S17 means the dealer stands on a soft 17 (Ace + 6) instead of hitting it. The dealer doesn't get the extra card that might turn his 17 into an 18, 19, 20, or 21 — so the player saves about 0.22% on the house edge. It's the soft-17 rule you want, and it's worth walking another fifty feet through the casino to find.
This is the S17 chart for 4-8 deck blackjack with DAS and late surrender. It's the rule set you'll see at higher-limit Strip tables, downtown Vegas, most of Reno, and the higher-tier rooms at regional casinos. The few cells that differ from H17 all flip in the player's favor — if you've memorized H17, you can play S17 by remembering exactly which cells get easier.
How to read the rows
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 'T' means any 10-value card.
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-A: Double. (S17 specific — you double vs Ace here.)
- 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: Hit. (S17 specific — no surrender vs Ace.)
- Hard 16 vs 2-6: Stand. vs 7-8: Hit. vs 9-T: Surrender (otherwise hit). vs 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: Stand. vs 3-6: Ds. vs 7-8: Stand. vs 9-T: Hit. vs A: Stand. (S17 specific — stand vs Ace.)
- Soft 19 (A,8): Stand against everything. (S17 specific — no double vs 6.)
- Soft 20 (A,9): Stand.
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. Play as hard 10.
- 6,6 vs 2-6: Split. vs 7-A: Hit.
- 7,7 vs 2-7: Split. vs 8-A: Hit.
- 8,8 vs 2-T: Split. vs A: Split (no surrender on 8,8 vs A in S17 — different from H17).
- 9,9 vs 2-6: Split. vs 7: Stand. vs 8-9: Split. vs T-A: Stand.
- T,T: Never split.
- A,A: Always split.
What's different from H17 (the cells that just got friendlier)
If you already know H17 and you're switching to S17, these are the only cells you have to update — every one of them in the player's favor:
- Hard 11 vs A: Double (was Hit on H17). The dealer can't draw out of soft 17, so doubling against an Ace is positive EV again.
- Hard 15 vs A: Hit (was Surrender on H17). No reason to give up half the bet when the dealer is locked at soft 17.
- Soft 18 vs A: Stand (was Hit on H17). The single biggest mid-table swing — you keep an 18 that you would have hit on H17.
- Soft 19 vs 6: Stand (was Ds on H17). Marginal — most players don't double here anyway.
- 8,8 vs A: Split (was Surrender if allowed on H17).
Surrender and DAS adjustments
Without late surrender: every R cell becomes H. Without DAS: don't split 2,2 or 3,3 against dealer 2-3, and don't split 4,4 or 6,6 against 2. Read the placard before you sit.
Why S17 is worth finding
A 0.22% edge difference sounds tiny, but at $25 a hand and 80 hands per hour, S17 saves about $4.40 per hour compared to H17 — roughly the cost of a tip per hour, and a real chunk of the typical recreational player's expected loss. Over a weekend of play, S17 vs H17 is the difference between a $90 loss and a $130 loss for a perfect-strategy player. Find S17. Stay at S17.