a firm grasp on the basics of hitting and standing. The main premise of blackjack is to get a hand whose total exceeds the dealer’s hand, but without going over 21. When you hit, this means that you want to draw another card to try to improve your hand’s total. Conversely, when you stand, you are satisfied with your hand’s total and don’t want to draw any more cards. If you signal to the dealer that you want to stand, your hand for the round is completed. If you hit and your hand exceeds 21, you’ve busted.

We have two important gambling terms for you to memorize before learning strategies: hard hand and soft hand. A hard hand is any hand that doesn’t contain an ace, or in which an ace’s value is only 1. A 10-8 and a 7-A-10 hand are both hard 18s. A soft hand contains an ace that’s counted as an 11. For instance, an A-7 hand is a soft 18. If one of the first two cards you are dealt is an ace, you have a soft hand. This gives you an advantage. The ace has a value of 11, but if you take a hit and go over 21, its value reverts to 1. This eliminates the risk of busting after that hit, thus giving you the freedom to make moves that would normally be risky.

Or actually stand, if the truecount gets to like 13, I’m sure, but I only figured these things out up to +12. You stand 15 against 8 if truecount9.30, but with 14, the threshold will be even higher. But other than that remote possibility, there’s no threshold to remember because you should always do the same thing. So you should hit 8 or less, hit 12 and stand 13+. Dealer's Card is a 2. The dealer is still in a bad position but a bust is slightly less likely. It's because the chances of the dealer getting 2 cards totaling 20 is roughly 10 percent. As such, it is good to hit on a 9 instead of doubling so you should hit 9 or less, hit 12, and stand.

Now that you know the basic definitions, we’ll go through the circumstances in which you should hit or stand. We’ll provide you with the best strategies, as well as blackjack hit/stand tables that you can save for future reference.

• You can double your bet any time before you hit or stand and split your bet if you get two cards of the same value. Step 4: consider if you want to ‘hit’ You have an option to add more blackjack cards by choosing 'hit', but you lose automatically if your value of cards exceeds 21. Step 5: click ‘stand’.
• Another time where you can choose to hit is when the dealer has a high card. You can choose to hit even with high cards because the game aims to beat the dealer’s hand. The dealer will continue to hit until they get a total of 17 or higher. When to Stay or Stand. If you have a hand that totals 17, 19 or 20, you should stand.

Hitting and Standing with a Hard Hand

When playing blackjack with a hard hand, we would recommend the following:

• When you are dealt a total of 5-8, always hit.
• When you are dealt 9, hit if the dealer shows a 2 or a 7 through ace.
• If you have 10, hit if the dealer shows an ace or a 10.
• If your hand is 11, hit only if the dealer shows an ace.
• For a hand of 12, stand if the dealer shows a 4 through 6. If they show a 2, 3, or a 7 through ace, hit.
• When you have a hand of 13 through 16, stand if the dealer reveals a hand of 2 through 6. Otherwise, hit.
• When you are dealt 17 through 21, you should always stand.

Reference Chart

Blackjack hit or stand on a hard hand cheat sheet.

If you’re playing a multi-deck game and you have a hard 17, double down instead of taking a hit.

You’ll need to make some minor tweaks to our strategy, depending on the number of decks and rules you’re playing with. If you’re playing in a double-deck game, don’t hit when you have a 9 and the dealer has 2. If you have an 11 against the dealer’s ace, don’t hit either. In both cases, you should double down.

And lastly, if you’re playing in a single-deck game, double down under the following circumstances:

• You have 8 and the dealer has 5 or 6.
• You have 9 against the dealer’s 2.
• You have 11 and the dealer has an ace.

Hitting and Standing With a Soft Hand

Remember, you can’t bust a soft hand with a one-card hit. Taking that into consideration, our strategy for playing with a soft hand is much simpler than our hard hand strategy. Keep the following moves in mind:

• If you have a soft 19 or 20, you should always stand. You are unlikely to get a stronger hand than this.
• For a soft 18 against the dealer’s 2 through 8, stand. If the dealer shows 9, 10, or an ace, hit.
• If your total is soft 17 or less, you should always hit.

What Are Your Other Options?

Hitting and standing aren’t the only options available to you in a game of blackjack. The following moves are also possible:

— Split. If you are initially dealt two cards of the same value, you can split your hand. You’ll place an additional wager equivalent to your first one, and then manage two hands rather than 1.

— Double Down.Gamblers can increase their potential profits with this move, but it comes with some inherent risk. To use this move, you must double the size with your bet and then receive one more card. After that, you must stand.

— Surrender. If you are not confident with your chances of winning the round, you have the option to surrender. When you use this move, you will only lose half of your bet.

Where to Play Blackjack Online

Are you ready to put your newfound knowledge to the test? Check out Bob Casino! Our library of online casino games contains numerous varieties of blackjack. You can play for free until you master your hit and stand strategies. When you’re confident in your skills, you can even try your hand at winning real money. Come create an account at Bob Casino today for the ultimate gambling experience.

Related posts:

No related posts.

This guide is up to disclose the essence of hit & stand solutions in Blackjack. These are the basic moves in this casino game. In the article below, we will point out situations that are the best for hitting or standing in the game without the need to learn any card counting tactics.

• ALSO READ: Blackjack Strategy & Card Counting Guide

What is Hit in Blackjack?

Hit is a decision in Blackjack that considers taking an additional card. If you choose this move, one more card will be added to your hand. You can hit until the value of your hand reaches or exceeds 21, as many times as you want, during the match.

For example, you have a 5 and a 6 in your initial hand. That means the value of your hand makes 11. There is no chance you will get busted if you hit, and you shouldn’t stand because 11 is obviously not enough to win the match.

Thus, if you hit and get 3, the value of your hand will be 14. The best decision here would be to hit again, as the majority of dealers stand on soft 17, so you are likely to lose if you stand. You can hit until you get 21 or get busted, and the best solution depends on the value of your hand and the value of the dealer’s hand. Below, we will explain the best situations to hit.

When to Hit in Blackjack?

There are situations when hitting in Blackjack will always be a better idea than choosing any other option. The tips on hitting below are based on the mathematical calculations of probabilities and can be used both by novice and advanced players. Here, we do not consider options like splitting or doubling down:

• Hit if your initial hand’s value makes 4-11 – the thing about an 11 maximum hand value is you have no other options, except taking one more card. The thing is, here you are 100% safe from getting busted and can get a good combination after one or more hits.

• If you get hard 12, hit on the dealer’s 2, 3, 7-Ace upcard – based on the mathematical calculations, you will have a better chance to get a good combination with this strategy, as the only way you can get busted is if you get 10.

• For 13-16, hit if the dealer has 7-Ace – the higher is the dealer upcard value, the more there are chances that your initial hand value is not enough to win.

When You Should Not Hit in BJ?

Here you can see the situations when you should avoid hitting:

• Do not hit if your initial hand value makes a hard 17-20 – this is already a good hand, which gives you high chances to win. On the other hand, hitting with 17 or higher will give you a high chance of getting busted.

• Never hit with soft 19 or soft 20 as well – there is an extremely low chance you will get a better combination in this game, and if dealer plays on a soft 17, you are already in a strong position.

• If you get soft 18, do not hit if the dealer has a 2, 7, or 8 upcard – a soft 18 is good enough to give you a chance to win already.

What is Stand in Blackjack

Stand is a decision in Blackjack that considers not taking any more cards in your hand. You choose to stand when you think you have the best value for your hand in the round. After you and the dealer stand, the value of both hands is calculated, and the winner is determined.

For example, when your initial hand makes 10-9, you are likely to stand instead of taking more cards. However, it also depends on the dealer’s hand, which can make 10-10, meaning that you will lose 100% if you stand. Below we will disclose when to stand or not to stand in detail.

When to Stand in Blackjack?

Hit Or Stand Blackjack

Stand is one of the most important decisions in Blackjack, as you need to choose whether to risk-taking another card to improve your hand or stop at this spot and count on the dealer having a weaker hand. Here are some situations when you should definitely stand in Blackjack:

• If you have a hard 17-20, always stand – most dealers play soft 17, which means they stop hitting when they get as much as an Ace and a 6, so it is likely that you will win the match if you stand. On the other hand, if you have hard 17, you need 4 or less to improve your combination and not bust, and with hard 20, you need only an Ace to stay alive. It is obvious that the chances for this are rather low.
• Also, always stand if you have soft 20 or soft 19 – there are more chances that you will make your hand weaker than improving it. The thing is that in order to improve soft 19 (A, 8), you need another Ace or 10 on the next hit, and the chances of this happening are low. If you take two hits, the chance of getting more than 19 is low as well.
• When getting 13-16 with the dealer’s 2-6 you better stand. The thing is that in this situation, the dealer has to have a high-value second card to beat your hand. For example, if you have 16, and the dealer has 6, he has to have 10 or an Ace to equal or beat your hand. Even if the second card is of low value like a 2 or 3, you still have more chances to win.

When you should not stand in Blackjack?

There are also situations when standing will always be a bad idea:

• If you have 4-11, there is no chance standing would be a good idea. The thing is that if you hit in this situation, you only have chances to improve your hand, and you are safe from getting more than 21.
• Never stand if you have soft 12-16 – standing on this position would be a bad idea as most of the dealers play till soft 17, and even soft 16 can sometimes not be enough to win the match. It would be much better to hit in this situation, with high chances of improving your hand.

Hit & Stand Chart

This is one of the basic strategy charts, which is absolutely essential to beat the house edge when you play blackjack.

Hit & Stand Ultimate FAQ

This FAQ is composed of the most popular questions on hit & stand decisions in Blackjack.

Do you hit on a 12 in blackjack?

Hit Or Stand.net

Should I hit or stand on 16?

How many times can you hit in blackjack?

Does the dealer hit on soft 17?

Other Blackjack Strategies

Along with the hit & stand solutions, there are also other, more advanced moves you can use to your benefit. You can choose among double down, split or surrender as well. Of course, you can limit your decisions with hit & stand, and still exploiting other moves in the right way will increase your chances to win when you use long-term strategies.

Double Down

Hit Or Stand Blackjack Training

Double down is a solution that allows you to increase your initial bet up to 100% (depending on Blackjack game rules), and add one more card to your hand. This is a good decision when you have a strong hand against the dealer’s weak one. It allows you to increase your winnings up to 2 times. The only shortcoming of this decision – you cannot hit after you double down.

Split

Split is a decision that allows you to turn one hand into two hands and play each hand separately. Splitting is allowed when you get pairs in your initial hand (5-5, 6-6, etc.).

Depending on the Blackjack game you play, you can split more than once during the game, split Aces, etc. This is a good move in some situations. To use this move to your benefit, you should consider the dealer’s hand as well.

Surrender

Surrender is a decision that allows you to save 50% of your bet. It considers that you can stop the game if you have a weak hand against the dealer’s strong hand. This decision can be valuable if you want to cut your losses. It depends on the BJ game rules, whether it is possible to make the surrender move.

Hit Or Stand On 15