When to Hit in Blackjack

Key Features: When to Hit in Blackjack

Knowing when to hit in Blackjack is an important part of understanding the game. Generally speaking, you should hit, which is taking one additional card or more, when your hand is 12 to 16 against a dealer showing a 7 to Ace, and hit when your own hand totals 11 or less. It’s worth mentioning that while taking an extra card can help improve your hand’s total, the general aim is simply to beat the dealer, no matter whether your final hand is higher than theirs, or should the dealer go on to bust.

Below is a table that outlines the full basic strategy chart for European Blackjack, where rules dictate that the dealer stands on both hard and soft 17. All scenarios where you would typically choose to hit are shown in bold, providing a clear direction to identify the hands where hitting is recommended. This offers an easy reference for the most common scenarios you’ll come up against when playing.

Blackjack Strategy Chart – Hit or Stand

Next, we’ll look over a series of key examples, with images, to help further showcase how these situations might work in a real game of blackjack. Each example will show your current total, the dealer’s card, and what the recommended actions are when you play live blackjack.

Hard Total 16 vs Dealer 17

If your current hard total is 16 and the dealer’s card is a 7, the recommended action when it comes to blackjack basic strategy is to hit. Although 16 is a high total and many players often feel reluctant to draw another card, the dealer’s 7 puts them in a strong position. If the dealer shows a 10-value card underneath, which includes face cards that also count as 10, they will reach 17, which beats your 16. By hitting, you may risk busting, but give yourself a chance to improve your total instead of staying on a hand that is likely to lose if you then stand.

Hard 12 vs Dealer 2

When your current hard total is 12 and the dealer’s upcard is a 2, the recommended action is always to hit. Many players make the same common mistake to stand here because they believe the dealer will need to draw at least twice, increasing their chance of busting. However, standing on 12 leaves you with a total that frequently loses against a dealer who has to improve to 17 or higher. By choosing to hit, you give yourself a better chance of achieving a stronger total instead of relying on the dealer to bust, which happens less than it might seem.

Soft Totals 18 (A+7) vs Dealer 9

This is a soft hand example, but it helps to understand what that is first. A soft hand is any blackjack hand that includes an Ace card. Because the Ace can have a face value of either 11 or 1, these hands are more flexible and means that you can take more cards without the same risk of busting. This means that soft totals are played differently from hard hands, and by knowing the differences, it can help you make clearer decisions when it comes to the game.

When you have a Soft 18 (an Ace and a 7) and the dealer’s card is a 9, basic strategy recommends you hit. Many players elect to stand because 18 appears a strong total, but against a dealer 9, it often isn’t strong enough. The risk of the dealer reaching 19 or higher is surprisingly high, because there are more 10-value cards in the deck than any other value, so the next card dealt can easily push the dealer ahead. Since this is a soft hand, the Ace can count as 1 or 11, meaning you can hit without the same immediate risk of going bust, giving you a better chance of improving your hand, whereas standing would lose more frequently.

Hit More than Once

It is possible to hit more than once in blackjack, and there are many scenarios where doing so offers an advantage based on your initial two cards and the strength of the dealer’s hand. Drawing an additional card doesn’t always improve your total straight away, and like we have already mentioned, the advantage of soft hands is that they let you keep drawing without the same immediate risk of going bust. Following on with the Soft 18 example, if you were to hit and get a 5, your hand would change from a soft total to a hard 13 total. This is because the Ace adjusts itself from 11 to 1 to stop the hand from going over 21 and busting. In this situation, you’ll need to hit again to get towards a stronger hand, as demonstrated in the previous table.

Summary: Understanding When to Hit in Blackjack

This guide was designed to give you a clear overview of when to hit in Blackjack, by helping you understand one of the most important decisions in this card game and providing a typical blackjack strategy chart for clarity. By considering how your total hand value compares to that of the dealer’s, you’ll be able to approach each situation with a greater depth of understanding. However, although these details can help you make more informed choices, they don’t implicitly change your chances of winning.

If you’re looking for other simple Blackjack tips or want to learn more about one of the most popular casino games, understanding the strategy of when to hit is a useful place to begin. We’ve also got additional blackjack strategy guides that cover when to stand, when to double down, and when to split, altogether offering you a better understanding of the key elements involved in a game of blackjack.

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