What Each Card Is Worth in Blackjack

In blackjack, cards 2 through 10 are worth their number, the jack, queen and king are each worth 10, and suits do not matter. The ace counts as 11 unless that would put your hand over 21, in which case it counts as 1, and you add all your cards together to get your hand total.

• Blackjack card values chart
• What an ace is worth: 11 or 1
• Soft hands and hard hands
• Blackjack vs 21 with three cards
• Suits do not matter
• How to count a hand fast
• Practice reading hands

01Blackjack card values chart

Every card has a value. You add those values to get your hand total.

A queen is worth 10, and so are the jack and the king.

Players call the 10, jack, queen and king the ten-value cards.

This hand is a queen and a 7, so the total is 17.

To learn how a full round goes, see how to play blackjack.

02What an ace is worth: 11 or 1

The ace counts as 11 when that keeps your total at 21 or less. If 11 would put your total over 21, the ace counts as 1.

An ace and a 6 make soft 17. The ace counts as 11 now, and it drops to 1 later if a new card would put you over 21.

Here is the same hand after one more card.

You took a 9. Counting the ace as 11 would put you over 21, so the ace counts as 1 and your total is 16.

Going over 21 is called a bust. When you bust, you lose your bet right away.

• A + 5 = soft 16. The ace counts as 11.
• A + 9 = soft 20. The ace counts as 11.
• A + A = soft 12. Only one ace can count as 11, because two aces at 11 would go over 21.
• A + A + 9 = 21. One ace counts as 11 and the other counts as 1.

03Soft hands and hard hands

A soft hand is a hand with an ace that counts as 11. You cannot bust by taking one more card, because the ace can drop to 1.

A hard hand has no ace, or has an ace that must count as 1.

Soft 17 and hard 17 have the same total, but basic strategy plays them differently. These two rows show the move against each dealer up card – the dealer's face-up card.

With hard 17, you stand against every up card. With soft 17, you hit against a 2, double against 3 to 6 (hit if doubling is not allowed), and hit against 7 to ace.

To double means you double your bet and take exactly one more card. The dealer has a soft 17 rule too, explained on the soft 17 page.

04Blackjack vs 21 with three cards

A blackjack, also called a natural, is an ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards. It ranks above every other hand.

A 21 made with three or more cards is just 21. It is not a blackjack.

A blackjack ranks above a dealer 21 made with three or more cards. Here is what a 10 bet pays at different blackjack payouts.

Some tables pay blackjack at only 6:5, which raises the house edge – the share of each bet the casino keeps over time – from 0.62% to 1.98%. Read more on 6:5 blackjack.

A paid blackjack comes about once every 22 hands.

Victoria's tip

If you split two aces and get a 10 on one of them, most tables count it as 21, not as a blackjack. It pays 1:1.

05Suits do not matter

Hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades all count the same. Only the value of the card matters.

A king and a 10 make hard 20, whatever their suits are. They are two cards of the same value, so the chart treats them as a pair of tens and says to stand against every dealer up card.

• A queen of hearts is worth 10.
• A queen of spades is worth 10.
• An ace of any suit counts as 11, or as 1 if 11 would put the hand over 21.

06How to count a hand fast

Use these steps for any hand, even one with many cards.

1. Count every jack, queen and king as 10.
2. Add up all the cards that are not aces.
3. Add each ace as 1.
4. If you have an ace and the total is 11 or less, add 10 more. One ace now counts as 11, and the hand is soft.

The king and the 3 make 13, and the ace adds 1 for a total of 14.

That is more than 11, so the hand stays hard 14.

The 4 and the 5 make 9, and the ace adds 1 for a total of 10.

That is 11 or less, so you add 10 more and the hand is soft 20.

Victoria's tip

Look for cards that add up to 10 first, like a 6 and a 4. Long hands get much quicker to count.

07Practice reading hands

Online tables usually show your total on screen. Counting it yourself still helps you find the right row on the chart quickly.

• Blackjack trainer – deals you hands and checks your move against the chart.
• Blackjack simulator – plays many hands so you can see how the rules change results.
• Basic strategy chart – every hard, soft and pair hand against every dealer up card.

Victoria's tip

Practice soft hands first. A,6 is soft 17: the ace counts as 11 now and can count as 1 after your next card.

Basic strategy lowers the house edge to about 0.62% under standard rules. It does not remove the house edge.

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