Blackjack Basic Strategy Quiz
Twenty real hands, scored, with the reason for every answer.
By Tum
Last reviewed
How The Quiz Works
Twenty hands, one decision each, the same format for everyone. The dealer’s upcard and your two cards are drawn from the cells of the basic strategy chart, weighted toward the hands players get wrong most, with a fixed mix of right answers in every quiz: six hits, five stands, five doubles and four splits. So every quiz is the same kind of test, a score means the same thing from one visit to the next, and one player’s score can be set against another’s.
The right play and the reason for it follow each hand. Every answer is checked against basic strategy for the rules shown on screen, worked out by the same engine that builds our strategy charts, not a hand-typed answer key. When a miss would be the right play at a table with different rules, the quiz says so.
At the end you get your score against every player who has taken this quiz, where it sits on the spread of their scores, the hands you missed with what each miss costs per dollar bet, and the option to practice exactly those hands on the spot until each is right three times in a row. Your scores and misses are kept in your browser. Only a score you choose to save goes to the leaderboard: your nickname, the score and the time, nothing else.
The rules are six decks, the dealer stands on soft 17, double on any two cards, double after a split and no surrender. These are the rules most published charts assume, and the ones this quiz has always used.
The Hands Players Miss Most
Based on the answers of 2,700 recent players. The cost is what the most common wrong play gives up against the right one, per dollar bet on that hand, from an exact calculation for the rules above.
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A7vs5
Soft 18 (A,7) vs 5
Right play Double Usual miss
Stand44%Costs 10 cents per $1 bet
You cannot bust on one card and a dealer 5 busts often. Put more money on it.
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64vs9
Hard 10 (6,4) vs 9
Right play Double Usual miss
Hit40%Costs 3 cents per $1 bet
Ten still makes 18 or better a third of the time against a 9; the double is worth more than the hit.
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75vs3
Hard 12 (7,5) vs 3
Right play Hit Usual miss
Stand37%Costs 1 cent per $1 bet
A 3 is not weak enough to stand on 12 against. The dealer makes a hand too often.
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A4vs3
Soft 15 (A,4) vs 3
Right play Hit Usual miss
Double25%Costs 3 cents per $1 bet
The soft double does not pay against a 3 yet. It starts against a 4.
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A7vsA
Soft 18 (A,7) vs ace
Right play Hit Usual miss
Stand35%Costs half a cent per $1 bet
18 is behind an ace more often than not, and the ace in your hand means one card cannot bust you.
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54vs2
Hard 9 (5,4) vs 2
Right play Hit Usual miss
Double36%Costs 1 cent per $1 bet
The 9 double starts against a 3. A 2 is a touch too strong.
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A7vs10
Soft 18 (A,7) vs 10
Right play Hit Usual miss
Stand33%Costs 4 cents per $1 bet
18 loses to a 10 more often than it wins. Take a card: you cannot bust.
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99vs8
9,9 vs 8
Right play Split Usual miss
Stand31%Costs 13 cents per $1 bet
18 is only a fair hand against an 8. Two hands starting on 9 do better on average.
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66vs3
6,6 vs 3
Right play Split Usual miss
Hit19%Costs 13 cents per $1 bet
A hard 12 is a poor hand. Two sixes against a weak 3 each have a chance.
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A6vs7
Soft 17 (A,6) vs 7
Right play Hit Usual miss
Stand23%Costs 16 cents per $1 bet
Soft 17 never stands: it loses to any made dealer hand, and a draw cannot bust you.
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92vs2
Hard 11 (9,2) vs 2
Right play Double Usual miss
Hit9%Costs 24 cents per $1 bet
The easiest hand on the list, and the costliest to miss: 11 is the best doubling hand in the game.
The pattern is plain. Players hit when they should double, stand on soft hands that cannot bust, and keep pairs together that belong apart. The doubles and splits cost the most, so the result screen lists your misses costliest first.
What Your Score Means
More than 44,000 players have taken this quiz since 2018. Players average 14 out of 20. The comparison at the end of your quiz uses recent results.
- 20 out of 20: Perfect. Fewer than one player in ten gets every hand.
- 18 or 19: Sharp. Better than 77% to 84% of players. One or two leaks left; fix them and you play the chart.
- 15 to 17: Solid. Better than 55% to 70%. You know the chart, with a few costly gaps, usually in the soft hands and the pairs.
- 12 to 14: Getting there. Better than 28% to 46%. The hard totals are mostly in place; the soft hands and the pairs are not yet.
- Under 12: Learning. Start with the misses the result shows you. Each one is a hand you will meet often.
Every miss has a price, from under a cent to 24 cents per dollar bet on that hand (the cards above), and the misses that matter are the ones you make every time. A player who always stands on soft 18 against a 5 gives back about ten cents of every dollar bet on that hand, hand after hand, for as long as the habit lasts. That is why the quiz offers to drill your misses on the spot rather than just marking them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good score on a blackjack strategy test?
Eighteen or more out of 20 puts you ahead of about three quarters of the players who have taken this quiz, and 20 out of 20 is rarer than one in ten. Fifteen is about average. The hands you missed matter more than the number: a player who scores 17 but keeps missing the same soft hand gives back more than one who scores 16 on four different near ties.
Which rules does the quiz use, and why does the answer change if the dealer hits soft 17?
Six decks, the dealer stands on soft 17, double on any two cards, double after a split and no surrender. When the dealer hits soft 17 their finishing hands are a little stronger, so a few plays move: double soft 18 against a 2, double 11 against an ace, and surrender 15 against an ace where surrender is offered. When you miss a hand that another common rule would change, the quiz tells you, so you can tell a wrong habit from a different table.
How long does it take to learn basic strategy?
Most people play the hard totals correctly within an hour of practice, and the whole chart, soft hands and pairs included, within a few sessions. The quiz shows which hands are still missing; practicing those until each is right three times in a row is the quickest way through.
Does basic strategy work in online blackjack?
Yes, as long as it is set for the game’s rules. Online tables differ most in the soft 17 rule, surrender and the number of decks. Many online games shuffle after every hand, which changes nothing for basic strategy, though it rules out card counting.
Does perfect basic strategy beat the casino?
No. Played perfectly at a good six-deck table it brings the house edge down to about half of one percent, from two percent or more for a typical untrained player, but the casino keeps a small edge. Getting an edge of your own takes card counting on top of basic strategy.
What are the hardest basic strategy hands?
From the answers of 2,700 recent players, the hands missed most are soft 18 against a 5 (half of players stand instead of doubling), hard 10 against a 9, hard 12 against a 3, soft 15 against a 3 and soft 18 against an ace. The dearest misses are the doubles and splits: 9,9 against an 8, 6,6 against a 3 and soft 17 against a 7 each cost 13 to 16 cents per dollar bet when played wrong.
Should I ever take insurance?
Not with basic strategy. Insurance is a side bet that the dealer has a ten under the ace. It pays 2 to 1 while the true odds against are about 2.25 to 1 in a six-deck game, so it loses money over time, and so does the “even money” offer on your own blackjack. Only a card counter with a rich count takes it.
Sources: 44,365 quiz takings on this page since 2018. The average and the percentiles use the 11,785 scored results since January 2025. The hands players miss most use the 2,700 per-answer results recorded since August 2024.
Tum
BlackjackInfo.com administrator
Tum administers BlackjackInfo.com and moderates its forum, and has worked across the LCB network of casino, poker and sports affiliate sites for more than ten years.
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question 1, I don’t know of any casino that allows non pairs to be split ,
In the game of Blackjack the 10’s, J’s, Q’s and K’s all have a value of 10. So if you have any combination of those 4 cards you have a pair of 10’s. You can split them if you like. It is always the wrong move as you should always stay on 20, but the rules do state you can if you want to.
Want improve myself
I got 20 points out of 20 points total and scored better than 91% of other people who participated in this test! On my way…
Question 3 is hit, not double
Yeah, i was really confused on why it said i should hit
Great muscle memory tool ! !
Why would you not double a 9 vs a dealer showing 6 that is not basic strategy.
Yes, doubling 9 vs. 6 is correct.
??
Thank you for this good information.
Practice,Practice,Practice…………….
correct basic strategy for 15 on 3 would be stand… It’s a basic strategy site that doesn’t play basic strategy. I know I was supposed to get 20/20. I got 13/20.
You are wrong. On soft 15 vs 3 you hit. You are thinking of a hard 15.
I was going off of the basic strategy as well but you’re right, it was a soft 15. Thank you!
What a dumbass LOL
ok mister casino master
rude ass
LOL
I would also have chosen the following hands:
4-4 vs 5
A-10 vs A even money or stand?
7-4 vs A
5-4 vs 2
A-7 vs 2
A-7 vs 9
A-5 vs 3
9-9 vs 7
4-4 vs 4
Lol this website is wrong. It doesn’t follow basic strategy
i got 20/20. this website is 100% correct
dont you Double a 5,5 vs 6?
yes
I thought it was 6 and 4 on the 17 question, so i chose double but it was a hard 9 and the dealer showed 7. So it’s not a double and i know that
got 20 out of 20
20 out of 20, On another practice quiz, I have 100 out of 100. My problem is I have worked at card counting, but I ALWAYS get distracted then lose the count. I am a newbie at this. I need to know when NOT to utilize Basic Strategie and go with the count, That is if I don’t lose my way. Maybe a different method? I am 76 years of age and card counting is difficult for me. I have lost once out of 10 sessions at the casino, I was not card counting at those sessions.
Retire
Thanks
19 out of 20… It was #20 that I missed and I know better!
The quiz needs to state how the dealer deals the dealer getting with a BJ. The quiz assumes the dealer declares it straight away. Most online BJ games dont, they let player play first then the dealer declares it. So if player doubles or splits, the player loses that extra bet too.
Double 11 against 10 and split 8s against 10, bring your money and come play with me
Oh oops, I got it backwards. The quiz is right, I said it wrong, and I picked the wrong button by accident, derp lol