# All Ten Dealer Upcards on One Page

All ten dealer upcard columns in one place: dealer bust rates, the plays that define each column, and where the basic strategy chart moves most between upcards.

Source: https://21trainer.app/articles/dealer-upcard-series-summary/
Updated: October 12, 2026
Publisher: 21 Trainer, makers of Blackjack Strategy: 21 Trainer, an educational blackjack trainer for iPhone and Android (App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/blackjack-strategy-21-trainer/id6759527695, Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.blackjacktrainer)

> **Educational content, not gambling advice.** 21 Trainer and this article teach blackjack strategy and card counting as skills, using virtual chips only. No strategy or counting system guarantees winnings, and nothing here encourages real-money play. If gambling is a problem for you or someone you know, call 1-800-522-4700 (National Council on Problem Gambling).

The dealer upcard series is complete: one article per upcard, ten in all, each walking a single column of the basic strategy chart hand by hand. This page is the summary and the hub, with all ten columns side by side and a link to each full treatment.

Seen together, the columns show a weak half and a strong half. Against a 2 through 6 the chart stands on stiffs, doubles soft hands and splits pairs against a dealer who breaks often. Against a 7 through ace it hits, surrenders, or protects a made hand, and the turn happens almost entirely across one seam, between the 6 and the 7.

Unless noted, every play below comes from one chart: 4 to 8 decks, dealer stands on soft 17, with double after split noted where it matters. Bust rates are the six deck, stands on soft 17 figures from our [dealer final total distribution](https://21trainer.app/articles/dealer-final-total-distribution/) tables, with the 10 and ace rates measured after the dealer has checked for blackjack. The [dealer upcard guide](https://21trainer.app/articles/dealer-upcard-guide/) covers the general pattern.

## The ten columns at a glance

One row per upcard: the bust rate, what the stiff totals do, and the plays that set the column apart.

| Upcard | Dealer bust rate | Hard 12 through 16 | What sets the column apart |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2 | 35.4% | 12 hits, 13 through 16 stand | No soft doubles; hard 9 hits; 2,2, 3,3 and 6,6 need double after split |
| 3 | 37.4% | 12 hits, 13 through 16 stand | Hard 9, soft 17 and soft 18 start doubling; 6,6 a plain split |
| 4 | 39.6% | 12 through 16 stand | Soft 15 and 16 double; 2,2 and 3,3 plain splits |
| 5 | 41.8% | 12 through 16 stand | Every soft 13 through 17 doubles; 4,4 splits with double after split |
| 6 | 42.3% | 12 through 16 stand | Identical to the 5 column in this chart |
| 7 | 26.2% | 12 through 16 all hit | 9,9 stands; no soft doubles; 2,2, 3,3 and 7,7 still split |
| 8 | 24.4% | 12 through 16 all hit | 2,2, 3,3 and 7,7 stop splitting; 9,9 splits again |
| 9 | 22.9% | 12 through 16 hit unless surrendered | Soft 18 hits; hard 16 is surrender if allowed, otherwise hit |
| 10 | 23.0% | 12 through 16 hit unless surrendered | Hard 10 and 5,5 stop doubling; hard 15 and 16 surrender if allowed, otherwise hit; 9,9 stands |
| Ace | 16.7% | 12 through 16 hit unless surrendered | Hard 11 stops doubling; hard 16 surrenders if allowed, otherwise hits, hard 15 hits; 8,8 and A,A still split |

## The weak side: 2 through 6

**2.** The stingiest weak upcard, busting least often among them at 35.4 percent. Hard 12 hits where 13 through 16 stand, hard 9 stays a hit, soft 18 stands, and no soft hand doubles. Even the pairs hold back: 2,2, 3,3 and 6,6 split only when double after split is allowed. Full column: [Playing Against a Dealer 2, Hand by Hand](https://21trainer.app/articles/basic-strategy-vs-dealer-two/).

**3.** The doubling widens. Hard 9, soft 17 and soft 18 all double against a 3, and 6,6 becomes a plain split that no longer needs double after split. Hard 12 still hits, the last weak upcard where it does; the dealer busts 37.4 percent of the time. Full column: [Playing Against a Dealer 3, Hand by Hand](https://21trainer.app/articles/basic-strategy-vs-dealer-three/).

**4.** Hard 12 crosses to standing, soft 15 and 16 join the doubles, and 2,2 and 3,3 become plain splits. The dealer busts 39.6 percent of the time. Full column: [Playing Against a Dealer 4, Hand by Hand](https://21trainer.app/articles/basic-strategy-vs-dealer-four/).

**5.** Soft 13 and 14 start doubling, which completes the set: every soft total from 13 through 17 doubles against a 5, and soft 18 doubles if allowed, otherwise stands. Below that, 4,4 splits when double after split is allowed. The dealer busts 41.8 percent of the time. Full column: [Playing Against a Dealer 5, Hand by Hand](https://21trainer.app/articles/basic-strategy-vs-dealer-five/).

**6.** The best upcard for the player at 42.3 percent busts, and yet the 6 column is identical to the 5 column in this chart, the only neighboring columns with nothing between them. Full column: [Playing Against a Dealer 6, Hand by Hand](https://21trainer.app/articles/basic-strategy-vs-dealer-six/).

## The strong side: 7 through ace

**7.** The seam itself. The dealer busts 26.2 percent of the time with a 7, and every stiff from 12 through 16 hits. No soft hand doubles, soft 18 stands, hard 9 hits, and 9,9 stands on its 18, which already beats the dealer's most likely finish of 17 with this upcard. The pairs split the difference: 2,2, 3,3 and 7,7 still split, while 4,4 and 6,6 hit. Full column: [Playing Against a Dealer 7, Hand by Hand](https://21trainer.app/articles/basic-strategy-vs-dealer-seven/).

**8.** Slightly fewer busts, 24.4 percent, and the hard and soft rows hold steady from the 7. The movement is all in the pairs: 2,2, 3,3 and 7,7 stop splitting, while 9,9 splits again. Full column: [Playing Against a Dealer 8, Hand by Hand](https://21trainer.app/articles/basic-strategy-vs-dealer-eight/).

**9.** The dealer's most likely finish moves to 19, busts fall to 22.9 percent, and two cells cross lines: soft 18 stops standing and hits, and hard 16 becomes surrender if allowed, otherwise hit, while hard 15 stays a hit. Full column: [Playing Against a Dealer 9, Hand by Hand](https://21trainer.app/articles/basic-strategy-vs-dealer-nine/).

**10.** Hard 10 and 5,5, which double against every upcard from 2 through 9, stop doubling against a 10, though hard 11 still doubles. Hard 15 joins hard 16 as surrender if allowed, otherwise hit, and 9,9 stands. The 23.0 percent bust rate is measured after the peek. Full column: [Playing Against a Dealer 10, Hand by Hand](https://21trainer.app/articles/basic-strategy-vs-dealer-ten/).

**Ace.** The strongest upcard at 16.7 percent busts after the peek, and the column strips the chart to its safest plays. Hard 11 stops doubling, hard 16 is surrender if allowed, otherwise hit, while hard 15 merely hits, and of the pairs only 8,8 and A,A still split. Full column: [Playing Against a Dealer Ace, Hand by Hand](https://21trainer.app/articles/basic-strategy-vs-dealer-ace/).

## Where the chart moves most

The table counts rows whose play changes between neighboring columns, across the chart's 28 rows: hard 8 through 17, soft 13 through 20, and the ten pair rows.

| Step | Rows that change | Which rows |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2 to 3 | 4 | Hard 9, soft 17, soft 18, 6,6 |
| 3 to 4 | 5 | Hard 12, soft 15, soft 16, 2,2, 3,3 |
| 4 to 5 | 3 | Soft 13, soft 14, 4,4 |
| 5 to 6 | 0 | None |
| 6 to 7 | 15 | Hard 9, hard 12 through 16, soft 13 through 18, 4,4, 6,6, 9,9 |
| 7 to 8 | 4 | 2,2, 3,3, 7,7, 9,9 |
| 8 to 9 | 2 | Hard 16, soft 18 |
| 9 to 10 | 4 | Hard 10, hard 15, 5,5, 9,9 |
| 10 to ace | 2 | Hard 11, hard 15 |

Two things stand out. Inside the weak group, the four steps from the 2 to the 6 add up to 12 changed rows, and inside the strong group, the four steps from the 7 to the ace also add up to 12. The single step from the 6 to the 7 changes 15, more than either half manages across all four of its own steps. The chart is effectively two charts stitched together at the 6 and the 7.

## The rows that never move

Seven of the 28 rows play the same against all ten upcards in this chart: hard 8 hits, hard 17 stands, soft 19 and soft 20 stand, 10,10 stands, and 8,8 and A,A split. Every other row moves at least once.

Other rule sets move a few cells, not the shape. One and two deck games, and the dealer hitting soft 17, shift a handful of decisions, mostly the same borderline cells that move between neighboring upcards. Each upcard article above lists the changes for its column; [the handful of hands that change with the rules](https://21trainer.app/articles/chart-changes-by-rule/) covers the pattern, and [the chart itself, and how to read it](https://21trainer.app/articles/blackjack-basic-strategy-chart/), is the place to start.

## Turning columns into practice

A column is a natural practice unit: one decision per chart row, twenty-eight in all, mixing hard, soft and pair logic, small enough for one sitting. Our piece on [drilling the dealer upcard until it reads itself](https://21trainer.app/articles/drilling-dealer-upcard-reads/) lays out the progression, and [when to hit and when to stand](https://21trainer.app/articles/when-to-hit-or-stand/) explains the reasoning behind the stiff rows.

In 21 Trainer, set the deck count, the soft 17 rule and double after split to match your game, and the strategy chart redraws for that selection, so the chart you study matches those rules. The free trainer gives instant feedback with an explanation for every decision, and the Pro upgrade adds accuracy heat maps by hand type and dealer upcard.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which dealer upcard is best for the player in blackjack?

The 6. Per the published six deck tables where the dealer stands on soft 17 and has already checked for blackjack, a dealer showing a 6 busts 42.3 percent of the time, the highest of any upcard and just ahead of the 5 at 41.8 percent. Every stiff from 12 through 16 stands against both.

### Which dealer upcard is worst for the player?

The ace. It busts only 16.7 percent of the time after the dealer has checked for blackjack, the lowest rate by far. In the 4 to 8 deck chart where the dealer stands on soft 17, the column shows it: hard 11 stops doubling, hard 16 is surrender if allowed, otherwise hit, and of the pairs only 8,8 and A,A keep splitting.

### Why does basic strategy change so much between a dealer 6 and a dealer 7?

Because the bust rate falls off a cliff, from 42.3 percent with a 6 showing to 26.2 percent with a 7. Standing on a stiff is a bet that the dealer breaks, and that bet pays far less often against a 7. In the 4 to 8 deck chart where the dealer stands on soft 17, 15 of the 28 rows change between those two columns, more than any other step.

### Are any blackjack plays the same against every dealer upcard?

Yes, seven of the 28 rows in the 4 to 8 deck chart where the dealer stands on soft 17: hard 8 always hits, hard 17 always stands, soft 19 and soft 20 always stand, 10,10 always stands, and 8,8 and A,A always split. Every other row changes at least once.

### Do these plays change with different blackjack rules?

A few. In one and two deck games, and where the dealer hits soft 17, a small number of borderline cells move. Each upcard article in this series lists the changes for its own column, so check the column you play before trusting a memorized answer.

## Keep reading

- [Reading the Dealer Upcard](https://21trainer.app/articles/dealer-upcard-guide/)
- [Drilling the Dealer Upcard Until It Reads Itself](https://21trainer.app/articles/drilling-dealer-upcard-reads/)
- [How to Read a Basic Strategy Chart](https://21trainer.app/articles/blackjack-basic-strategy-chart/)