You hold a hard 16 (no ace counted as 11) and the dealer shows a 10. Below is the correct basic-strategy decision computed by the Blackjack Theorem engine, and how it shifts with the table rules.
| Hard | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | H | H | H |
| 16 | H | H | H |
| 17 | S | S | S |
Dealer upcard across the top. The outlined cell is the hand on this page.
Hit is correct with a neutral shoe. If you count cards, the play flips to stand at a true count of +1 or higher.
The two top rows are 0.02 points apart, and stand edges ahead of hit on the numbers above. The answer on this page is still hit: those EVs are computed for one full six-deck shoe, while basic strategy is the play that wins over every shoe composition you will actually be dealt. On a margin this thin the two can disagree — which is why this is the hand the count reverses first.
Computed by the engine for a full six-deck shoe. The true-count column comes from the same count-dependent table that powers the strategy charts.
| Table rules | Correct play |
|---|---|
| 6-Deck · S17 · DAS | H Hit |
| 6-Deck · H17 · DAS | H Hit |
| 6-Deck · S17 · DAS · Surrender | Rh Surrender if allowed, else Hit |
| 2-Deck · S17 · DAS | S Stand |
| 8-Deck · H17 · DAS | S Stand |
The mathematically correct play is: hit. This is for 6-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, DAS. It can change with other rules (see the table).
It can. The table above shows the play under both S17 and H17 so you can match your exact table.
Yes. With a neutral shoe the play is hit, and it flips to stand at a true count of +1 or higher. The two plays sit 0.02 points apart at a full six-deck shoe, which is why a modest change in the count is enough to reverse them.
