Surrender: Only available in certain blackjack formats, this means that players are giving up on their hand as they deem it to be an unfavorable spot.Split: Taking a paired hand and turning it into two individual hands.Double Down: Players double their wager in favorable spots and take only one additional card.Stand: Not taking another card from the deck to improve your hand.Hit : Taking another card from the deck in an effort to improve your hand.In its most basic form, there are five primary decisions that players can make when comparing their hand to the dealer’s “up card.” These are hit, stand, double down, split, and surrender. While hitting on 16 might cause you to bust more often than not, it is, all things equal, the best play you can make. This set of responses is entitled Basic Strategy.Ĭharts like these tell you everything you need to know about optimal blackjack strategy.

Blackjack is largely considered to be a “ solved” game, meaning that all of the decisions that can be brought up during a session of blackjack have been mathematically proven to have a correct response.

While most players will play blackjack based on an emotional response to the hand they are dealt, there are far more factors to consider.