Playing Your Hands Against a Dealer’s 7 Upcard

When a dealer shows a 7 upcard, she has about a 26% chance of busting and about a 74% chance of getting to a final hand that totals 17 through 21 (rule dependent). Because of the latter, we have to be more aggressive when we are dealt a stiff hand (hit rather than stand) and less aggressive when we are dealt a two-card soft hand (hit rather than double down).

What follows is the accurate blackjack playing strategy for any hand when the dealer shows a 7 upcard. 

Fortunately for blackjack players, the playing strategy against a casino dealer’s 7 upcard is nearly the same for any number of decks of cards or mix of playing rules. There is one exception and you’ll find it below. 

Notations used in this article:

S17 = Dealer must stand on soft 17
H17 = Dealer must hit soft 17
DAS = Doubling down after pair splitting is allowed
NDAS = Doubling down after pair splitting is not allowed
H = Hit
S = Stand
P = Split
Dh = Double down if allowed, otherwise hit

Multi-Deck Game 

Regardless of the playing rules, use the following strategy when facing a dealer’s seven upcard.

Double down if allowed, otherwise hit if holding:

• Hard 10 and 11
• Pair of 5s

Split if holding:

• Pair of As, 2s, 3s, and 7s and 8s 

Hit if holding:

• Hard 5 through 9
• Hard 12 through 16
• A-2 through A-6
• Pair of 4s and 6s

Stand if holding:

• Hard 17 through 20
• A-7 through A-9 
• Pair of 9s and 10s.

Below is the corresponding playing strategy arranged into three color-coded tables for hard hands, soft hands, and pairs. The first row in each table represents the player’s hand (in the case of hard hands, it represents the total count of the cards), and the second row contains the correct playing strategy against a dealer’s 7 upcard with S17 and DAS.

Hard Hands

Soft Hands

Pairs

What if you are playing a double-deck game?

The playing strategy for a double-deck game is identical to the above multiple-deck game except for one change:

• If the rules specify DAS, split a pair of 6s (instead of hitting) against a dealer’s 7 upcard.

What if you are playing a single-deck game?

You should implement the same strategy change for a single-deck game as you would in a double-deck game, namely:

• If the rules specify DAS, split a pair of 6s (instead of hitting) against a dealer’s 7 upcard.

Practice Play

To be sure you have the strategy down pat for playing your hand against a dealer’s 7 upcard, determine how you would play each of the 10 hands listed below, jot down your decision on paper, and then check it against the correct play at the end of this article. (Your goal is to be able to play every hand accurately, regardless of the number of decks of cards or mix of playing rules.)

For more playing strategy tips, consult Chapter 3 in my Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide.

Correct plays for the hands in the table are: