The notation you are seeing on a strategy chart
You have probably opened a blackjack strategy chart, seen the letters SH in a column or row header, and wondered what they stand for. The answer is simple: SH is shorthand for a soft hand. A soft hand is any hand that contains an ace being counted as 11. The opposite notation is usually H for hard hand, meaning a hand with no ace, or with an ace forced to count as 1 because counting it as 11 would bust the hand.
This notation matters because a soft hand plays differently from a hard hand with the same total. A soft 17, for example, is not the same decision problem as a hard 17. The ace gives the hand flexibility: it can change value from 11 to 1 if a later card would otherwise push the total past 21. That flexibility changes what the correct play is, which is why strategy charts separate soft totals into their own rows or columns.
Strategy charts are not a single universal document. The chart you are reading was built for a specific rule set: how many decks are in the shoe, whether the dealer stands or hits on soft 17, whether doubling after splitting is allowed, and whether surrender is offered. When any of those rules changes, some of the recommended plays change too. A chart labelled for a six-deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17 will not be perfectly accurate for a double-deck game where the dealer hits soft 17.
Reading the chart: what each cell tells you
Most blackjack strategy charts are laid out as a grid. One axis lists the player's hand, often divided into hard totals, soft totals, and pairs. The other axis lists the dealer's upcard, from 2 through ace. Each cell contains a letter or pair of letters telling you the recommended action: H for hit, S for stand, D for double, P for split, and sometimes DS for double if allowed, otherwise stand, or other combinations depending on the chart's author.
When you see SH before a number, such as SH 17 or SH A-6, the chart is telling you that the row applies to a soft hand with that total or those cards. A soft 17 is any hand where the ace counts as 11 and the other cards total 6: ace-6, ace-2-4, ace-3-3, and so on. A soft 13 is ace-2. A soft 18 is ace-7 or ace-2-5. The notation collapses all of those card combinations into one row because the correct play is the same for each.
The dealer's upcard matters just as much as your own hand. The same soft 17 is played differently against a dealer 3 than against a dealer 10. The chart encodes that relationship. When you look up soft 17 against a dealer 3, the cell might say H, meaning hit. Against a dealer 6, the same row might say D, meaning double. Neither of these is a mistake in the chart; the difference comes from the dealer's probability of busting from each upcard.
Why soft hands get their own section
A soft hand cannot bust on the next card. If you hold ace-6 and draw a 10, the ace drops to 1 and the hand becomes a hard 16. You are still in the hand, and you may now be facing a difficult decision, but the draw itself did not end the round. This property is the entire reason soft hands are treated separately. It means you can sometimes take a card on a soft total where you would never take one on the equivalent hard total.
Compare soft 17 with hard 17. A hard 17 is a made hand; most charts tell you to stand on it regardless of the dealer's upcard. A soft 17 is not a made hand in the same sense. Against many dealer upcards, the chart tells you to hit or double a soft 17, because the hand can improve without risk of busting. The ace's ability to change value is the mechanism behind that difference.
This is also why the dealer's own soft 17 rule is printed in the game rules. Some tables require the dealer to stand on all 17s, including soft 17. Others require the dealer to hit soft 17. The rule changes the house edge on the game, and it changes the correct strategy for the player on certain hands. When you sit down at a table, the felt or the rules screen will state which version is in force.
The sequence of a hand from buy-in to settlement
Understanding the notation is only useful if you understand the flow of the game around it. A round of blackjack begins when you buy in: you place cash or a voucher on the table, and the dealer exchanges it for chips. You then place a wager in the betting circle before any cards are dealt. Once all players have wagered, the dealer deals each player two cards face up, and deals themselves two cards, usually one face up and one face down.
Play proceeds from the dealer's left. On your turn, you look at your hand, look at the dealer's upcard, and consult your strategy chart if you are using one. You then make one of the available decisions: hit, stand, double down, split, or surrender where offered. Each decision has a mechanical meaning. Hitting means taking another card. Standing means taking no more cards. Doubling means placing an additional wager equal to your original bet and receiving exactly one more card. Splitting means separating a pair into two hands, each with its own wager. Surrender, where offered, means forfeiting half your wager and ending the hand immediately.
After all players have acted, the dealer reveals the hole card and plays their hand according to the fixed rule printed on the table. The dealer does not make choices. If the dealer busts, all remaining player hands win. If the dealer does not bust, each player's hand is compared with the dealer's total, and the higher total wins. A winning player hand pays even money, except a natural blackjack, which typically pays 3 to 2, though some tables pay 6 to 5, a rule that materially worsens the player's position.
What changes and what stays fixed
Several elements of the game change from table to table, and each one affects the strategy chart you should be using. The table below separates the variables that alter correct play from the mechanics that stay the same.
| Element | What varies | What stays fixed |
|---|---|---|
| Number of decks | Single, double, six, or eight decks; more decks generally increase the house edge | Each deck contains 52 cards with the same ranks |
| Dealer soft 17 rule | Dealer stands or hits on soft 17; hitting raises the house edge | Dealer always follows the posted rule, never chooses |
| Doubling rules | Double on any two cards, or only on certain totals; double after split allowed or not | Doubling always means one additional card and an equal extra wager |
| Blackjack payout | 3 to 2 or 6 to 5; 6 to 5 is materially worse for the player | A natural is always an ace plus a ten-value card on the first two cards |
| Surrender | Late surrender offered or not; some tables offer none | Where offered, surrender forfeits half the wager and ends the hand |
The strategy chart you bring to the table must match the rule set printed on the felt. A chart built for a game where the dealer stands on soft 17 will give wrong advice on some hands if the table you are at has the dealer hitting soft 17. The same is true for the number of decks and the doubling rules. Published basic-strategy charts derive from the specific rule set in use, and a chart is only as good as its match to the table.
The main bet and its edge, compared with side bets
The core wager in blackjack is the main bet: your ante in the betting circle, settled against the dealer's hand. The house edge on this bet is not a single fixed number across all casinos. It depends on the rule set: deck count, dealer soft 17 rule, doubling and splitting permissions, surrender availability, and the blackjack payout. A game with 3 to 2 blackjack, dealer stands on soft 17, and liberal doubling rules carries a materially lower house edge than a 6 to 5 game with restrictive rules. The exact edge for a given table is stated in the game's published rules or in reference sources that list edge by rule set.
Many blackjack tables also offer side bets, and these sit in a different category entirely. A side bet is an additional wager, usually placed in a separate marked area, that pays based on the player's first two cards or a combination of player and dealer cards. Common examples include pairs, suited pairs, and various three-card combinations. Side bets carry their own house edges, and those edges are typically far higher than the edge on the main bet. The main bet and a side bet are separate wagers with separate returns; winning one does not affect the other.
This is the practical reason strategy charts do not cover side bets. A strategy chart minimises the expected loss on the main bet by telling you the correct action for every hand against every upcard. No chart can do that for a side bet, because the side bet has no decisions after the cards are dealt. You either place it or you do not, and the house edge on it is fixed. If your goal is to keep the expected loss low, the main bet played according to a matched strategy chart is the relevant instrument.
Procedural mistakes that cost new players
The first mistake is using a strategy chart that does not match the table. A player who memorised a chart for a single-deck game and then sits at an eight-deck table with a 6 to 5 blackjack payout is playing a different game than the one the chart describes. The fix is to read the rules printed on the felt or the rules screen before buying in, and to use a chart built for those rules.
The second mistake is touching the cards or the chips after the hand has started. In most shoe-dealt games, players do not touch the cards at all; the dealer handles everything. In pitch games where the cards are dealt face down, players may touch the cards, but only with one hand, and the cards must stay above the table. Chips already wagered should not be touched once the deal begins, and additional chips for a double or split are placed beside the original wager, not on top of it. The dealer will correct these actions, but the correction slows the game and marks you as unfamiliar with the procedure.
The third mistake is signalling unclearly. The dealer cannot act on a nod, a mumble, or a vague hand wave. Each decision has a standard signal: a tap on the felt for hit, a horizontal wave for stand, placing an equal stack next to the original bet for double, and a matching stack plus a two-finger signal for split. In a face-up shoe game, the signals are made with your hand; in a face-down pitch game, you may also scrape the cards toward you to hit or tuck them under your chips to stand. Learning the signals for the table type you are playing prevents a wrong action from being taken on your behalf.
FAQ
Does SH ever mean something other than soft hand?
In the context of blackjack strategy charts and hand notation, SH consistently means soft hand or soft total. The same abbreviation can appear in other gambling contexts with different meanings, but on a blackjack chart it refers to a hand containing an ace counted as 11.
Is a soft 17 always played the same way?
No. The correct play for soft 17 depends on the dealer's upcard and on the table's rule set. Against some upcards the chart will recommend hitting, against others doubling, and in a few rule sets standing. The dealer's own soft 17 rule is a separate table rule that affects the house edge and some player decisions.
Do I need to memorise the soft hand rows separately?
Most players find it easier to learn the chart in sections, and the soft totals form a natural section because they behave differently from hard totals. A soft hand cannot bust on the next card, which is the principle behind most of the soft-hand recommendations. Learning that principle first makes the individual cells easier to remember than memorising them as isolated facts.
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