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What Is a Soft 17, and Does the Dealer Hit It?
A soft 17 is a hand that totals 17 with an ace counted as 11, such as A,6; on some online tables the dealer must take another card on soft 17 (H17), and on others the dealer must stand (S17). The H17 rule raises the house edge by about 0.21 percentage points and, on a table without surrender, changes three cells of the basic strategy chart.
- What a soft 17 is
- Soft 17 vs hard 17
- Dealer hits vs stands on soft 17
- What the hit rule costs you
- Which strategy plays change
- How to tell which rule a table uses
01What a soft 17 is
An ace counts as 11 unless that would bust the hand. Then it counts as 1.
A hand is soft when an ace in it counts as 11. A soft 17 is any soft hand that totals 17.
The ace and 6 above is the most common soft 17. Each hand in this list is also a soft 17:
- Ace and 6 (11 + 6)
- Ace, 2 and 4 (11 + 2 + 4)
- Ace, 3 and 3 (11 + 3 + 3)
- Ace, ace and 5 (11 + 1 + 5)
A soft 17 cannot bust on the next card. If that card would push the total past 21, the ace changes from 11 to 1.
See blackjack card values for how every card counts.
02Soft 17 vs hard 17
A hard hand has no ace, or has an ace that must count as 1. A hard 17 busts if the next card is 5 or higher.
Here is how the hands compare:
| Hand | Type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ace and 6 | Soft 17 | The ace counts as 11. |
| King and 7 | Hard 17 | There is no ace. |
| 9 and 8 | Hard 17 | There is no ace. |
| Ace, 6 and king | Hard 17 | The ace must count as 1, or the hand would go over 21. |
When you hold a soft 17 yourself, basic strategy never stands on it. You hit or double, as this row shows.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H | D | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H |
The rule is: hit against a 2, double against 3 to 6 (hit if you cannot double), and hit against 7 to A.
03Dealer hits vs stands on soft 17
The dealer does not make choices. The dealer follows a fixed rule that the table sets before the game starts.
- H17 – the dealer hits soft 17. The dealer takes another card on A,6 and stands on hard 17 and higher.
- S17 – the dealer stands on all 17s. The dealer stops on A,6 the same way as on a king and a 7.
Under H17, the dealer's next card can turn 17 into 18, 19, 20 or 21. If the hand turns hard and stays below 17, the dealer keeps taking cards and can bust.
With a 6 up, the dealer busts about 43.9% of the time under H17 and about 42.3% under S17. The chart below shows the H17 bust rate for every up card.
Dealer up card along the bottom; how often the dealer goes over 21 above each bar (6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, before any check for blackjack).
The extra busts do not make up for the extra 18s to 21s the dealer makes. That is why H17 is the worse rule for you.
Try the dealer bust calculator to compare up cards.
04What the hit rule costs you
The house edge is the share of each bet the game keeps over a long run of hands. These numbers assume you play perfect basic strategy on a 6-deck table with blackjack paying 3:2.
| Dealer rule | House edge |
|---|---|
| Dealer stands on soft 17 (S17) | 0.40% |
| Dealer hits soft 17 (H17) | 0.62% |
| Difference | 0.21 percentage points |
That difference comes from one dealer rule. It is about the same as the rule that lets you double only on 10 and 11, which adds about 0.20 percentage points.
If two online tables are the same except for the soft 17 rule, pick the one where the dealer stands on soft 17.
You can test other rule sets in the house edge calculator.
05Which strategy plays change
Most of the basic strategy chart is the same for H17 and S17. On a table without surrender, three cells change.
| Your hand vs dealer up card | Dealer hits soft 17 (H17) | Dealer stands on soft 17 (S17) |
|---|---|---|
| 11 vs A | Double (otherwise hit) | Hit |
| A,7 vs 2 | Double (otherwise stand) | Stand |
| A,8 vs 6 | Double (otherwise stand) | Stand |
The rows below show the H17 chart, which is the standard one on this site.
11 against a dealer ace
With H17, you double 11 against every up card, including the ace. With S17, you hit 11 against an ace.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Soft 18 (A,7) against a dealer 2
With H17, you double A,7 against 2 to 6; if you cannot double, you stand. With S17, you stand on A,7 against a 2.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ds | Ds | Ds | Ds | Ds | S | S | H | H | H |
Soft 19 (A,8) against a dealer 6
With H17, you double A,8 against a 6; if you cannot double, you stand. With S17, you stand on A,8 against a 6.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | S | S | S | Ds | S | S | S | S | S |
See the full chart on the blackjack strategy chart page.
06How to tell which rule a table uses
Online games show the soft 17 rule in writing. You just need to know where to look.
| Text you see | Rule |
|---|---|
| Dealer must hit soft 17 | H17 |
| Dealer hits soft 17 | H17 |
| Dealer must stand on all 17s | S17 |
| Dealer stands on soft 17 | S17 |
Check these places:
- The text printed on the table felt in the game screen.
- The game rules or help screen, often behind an info button.
- The dealer's play: if the dealer shows A,6 and stops, the table is S17.
Read the rules screen before your first bet. It also tells you the number of decks and what blackjack pays.
Learn the other common table rules on the blackjack rules page. Then practice the changed cells in the blackjack trainer.
Questions people ask
What is a soft 17 in blackjack?
A soft 17 is a hand that totals 17 with an ace counted as 11, such as A,6 or an ace, 2 and 4. It cannot bust on the next card because the ace can change to 1.
Does the dealer hit on soft 17?
It depends on the table. On H17 tables the dealer takes another card on soft 17, and on S17 tables the dealer stands. The rule is shown on the table felt or in the game rules.
Is H17 or S17 better for the player?
S17 is better for you. With basic strategy on 6 decks, the house edge is about 0.40% under S17 and 0.62% under H17.
Should I stand on my own soft 17?
No. Basic strategy says hit A,6 against a 2, double against 3 to 6 (hit if you cannot double), and hit against 7 to A.
Which plays change when the dealer stands on soft 17?
On a table without surrender, three plays change. With S17 you hit 11 against an ace, stand on A,7 against a 2, and stand on A,8 against a 6.
Is an ace, 6 and king a soft 17?
No. The ace must count as 1, or the hand would go over 21. That makes an ace, 6 and king a hard 17.
Where the numbers come from
Every number on this page is worked out by our blackjack engine for the rules stated next to it, with perfect basic strategy. Unless a rule is named, the rules are 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double after split allowed, no surrender, the dealer checks for blackjack, and blackjack pays 3:2.