Build your hand, set the dealer's up-card, and see the expected value of every legal action. The play with the highest EV is the mathematically correct one — and it's the same engine that grades our blackjack trainer.
Hand total: soft 17
EV is the average result per unit staked, using the infinite-deck model and this app's dealer-stands-on-soft-17 rules. Hit, stand, double, and surrender are exact; split is a standard two-independent-hands approximation. Higher is better.
Expected value (EV) is the average amount you win or lose per unit staked if you make a given play. An EV of +0.200means that play wins 20 cents on the dollar on average; a negative EV means it loses. When every option is negative, the "best play" is simply the one that loses the least.
Double and surrender only appear on your first two cards, and split only appears when you hold a pair — matching what a real table allows. Want the full grid instead? See the blackjack basic strategy chart or read the blackjack odds & house edge, then practice free.
For your exact cards versus the dealer's up-card, it shows the expected value (average result per unit staked) of each legal action — hit, stand, double, split, and surrender — and highlights the one with the highest EV as the best play.
Hit, stand, double, and surrender are computed exactly with an infinite-deck model and the exact dealer distribution for a dealer who stands on soft 17. Split uses the standard two-independent-hands approximation, so it is very close but not exact.
No. Blackjack EV depends only on card values, not suits, so the calculator ignores suits entirely.
For entertainment and education only. No real-money gambling. 21+