The dealer's low upcards split into two regimes with a border, and the border runs between the 3 and the 4. Against the 2 the chart is stingy, and against the 3 it stays careful, as we saw in the 2 column and the 3 column. From the 4 through the 6 it opens up, the territory of the 6 column.
The 4 is the first upcard of that second regime, and the column shows it. In the standard shoe game, hard 12 stands here for the first time anywhere on the chart, soft 15 and soft 16 join the doubling block, and 2,2 and 3,3 finally split without a double after split condition.
This piece walks the whole column under standard shoe rules, then maps the handful of cells that move when the rules change, which for this column means single deck and one soft cell in double deck.
The whole column, one table
These are the strategy chart's cells for a dealer 4 upcard in the standard shoe game: four to eight decks, dealer stands on soft 17, dealer peeks for blackjack, blackjack pays 3:2, double allowed on any two cards, late surrender where offered.
| Your hand | Play against a dealer 4 |
|---|---|
| Hard 8 or less | Hit |
| Hard 9 | Double if allowed, otherwise hit |
| Hard 10 | Double if allowed, otherwise hit |
| Hard 11 | Double if allowed, otherwise hit |
| Hard 12 through 16 | Stand |
| Hard 17 and up | Stand |
| Soft 13 and 14 (A,2 and A,3) | Hit |
| Soft 15 through 17 (A,4 through A,6) | Double if allowed, otherwise hit |
| Soft 18 (A,7) | Double if allowed, otherwise stand |
| Soft 19 and 20 | Stand |
| 2,2 | Split |
| 3,3 | Split |
| 4,4 | Hit |
| 5,5 | Double if allowed, otherwise hit |
| 6,6 | Split |
| 7,7 | Split |
| 8,8 | Split |
| 9,9 | Split |
| 10,10 | Stand |
| A,A | Split |
Two notes before the reasoning. Nothing surrenders against a 4 in any chart, at any deck count, under either soft 17 rule: surrender is for hopeless hands against strong upcards, and this column contains none. And a pair of 5s is not a pair decision at all: it is a hard 10, doubling where the total doubles and never splitting.
Why every stiff stands
A stiff is a hard 12 through 16, and against a 4 all five totals stand. Per the six deck final total distribution tables computed by Wizard of Odds, with the dealer standing on soft 17 and already checked for blackjack, a dealer showing a 4 finishes on exactly 17 at 13.1 percent, 18 at 12.4, 19 at 12.1, 20 at 11.6 and 21 at 11.2, and busts 39.6 percent of the time. If the dealer hits soft 17, the bust rate edges up to 39.8. Our dealer final total distribution piece lays out the full tables.
Standing on a stiff is a bet that the dealer breaks, and against a 4 that bet pays 39.6 percent of the time, more often than the 3's 37.4 and less often than the 6's 42.3. Hitting those totals risks busting on four to eight of the thirteen ranks, and a player who busts loses no matter what the dealer does. From hard 13 up, that risk costs more than the draw gains, and the same arithmetic stands the 13s through 16s against a 3, with a lower break rate behind it.
Why 12 stands here for the first time
Hard 12 is the exception in the 2 and 3 columns and a stand here, the border's clearest marker. The hand busts only on a ten value card, four of thirteen ranks, so hitting is cheap, and against the 2 and the 3 the chart takes that cheap card: both plays lose on average there, and the published expected value tables put hitting narrowly ahead, as our piece on 12 against a 2 and a 3 tells in full.
Against the 4 the same comparison tips. The dealer's break rate climbs from 37.4 to 39.6 percent, standing on 12 is still a losing proposition on average, and the published tables put standing ahead. One upcard earlier the numbers said take the card; here they say pass. The flip happens in every chart, single deck to shoe.
The soft block opens
Against a 3, the double-or-hit soft block in a shoe game is one cell wide: soft 17. Against a 4 it is three cells wide, with soft 15 and soft 16 switching from hit to double if allowed, otherwise hit, while soft 13 and soft 14 keep hitting. Soft 18 plays double if allowed, otherwise stand, as it did against the 3, and soft 19 and soft 20 stand in every chart.
The reasoning is the general one for soft hands, which our soft hands guide covers: an ace counted as 11 means the hand cannot bust on the next card, so a double trades away only the option to keep drawing. That option is worth surrendering when the dealer is weak, and a dealer who breaks 39.6 percent of the time and whose most likely made totals are the low ones, 17 and 18 at 13.1 and 12.4 percent, is weak in exactly the way a doubled hand likes. The fuller walk-through of soft 18, one of the most frequently misplayed hands, is our piece on soft 18.
21 TrainerFree on the App Store. Instant right or wrong feedback with a clear explanation on every hand.
Get the app
The pairs: seven rows split
Seven of the ten pair rows split against a 4, and the two most interesting are the smallest pairs. In shoe games, 2,2 and 3,3 split only with double after split available against a 2 and a 3; against a 4 both become plain splits, no condition attached. Part of the value comes from hands that develop into doubles afterward, which is why the DAS rule moves these cells at all. Our pieces on splitting 2s and 3s and on double after split cover the mechanics.
The 6,6 and 7,7 rows split here as they did against the 3, the 8,8 and A,A rows split against every upcard in this game, and 9,9 splits against a 4 as it does against every upcard through the 6. The interesting holdout is 4,4: it hits against a 4 in every game of two decks or more, treating the pair as the hard 8 it totals. The pair begins splitting, with double after split, against the 5 and the 6, which our piece on splitting 4s and 6s explains. Tens never split, and a hard 20 against a dealer who makes 21 just 11.2 percent of the time is about as comfortable as this game gets.
How the column moves with the rules
The 4 column is nearly as stable as the 3: identical in all six charts, one and two decks included, except for three cells. Soft 13 is a double if allowed, otherwise hit, in both single deck charts, and hits everywhere else. Soft 14 makes the same move in both single deck charts and in the two deck chart where the dealer hits soft 17, hitting in the rest. And 4,4 splits if double after split is allowed, otherwise hits, in both single deck charts, hitting everywhere else. Everything else reads the same in every game.
The contrast with the 2 column is stark. There the rules move hard 9, soft 17, soft 18 and 6,6 depending on the chart. By the time the upcard reaches the 4, the borderline cells have tipped the same way in almost every game. The practical lesson is still the ordinary one: play from the chart computed for your game, because the exceptions live in exactly the cells that feel automatic.
Practicing the column
Columns make good practice units: about twenty decisions against one upcard, varied enough to exercise hard, soft and pair logic together. Drill the 4 column on its own until every cell is automatic, then fold it back into mixed practice where the upcard arrives unannounced.
The errors worth hunting are the ones flagged here: hitting 12 out of the habit built against the 2 and the 3, standing on soft 15 or soft 16 instead of doubling, and splitting 4,4 out of a vague sense that pairs split against weak upcards. In 21 Trainer you set the deck count, the soft 17 rule and double after split, and the strategy chart redraws for the selection; in Pro, the Weakness Drill and accuracy heat maps show whether errors cluster in these cells.
Drill the whole columnCharts that redraw for the rules you select, with instant feedback on every decision. No account, no ads, and your progress stays on your device.
Download
Frequently asked questions
Do you hit 12 against a dealer 4?
No. Basic strategy stands on hard 12 against a 4, 5 and 6, and hits it against a 2 and a 3, so the 4 is the first upcard where the hand stands. Both plays lose on average against a 4, and the published tables put standing ahead, because the dealer breaks 39.6 percent of the time with a 4 showing.
Should you double soft 15 against a dealer 4?
Yes, in every chart: double if allowed, otherwise hit. In shoe games the window covers soft 15 through soft 17, soft 18 doubles if allowed and otherwise stands, and soft 13 and soft 14 still hit; in single deck they double too. A soft hand cannot bust on one card, which is what makes the double affordable.
Do you split 3s against a dealer 4?
Yes, and the split comes with no condition attached. In shoe games, 3,3 needs double after split to split against a 2 or a 3, but against a 4 it is a plain split, and the same is true of 2,2. Outside single deck, fours hit, fives play as a hard 10 and double, and nothing surrenders against a 4.
How often does the dealer bust with a 4 showing?
About 39.6 percent of the time, per the six deck tables computed by Wizard of Odds where the dealer stands on soft 17 and has already checked for blackjack. If the dealer hits soft 17, the rate edges up to 39.8 percent. That sits above the 3, at 37.4, and below the 6, at 42.3.
Do you split 4s against a dealer 4?
No, except in single deck. In games of two decks or more, 4,4 plays as a hard 8 and hits against a dealer 4. In both single deck charts the pair splits if doubling after a split is allowed, and otherwise hits. The shoe chart starts splitting 4,4 against a 5 and a 6 with double after split, so the 4 is the last weak upcard where the pair stays together.