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Use this blackjack hand decision tool to look up an opening-hand action: hit, stand, double, split or, when enabled, late surrender. Choose your two cards and the dealer’s visible card. The result identifies the hand and explains the relevant basic-strategy row.
The tool follows one stated profile: four or eight decks, dealer stands on soft 17 (S17), doubling on any original two cards, and doubling after splits allowed. It is a learning reference for original two-card hands. Match those rules before applying the result to a game.
Check an opening-hand decision
Choose card ranks without suits. Ten, jack, queen and king each count as ten points. Leave late surrender unchecked unless the table offers it and the dealer’s blackjack check has cleared where required. This lookup does not calculate a win probability or a bet size.
Enable JavaScript to run the hand lookup. The examples and linked strategy chart remain readable.
For arithmetic after the cards are dealt, use the Blackjack Calculator. That tool totals cards and checks a completed main-hand settlement. This page answers the earlier question of which opening action appears in the specified strategy chart.
How to use the result
- Read the game’s rules and compare them with the profile above.
- Select the two cards in your original hand, not the dealer’s eventual total.
- Select only the dealer’s upcard. The hidden card is unknown at this decision.
- Enable late surrender only when that option is genuinely available at this stage.
- Select Show hand decision and read both the action and its explanation.
- Use the result for study; a recommended action can still lose the hand.
Changing any selection replaces the old result with a reminder to run the lookup again. This prevents a previous answer remaining beside a different hand. Reset hand restores 10,6 against a dealer ten with late surrender off, providing a repeatable starting example.
To practise, change one input at a time and explain the difference before requesting the answer. For example, keep the player’s 10,6 and change the dealer ten to a six. Then restore the ten and enable late surrender. These are three distinct situations despite sharing the same player cards.
The rules behind this lookup
The baseline rows match the four-or-eight-deck S17 chart used in our basic strategy guide. S17 means the dealer stands when an ace can count as eleven and the dealer’s total is seventeen. It describes the dealer’s compulsory action, not a command for the player.
Doubling after splitting is part of the profile because it changes the value of creating new hands from certain pairs. Although this tool starts with an unsplit hand, those later possibilities affect some opening split recommendations. Removing that rule while retaining its pair rows would produce an inconsistent lookup.
The optional surrender layer applies the S17 late-surrender cases described by Wizard of Odds. Its four-or-eight-deck strategy explanation checks surrender before splitting, doubling and ordinary hitting or standing. With surrender off, this tool continues directly to the available baseline action.
The profile also assumes the usual dealer blackjack check has cleared when the upcard requires one. It does not model the extra exposure that may occur when a no-hole-card game takes additional double and split stakes against a later dealer blackjack. See dealer rules for that distinction.
Identify the hand before choosing an action
The result reports a numerical total and whether it is hard or soft. An ace initially counts as one; the tool adds ten if one ace can count as eleven without making the total exceed twenty-one. Two original aces therefore form soft twelve, while an ace and a nine form soft twenty.
Hard hands have no ace counting as eleven. A ten and a six form hard sixteen. Soft hands retain that eleven-point ace, such as A,5 for soft sixteen. Equal displayed totals do not make the hands strategically interchangeable, which is why selecting the actual ranks is more useful than entering a bare number.
A matching-rank pair receives a pair check before the ordinary total check, except where the surrender layer applies. The tool shows that classification in the output. Read blackjack card values if the point total is unfamiliar, or hard and soft hands for more ace examples.
What each action means
Hit or stand
Hit requests another card. Stand keeps the current total. Either answer describes an action, not a promise about the dealer’s final hand.
Double or split
Double adds an equal stake for one further card. Split separates a qualifying pair into separately played hands with another initial stake.
Late surrender
When offered at the permitted stage, surrender ends the hand with half the stake lost. The checkbox does not establish that a casino offers the option.
A double result also displays the fallback used if doubling is unavailable. For the supported soft-eighteen doubling cells that fallback is stand; other supported double cells fall back to hit. This distinction matters when reading compact charts whose double symbols have different secondary meanings.
A split result does not supply a universal substitute for a game that forbids that split. Such a game falls outside the selected profile. Likewise, the tool does not decide how many times to resplit, whether a split ace can receive further cards, or how to play a hand after a mandatory one-card split-ace draw.
Opening-hand examples to compare
| Player cards | Dealer upcard | Late surrender | Tool result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,6 | 10 | Off | Hit |
| 10,6 | 10 | On | Surrender |
| 8,8 | 10 | On | Split |
| A,7 | 6 | Off | Double; stand if unavailable |
| A,7 | 9 | Off | Hit |
| 5,5 | 9 | Off | Double; hit if unavailable |
| 9,9 | 7 | Off | Stand |
| 9,9 | 9 | Off | Split |
| A,K | 6 | Off | No playing decision: natural blackjack |
These examples are deliberate comparisons. The first two isolate the surrender setting; the two A,7 rows isolate the dealer upcard; the two pairs of nines isolate the pair row. Reproducing them is a useful way to become comfortable with the controls before trying another opening hand.
Worked example: hard twelve against three or four
Select 10 and 2 for the player, then a dealer three. The output identifies hard twelve and returns hit. Change only the dealer card to four and run the lookup again: the output now returns stand. The change comes from a different chart column rather than a change in the player’s arithmetic.
This is a useful correction to the loose memory rule that any dealer card below seven means standing on every stiff total. The twelve row has its own boundary. Remembering only a broad slogan removes that boundary and can give the wrong action for the supported profile.
If a practice draw then adds a five, the hand becomes a three-card seventeen. That later decision is outside this opening-hand tool. Do not replace the original ten with a five to squeeze the new state into two selectors; use the relevant total row in the strategy guide instead.
Worked example: soft eighteen and the double fallback
Choose A and 7 against dealer six. The hand is soft eighteen and the result is double, with stand as its fallback. Now compare A and 6 against the same dealer card. The result is also double, but its fallback is hit because this hand is soft seventeen.
Both primary answers use the same word, yet the secondary actions differ. When reviewing a chart, record the complete instruction rather than copying only its first letter. The tool prints the fallback in a separate sentence so it remains visible beside the reason for the recommendation.
Next set A,7 against dealer nine. The result is hit. Being able to count the ace as eleven does not turn eighteen into an automatic stand in every column. The hit-or-stand guide gives further comparisons, while the double-down guide explains the one-card commitment.
Worked example: eights and fives are different pairs
Enter 8,8 against dealer ten with surrender enabled. The result is split, preserving the pair-of-eights exception in the supported S17 surrender rule. Enter 10,6 against the same upcard and setting and the result becomes surrender. Both totals are sixteen, but their composition places them in different checks.
Now enter 5,5 against dealer nine. The result is double rather than split. The pair label describes the cards, while the recommended action comes from the supported strategy. A pair does not automatically create a split recommendation; keeping two fives together creates hard ten.
For a further contrast, enter 9,9 against seven and then against nine. The first result stands and the second splits. Use the splitting guide to understand the separate stakes and the rules that apply to the newly formed hands.
Turning late surrender on and off
Late surrender is an optional branch, not the default assumption. The tool starts with it off so an unavailable action is not silently included. Enabling it makes the lookup consider the specified original two-card surrender cases before continuing through the other rows.
Try hard fifteen as 10,5 against a dealer ten. With surrender off, the result is hit; with it on, the result is surrender. Against dealer nine, this S17 example remains hit. Try 10,6 against nine and the enabled result is surrender instead. These small changes demonstrate why a setting should accompany a saved answer.
A displayed surrender recommendation assumes the required timing and dealer check have already been satisfied. Early surrender has different conditions and is not included. The surrender guide covers the settlement arithmetic; the Hand Decision tool selects the chart action without asking for a monetary stake.
What happens with natural blackjack?
An original ace with any ten-valued card produces natural blackjack. The tool returns “No playing decision” and directs attention to the dealer check and settlement. It does not recommend hitting, doubling or treating that original hand as a routine soft twenty-one decision.
Choose A,K, A,Q or A,10 and compare the outputs. The point total and natural classification agree. The different face-card names are retained in the player-card line, which helps confirm that the selectors contain the hand you intended to examine.
Insurance and even money are separate decisions, so neither is inferred from this output. An ace and ten arriving after a split also need their own settlement classification. Use insurance and even money for the side decision and blackjack payouts for return examples.
A practical way to study with the tool
Start with five opening hands on paper. Beside each, write the dealer upcard, the rules and your proposed action. Run the lookup only after completing that first pass. Where your answer differs, identify whether you misread the total, selected the wrong row, overlooked an option or remembered a different rules profile.
Keep the exercise focused on one kind of error. For example, one session can compare soft-hand fallback instructions; another can separate pairs from ordinary hard totals. Repeating a small set with a clear purpose is easier to review than producing a long list of unexplained answers.
Use the blackjack cheat sheet alongside the selectors. Trace the same hand to the matching row and dealer column. The lookup offers a convenient single result; the chart exposes neighbouring cells and makes it easier to see where an action changes.
Save the question with the answer
A useful study note contains the two player ranks, dealer upcard, rules profile, surrender setting, primary action and any double fallback. Writing only “double” loses too much context. It cannot distinguish a soft-hand example from a hard-hand example or explain whether the fallback was hit or stand.
For example: “A,7 versus 6; original two-card hand; four/eight-deck S17 with DAS; surrender off; double, otherwise stand.” This records the whole lookup in one line. A later change to H17 should prompt a new chart comparison rather than an assumption that the note still applies unchanged.
When using a screenshot, include the controls and the result rather than cropping to the action alone. The control labels establish which card belongs to the player and which belongs to the dealer. The printed profile provides another check if the screenshot is reviewed much later.
Check a result that seems unexpected
First read the player-card line in the output. A dealer ten accidentally placed in the second player selector changes the entire question. Then check whether the hand is hard, soft or paired. If you expected soft sixteen but the result says hard sixteen, compare the selected ranks before questioning the action.
Next inspect the dealer upcard and the surrender setting. The lookup deliberately returns different answers for some hands when surrender is enabled. If the output says “Inputs changed,” it is awaiting another press of Show hand decision; it is not displaying a fresh recommendation for the new selections.
Finally compare the rules. An H17 example found elsewhere may legitimately differ from this S17 reference. The same applies to a chart for one or two decks, a game without doubling after splits, or an example involving a third player card. Record the mismatch instead of combining whichever individual cells look most appealing.
| What looks wrong? | Check first | Useful next step |
|---|---|---|
| A different sixteen action | Pair of eights, soft sixteen or ordinary hard sixteen? | Compare the printed classification and surrender setting. |
| Double has a different fallback | Soft eighteen or another doubling hand? | Read the fallback sentence, not only the primary action. |
| Another chart disagrees | Deck count, S17/H17, DAS, surrender and decision stage. | Use one consistent profile for the whole comparison. |
| Answer belongs to an earlier hand | Was a selector changed after the last lookup? | Select Show hand decision again. |
Ten-valued cards and exact ranks
The selectors retain J, Q and K so you can reproduce a real opening hand without translating every face card into the number ten. The arithmetic gives each of them ten points. A queen with six and a ten with six therefore follow the same ordinary hard-sixteen row under this total-dependent profile.
The matching-rank label is more specific than the numerical total. J,Q is hard twenty without that label; Q,Q is hard twenty with a pair label. Both stand in this lookup. There is no need to force a mixed pair of ten-valued ranks into a matching-rank entry to obtain the ordinary main-hand answer.
Suits are omitted because the supported main-hand lookup does not use them. A separate suited-card side wager may distinguish hands that this tool treats identically. Do not use a main-hand action as an answer about that wager’s prize, eligibility or expected return. The side-bets guide explains why the two questions should be recorded separately.
Situations that need another reference
This tool deliberately accepts exactly two player ranks. It does not model a hand after a hit, a new hand after a split, a restricted split-ace hand, a remaining-shoe composition or a card-counting index. Do not omit cards from an existing hand to make it fit the opening selectors.
Single-deck, double-deck, H17, no-double-after-split and no-hole-card games need a chart that matches their rules. Special variants can also change card populations, ties, dealer totals or winning conditions. The words “blackjack” and “twenty-one” alone do not establish that the supported profile applies.
The tool also does not verify the rules of any named Alberta casino or online table. Read the game’s own help panel or ask for its posted rules. Our Guides hub links to the terminology needed to compare those rules without substituting a generic marketing description.
A chart action does not predict the next card
The result is a strategy lookup under stated assumptions. It supplies no percentage chance of winning, expected dollar return or certainty that the next draw is favourable. Those quantities would require a different calculation, and a displayed action should not be mistaken for any of them.
Review a decision using the information available when it was made. A hit that later busts does not, by that outcome alone, prove the lookup should have said stand. Equally, a lucky result from a different action does not establish a new strategy rule. Keep the decision record separate from the eventual result.
Betting progressions answer a different question about stake size. They do not alter which row applies to the cards in this tool. See betting systems versus basic strategy and odds and house edge for that separation. Set an affordable limit independently of any chart answer.
For double and split exposure, use the worksheet in our Tools hub; it counts committed stakes without changing the strategy recommendation.
Hand decision questions
It is for original two-card hands with four or eight decks, dealer stands on soft seventeen, doubling on any original two cards, doubling after splits and ordinary hole-card/peek rules. Late surrender is optional. H17, restricted doubling, no-hole-card games and special variants need a different matching reference. Select the single visible dealer upcard at the original decision point. The hidden card and eventual dealer total are not known at that stage. A completed dealer hand belongs in the separate Blackjack Calculator for settlement. Mixing those stages changes the question being answered. An eligible pair can be split into new hands, so the pair check comes before the ordinary hard-total row. Two eights therefore use the pair recommendation rather than an ordinary hard-sixteen lookup. In this S17 profile, eights still split when the optional late-surrender setting is enabled. It is the alternative action when doubling is unavailable. Soft eighteen against dealer six shows double with stand as the fallback; soft seventeen against six shows double with hit as the fallback. Read the fallback sentence as well as the primary action. The tool does not choose a stake size. Only when the actual game offers it at this stage and the required dealer blackjack check has cleared. The S17 layer covers hard sixteen against nine, ten or ace, excluding a pair of eights, and hard fifteen against ten. Switching it off restores the baseline non-surrender action. No. S17 describes the dealer’s stopping rule. The player’s action still depends on the player hand and dealer upcard. A,6 against dealer six, for example, falls in this profile’s soft-hand double row, with hit as the fallback if doubling is unavailable. No. Its selectors represent the original two player cards before those actions. It does not model a third card, a split-origin hand, resplitting limits or split-ace restrictions. Use a rule-matched reference for the later hand rather than omitting cards or treating the new situation as an opening hand. An original ace plus a ten-value card is a natural in the supported model. The tool reports no playing decision and leaves dealer checking and settlement separate. It does not offer insurance or even money, and the result is not a calculation of the natural’s cash payment. No. It performs a strategy lookup in the page and has no wagering or save-account connection. A displayed action can still lose. Changing a selector replaces the earlier answer with a reminder to run the lookup again; Reset hand restores 10,6 against dealer ten with surrender off.Which blackjack rules does the Hand Decision tool support?
Should I select the dealer upcard or the final dealer total?
Why does a pair sometimes get a different action from the same hard total?
What is the double-down fallback?
When should I turn on late surrender?
Does S17 mean the player must stand on soft seventeen?
Can I use the tool after hitting or splitting?
Why is there no new playing action for a natural blackjack?
Does the tool predict the next card, place a wager or save my hand?
References
Rules and lookup checked November 1, 2026 against current PlaySmart and Wizard of Odds web guidance and the site’s independently checked chart. The linked OLG cue-card PDF retains its October 31 verification date. Worked exercises and interface instructions describe this tool’s own behaviour.