The trainer needs JavaScript. The full chart is on the basic strategy page.
How to practise with the trainer
- Look at your two cards and the dealer’s face-up card. The trainer names your hand, for example Hard 16, Soft 18 or Pair of 8s.
- Choose Hit, Stand, Double or Split. Split works only when your two cards are a pair.
- Read the answer: Correct, or Not quite with the chart play. It shows the line of the chart, such as “Hard 16 v 10”, and why that move applies at this table. See the full chart opens the chart on our strategy page.
- Press Next hand. The score, Correct: N of M, counts this visit only and is not saved; Reset score starts it again.
Each hand is one decision on your first two cards. The trainer does not play the hand out and does not deal blackjacks, since an ace and a ten-value card leave nothing to decide.
Table rules the trainer uses
6 decks · dealer stands on soft 17 · double after split · blackjack pays 3:2 · no surrender · no insurance.
The moves come from the same chart as our strategy page: Wizard of Odds’ chart for 4 to 8 decks with the dealer standing on soft 17. The table rules above are the “6 decks, S17, DAS, 3:2” row of our edge table, so the edge figure there is the one for this table.
Why the answer is not always the letter in the chart
Some cells in the chart are conditional. At this table each condition is settled by the rules, so the trainer gives one move:
- Dh and Ds: Double. Every hand here is your first two cards, and this table lets you double on any two cards.
- Ph: Split, because this table allows double after split.
- Rh: Hit, because this table has no surrender.
- 5,5 and 10,10: the chart has no row for them, so a pair of fives plays as hard 10 and two ten-value cards, such as a king and a queen, as hard 20.
Why a correct move can still lose
The trainer marks the decision, not the result. A Correct answer means your move matches the chart; it does not mean the hand would win. At a real table the chart play can still lose the hand, because basic strategy lowers the casino’s edge and leaves it above zero (edge by rule set).
When the chart changes
Practice here carries over to a table with the same rules. A dealer who hits soft 17, no double after split, a dealer with no hole card, or one or two decks change some cells, and a 6:5 blackjack payout raises the edge. Where a table offers surrender, the Rh cells are surrenders, not hits. Each change is listed in the rules section of our strategy page; before you play anywhere else, check the table’s rules panel.
Safer gambling
The trainer is practice for a game of chance, not a way to make money. Before any real-money game, set a spending and time limit.
- Gambling Help Online: 1800 858 858, free and anonymous, 24/7, or gamblinghelponline.org.au.
- BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register, blocks you from all licensed Australian online and phone gambling providers: betstop.gov.au. It covers licensed Australian providers only, so offshore casino sites are outside it.
- ACMA says the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes it illegal for gambling providers to offer some online services to people in Australia, including online casinos. A 2011 federal review paper said the Act does not make it an offence for Australian customers to use those services.
- More contacts are on our support resources page. 18+ only.
Blackjack simulator FAQ
Is the blackjack simulator free?
Yes. There is no money, no chips, no balance and no bets: the trainer only checks your moves against the basic strategy chart.
Do I need to sign up or download anything?
No. The trainer runs on this page in your browser, with no account and nothing to install.
Which rules does the trainer use?
6 decks, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, blackjack pays 3:2, no surrender and no insurance. The moves come from Wizard of Odds’ chart for 4 to 8 decks with the dealer standing on soft 17, the same chart as on our strategy page.
Will practising basic strategy make me win?
No. For this table’s rules, Wizard of Odds calculates that basic strategy leaves the casino about 0.43% of the total amount bet, on average over a very long run. Any session can end in a loss.