Blackjack Hit Or Stand – Learn When to Hit & When to Stand

While playing blackjack we have to use some mental gymnastics in order to find out whether to hit or stand, but there is a small problem: We are not computers.

It is impossible to calculate every possibility and find out whether to hit or stand will be a better decision.

Luckily, we don’t need to: There are lots of hit or stand blackjack charts out there which show us the best move. But we cannot use them blindly: We still need to understand how to decide when to hit in blackjack – or at least, understand the principle behind it.

Well, this is exactly what we are going to do in this blackjack when to hit article: We will give you detailed charts and explain the basic mechanics behind them.

We need to talk about a couple of things first, in order to jog your memory. HIT is a term that means the player is asking for one more card. And STAND means “no more cards”, simply put. Deciding which one to use and when is the key to winning at blackjack online games. What does soft mean in blackjack? A SOFT TOTAL means that you have an Ace. A HARD TOTAL means that you have no Ace. With two Aces in blackjack you can have either a 2 or a soft 12.

Before we start, don’t forget that whether to hit or stand is a decision that should be made according to the rules that bind the dealer: If the dealer has to stand on soft 17, for example, the calculations will be different. So, always check what are the dealer rules first. You should also check our guide about how to play the soft 14 blackjack hand.

And if you are asking when does the dealer stand or hit in blackjack or when does the dealer stop hitting in blackjack? it is different in each game: You can just look on top of the table, this rule is clearly explained on it. (And if you are wondering blackjack casino soft 17 hit or stand which is more common, we can say that the “stand” version is more common.) So, are we ready? Let’s start with the hit or stand charts, because they will explain the situation much better.

So, we have learned the basics of the hit or stand blackjack situation: Now, we can continue by giving actual tactics. To do this, we are going to use when to hit or stand in blackjack charts, because they show you the best possible move for every point total.

These charts will show you when you should hit in blackjack, but more importantly, they will show you when not to hit in blackjack too. Note that they are based on the blackjack dealer hit or stand on soft 17 rule, that’s why they are different from each other.

You will see three tables below: The first one shows the calculations for single deck blackjack, both for hard and soft totals. The last two will also show the same thing, but for any other number of decks. So no matter what kind of game you are playing, you will always know when should you hit or stand in blackjack. Here are the hit and stand charts divided in soft vs hard blackjack hands totals:

Blackjack rules dealer hit or stand are different from each other, so here is the version where the dealer hits.

Other than a couple of specific differences, the suggested hit or stand moves are almost always the same. The most important thing to know about these charts is that there are safe point totals where you can always hit, and dangerous totals where you should always stand.

And there are some “risky” totals too, which offers you a big payout if you are ready to take the risk. We will talk about these blackjack basic when to hit or stand charts in detail below.

After analyzing these blackjack hit or stay charts, we can say the following:

• Hard and soft totals are different and it is important for you to understand this. For example, the answer to blackjack hit or stand soft 17 question is HIT because this is a soft total. But if it was a hard total, the answer would be STAND.
• You are safe to hit until you reach 11 points (hard total) and 17 points (soft total). There are also other options to use with these totals, such as doubling up or not, but in any case, just keep hitting until you reach these figures.
• After 17 points (hard and soft total), you should always stand. At this point, your busting probability is nearly 70%. This is a big risk and it is not worth it to take.
• In short, you know what to do for certain point ranges: Hit until 11/17 points, stand after 17 points. Simple. The “problem” is what to do with the numbers in between: 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. We have five possibilities where hitting or standing cannot be determined by a fixed rule.

So, what to do with these totals? Especially for 16 (hard total) – it seems to be trickiest one. The problem is, we cannot say “blackjack hit on 16” because for most of the time, standing will be a better decision. But we cannot also say “stand on 16” because this may not be a wise decision too. So, what to do? Blackjack 16 hit or stand? How to solve this problem?

By looking at the dealer card.

For these “tricky” totals (12-13-14-15-16) the best thing will be checking the dealer card and decide accordingly. Basically, you will decide when to hit blackjack according to the open card on the table. If this card is 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, it will be wise to stand. If it is any other card, you can keep hitting until reaching 17 points.

And once you reach this total, it is easy to know what to do – there is no need to ask blackjack hit or stand on 17 question because the suggested move will always be standing (with a hard total). We know that there are guides out there that suggests hitting on 17 if the dealer has a specific card but don’t bother – if you are a casual player, standing on hard 17 will be the best thing for you.

And if you are a professional blackjack player, you don’t need a chart anyway. Just know that standing on hard 17 will be the best move for 99.99% of the player base.

• Avoid silly comparisons. You learned which numbers are problematic and if you want to do extra calculations on which move should be better, use these numbers, not silly ones. Making a comparison like “hit or stand 16 vs 9”, for example, is meaningless. The suggested move is always hitting for 9 points and no computer in the world can calculate whether standing will be a good decision or not at this total.
• Make hit or stand blackjack practice. The most common mistake among beginners is starting to play with real money immediately. Even after learning the rules and best moves, you are not ready: Mastering this game will take time. Making practice games against the computer with a virtual balance is the best way to become a pro. Prefer demo blackjack games so you can learn whether to hit or stand without taking any financial risks.
• Always check the dealer card. The charts we shared above are not “magic” and they do not guarantee a winning. They just suggest you the best possible move according to a certain point total. Even after following these charts to the letter, you can still lose the game. In this regard, the decision of whether to hit or stand should always be determined according to the dealer’s card – do not follow charts and strategies blindly, always check the dealer card first.

And know that hit or stand blackjack game is not the only option you have. Learning blackjack when to hit or stand is good and useful, but you have other betting options too. You can double your initial wager, use pairs, or surrender. Also pay attention to the rules concerning how many times can you split in blackjack. Do not think that hitting and standing are your only options: Sometimes, a carefully executed decision to surrender may be more useful than these options.

Or, doubling down your initial wager may give you bigger and better rewards. We strongly recommend checking out our other blackjack guides in which we explain and analyze all of these other methods: In order to become a better player, you must be aware of all your options and know how they work.

Learning blackjack hit or stand will make you a better player and increase your winning frequency, you can be sure of that. Knowing when to hit in blackjack is of crucial importance and even this knowledge alone will be enough to give you more winnings.

But in order to become a pro, you need to know about all aspects of blackjack: Read our other guides about the game, practice as long as possible, and start playing at one of our suggested online casinos. And if you prefer to play live blackjack games, we may be sitting right next to you: Good luck to both of us!

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