Blackjack
Six decks, dealer stands on 17, blackjack pays 3:2. Play with basic-strategy hints and the exact value of every option, then see the exact house edge of each rule and strategy.
This table isn’t linked to the floor jackpot: play here doesn’t feed it or win it.
Medals are for playing the games on this site only. They are not money: they cannot be bought, cashed out or exchanged for anything.
Go to the Medal Game Center- The hint uses the standard basic-strategy chart for this game; the Odds tab shows where it comes from.
- Doubling and splitting need as many medals again as the hand’s bet.
- A 21 made from a split is not a blackjack and pays 1:1.
- Hands
- 0
- Won / pushed / lost
- 0 / 0 / 0
- Blackjacks
- 0
- Plays that matched the chart
- –
- Medals won less lost
- ±0
Blackjack’s odds depend on your decisions, so the question is “what is each play worth?”. For an infinite deck — every card drawn with the same chance, 1 in 13 per rank — that can be computed exactly: the dealer’s final total by recursion, then the value of standing, hitting, doubling and splitting for every hand. Nothing on this tab is simulated.
House edge with perfect play
Per unit of the first bet in each round, for an infinite deck under this table’s rules, with an even bet of medals (for an odd bet, see “Bets in medals” below). Real shoes come out slightly better for the player: with a finite number of cards, removal effects — blackjacks come a little more often, for one — tilt toward you.
Bets in medals
This table takes 1 to 10 medals a hand, a medal at a time, as Japanese medal blackjack machines do. A blackjack’s 3:2 comes in whole medals: on an odd bet the half medal is rounded down (3 medals win 4, not 4½), and insurance is half the bet, rounded down (a 1-medal bet is offered none). An even bet keeps the edge above exactly; an odd bet gives the house a little more, exactly as below.
| Bet | A blackjack wins | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 medal | 1 medal | 2.767% |
| 2 medals | 3 medals | 0.512% |
| 3 medals | 4 medals | 1.263% |
| 4 medals | 6 medals | 0.512% |
| 5 medals | 7 medals | 0.963% |
| 6 medals | 9 medals | 0.512% |
| 7 medals | 10 medals | 0.834% |
| 8 medals | 12 medals | 0.512% |
| 9 medals | 13 medals | 0.762% |
| 10 medals | 15 medals | 0.512% |
The same calculation as the headline, with a blackjack winning ⌊1.5 × bet⌋ medals. The edge rises by (1.5 − ⌊1.5 × bet⌋ ÷ bet) times 4.51%, the chance of a blackjack the dealer does not match.
Where the dealer ends up
The dealer has no choices, so the final total follows from the up card alone. A 5 or 6 busts the dealer about 42% of the time — the reason basic strategy stands on stiff hands against them.
| Up card | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Blackjack | Bust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 14.0% | 13.5% | 13.0% | 12.4% | 11.8% | — | 35.4% |
| 3 | 13.5% | 13.0% | 12.6% | 12.0% | 11.5% | — | 37.4% |
| 4 | 13.0% | 12.6% | 12.1% | 11.6% | 11.1% | — | 39.4% |
| 5 | 12.2% | 12.2% | 11.8% | 11.3% | 10.8% | — | 41.6% |
| 6 | 16.5% | 10.6% | 10.6% | 10.2% | 9.7% | — | 42.3% |
| 7 | 36.9% | 13.8% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 7.4% | — | 26.2% |
| 8 | 12.9% | 35.9% | 12.9% | 6.9% | 6.9% | — | 24.5% |
| 9 | 12.0% | 12.0% | 35.1% | 12.0% | 6.1% | — | 22.8% |
| 10 | 11.1% | 11.1% | 11.1% | 34.2% | 3.5% | 7.7% | 21.2% |
| A | 13.1% | 13.1% | 13.1% | 13.1% | 5.4% | 30.8% | 11.5% |
Basic strategy, derived
Each cell is the play with the highest expected value, computed for that hand against that up card. Click a cell to see what every option is worth.
H = hitS = standD = doubleP = split
Hard totals
| Your hand, against the dealer’s up card | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 20 |
Soft totals (with an ace counted as 11)
| Your hand, against the dealer’s up card | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A,2 | ||||||||||
| A,3 | ||||||||||
| A,4 | ||||||||||
| A,5 | ||||||||||
| A,6 | ||||||||||
| A,7 | ||||||||||
| A,8 | ||||||||||
| A,9 |
Pairs
| Your hand, against the dealer’s up card | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,2 | ||||||||||
| 3,3 | ||||||||||
| 4,4 | ||||||||||
| 5,5 | ||||||||||
| 6,6 | ||||||||||
| 7,7 | ||||||||||
| 8,8 | ||||||||||
| 9,9 | ||||||||||
| 10,10 | ||||||||||
| A,A |
16 against a dealer 10
- Hit−0.540
- Stand−0.540
- Double−1.080
Hit beats Stand by 0.0006 per unit bet.
* The standard six-deck chart (the table’s hint) doubles here instead. These are close calls — less than a hundredth of a bet apart — that the removal of the cards in play tips the other way in a real shoe.
How the rules move the edge
The same calculation with one rule changed at a time. Small print on the felt matters more than it looks.
| Rule | House edge | vs this table |
|---|---|---|
| This table (S17, 3:2, double after split, split to 4) | 0.512% | — |
| Late surrender allowed | 0.426% | −0.086% |
| Split once only (2 hands) | 0.570% | +0.059% |
| No double after split | 0.653% | +0.141% |
| Dealer hits soft 17 | 0.731% | +0.219% |
| Blackjack pays 6:5 | 1.865% | +1.353% |
Strategy matters more than any rule
Exact edges for simple ways of playing, never doubling or splitting. Playing like the dealer loses because you bust first — and lose even when the dealer then busts too.
| Perfect basic strategy | 0.512% |
| Play like the dealer (hit to 17) | 5.675% |
| Never bust (stand on 12+) | 6.079% |
FLOOR JACKPOT
This table isn’t linked to the floor jackpot. Its best play already brings back nearly every medal played, so play here neither feeds the floor jackpot nor draws for it. As on a real floor, not every cabinet is on the progressive.
Linked machines: Medal Pusher, Slot Machine, Calico Janken, Roulette & Martingale, Three Card Poker, Big Catch Harbor, Mini Turf Racing, Ball Bingo, Star Festival Big Wheel, High & Low Ladder, Moonlit Sic Bo, Whale Isle Sugoroku, Candy Shop Medal Maze, Video Keno, Hot Spring Smart Ball, Goldfish Lantern Pachinko, Cherry Blossom Carousel, Onsen Shooting Gallery.
Three ways to play, same shoes
Deals real six-deck shoes to the cut card and plays each strategy one unit a round. Every strategy gets the same shuffles. The dashed lines are the exact infinite-deck edges.
Counting cards
A Hi-Lo counter plays basic strategy through the same kind of shoes and reads the true count before every round. Each round is scored twice: with a flat one-unit bet, and with a 1–8 spread (1 unit up to a true count of +1, then 2, 4 and 8 units at +2, +3 and +4 or more). Only the bet changes.