Basic Strategy Chart: H17 (Printable)

The complete H17 chart for 4-8 deck blackjack with DAS — hard totals, soft totals, pairs, and the three cells most players still get wrong.

H17 is the soft-17 rule you'll see on most Strip blackjack tables: the dealer hits a soft 17 (Ace + 6) for one more card instead of standing. It costs the player about 0.22% in house edge compared to S17, and it changes a handful of cells on the basic strategy chart. Mix the two charts up and you'll bleed EV on every shoe.

This is the H17 chart for 4-8 deck blackjack with DAS (double after split) and late surrender available. It's the most common rule set on the Strip, in Atlantic City, and at most regional casinos. Memorize it cell by cell, drill it under time pressure, and you're playing the game at the published 0.55% house edge — not the 1.5%+ that recreational players give back through guesses.

How to read the rows

Every row below names a player total and walks across dealer upcards 2 through Ace, grouping decisions where the answer is the same. Notation: H = hit, S = stand, D = double if allowed otherwise hit, Ds = double if allowed otherwise stand, P = split, R = surrender if allowed otherwise hit. Dealer upcard 'T' means any 10-value card (10, J, Q, K).

Hard totals

Hard 8 or less vs anything: Hit.
Hard 9 vs 2: Hit. vs 3-6: Double. vs 7-A: Hit.
Hard 10 vs 2-9: Double. vs T-A: Hit.
Hard 11 vs 2-T: Double. vs A: Hit (H17 rule — different from S17 where you double).
Hard 12 vs 2-3: Hit. vs 4-6: Stand. vs 7-A: Hit.
Hard 13 vs 2-6: Stand. vs 7-A: Hit.
Hard 14 vs 2-6: Stand. vs 7-A: Hit.
Hard 15 vs 2-6: Stand. vs 7-9: Hit. vs T: Surrender (otherwise hit). vs A: Surrender (otherwise hit) — H17 specific; S17 just hits vs A.
Hard 16 vs 2-6: Stand. vs 7-8: Hit. vs 9-A: Surrender (otherwise hit).
Hard 17 and above: Stand.

Soft totals

Soft 13 (A,2) vs 2-4: Hit. vs 5-6: Double. vs 7-A: Hit.
Soft 14 (A,3) vs 2-4: Hit. vs 5-6: Double. vs 7-A: Hit.
Soft 15 (A,4) vs 2-3: Hit. vs 4-6: Double. vs 7-A: Hit.
Soft 16 (A,5) vs 2-3: Hit. vs 4-6: Double. vs 7-A: Hit.
Soft 17 (A,6) vs 2: Hit. vs 3-6: Double. vs 7-A: Hit.
Soft 18 (A,7) vs 2: Ds (double, else stand). vs 3-6: Ds. vs 7-8: Stand. vs 9-T: Hit. vs A: Hit (H17 specific; S17 stands vs A).
Soft 19 (A,8) vs 2-5: Stand. vs 6: Ds (H17 specific — double if allowed, else stand). vs 7-A: Stand.
Soft 20 (A,9): Stand against everything.

Pairs (DAS assumed)

2,2 vs 2-7: Split. vs 8-A: Hit.
3,3 vs 2-7: Split. vs 8-A: Hit.
4,4 vs 5-6: Split. vs everything else: Hit.
5,5: Never split. Treat as hard 10 (double vs 2-9, hit vs T-A).
6,6 vs 2-6: Split. vs 7-A: Hit.
7,7 vs 2-7: Split. vs 8-A: Hit (most charts surrender 7,7 vs T in H17 but the published canonical play is hit).
8,8 vs 2-T: Split. vs A: Surrender if allowed, otherwise split.
9,9 vs 2-6: Split. vs 7: Stand. vs 8-9: Split. vs T-A: Stand.
T,T: Never split. Stand on 20.
A,A: Always split.

The three H17 cells that aren't in the S17 chart

If you've memorized S17 and just sat down at an H17 table, three cells flip:

Hard 11 vs A: Hit on H17 (Double on S17). The dealer's soft 17 hit gives him a chance to land a 21 you can't beat.
Hard 15 vs A: Surrender on H17 (Hit on S17 if no surrender, or surrender on S17 if available).
Soft 18 vs A: Hit on H17 (Stand on S17). This is the most-missed deviation in the game.

The three cells players misplay most often on H17: Soft 18 vs 9 is HIT, not stand. Hard 12 vs 2-3 is HIT, not stand (the only stiff totals you hit against low cards). And Hard 16 vs Ten is SURRENDER if allowed — most casual players hit and bust, or stand and lose 77% of the time.

When you don't have surrender

If the table doesn't offer late surrender, replace every R cell above with H (hit). The cost of no-surrender is about 0.08% — small relative to the 0.55% baseline, but you lose access to the chart's best loss-mitigation tool. Always read the placard. If you see 'LS' or 'Late Surrender Allowed,' the cells above apply.

When you don't have DAS

If the table doesn't allow double after split, the splitting strategy tightens. Don't split 2,2 or 3,3 against dealer 2-3. Don't split 4,4 ever. Don't split 6,6 against dealer 2. Everything else stays the same.

Printing it

The chart above is structured to fit on a single index card. Copy the row groupings into a 3x5 or 4x6 layout (hard totals on one side, soft totals + pairs on the back), laminate it, and bring it to the casino. It's legal to consult a basic strategy card at any blackjack table in Nevada, New Jersey, and most regulated markets — casinos sell them in their gift shops.

Reading the chart is not the same as drilling it. Open the TableSharp blackjack trainer at /train/blackjack and run the H17 deck until every cell is a reflex. Most players need 4-6 hours of focused drilling to hit 99% accuracy at table tempo.

The H17 Basic Strategy Chart, One Page