Free Bet Blackjack Strategy

Three rules that decide most hands

• Always take a free double. Any two-card hard 9, 10 or 11, against any dealer card, including a 10 or an ace.
• Always take a free split. Every pair from 2,2 to 9,9 and a pair of aces, against any dealer card. A pair of 5s is a hard 10, so free double it instead.
• Never split tens. A pair of ten-value cards is a 20. Stand on it. The game only offers a paid split on tens, and it is never the right play.

Why the free bets are always right

In classic blackjack a double or a split puts a second bet of your own at risk, so you only take it when the hand is strong enough to justify the extra exposure. A free bet removes that cost. If the hand loses, you lose exactly what you would have lost by hitting or standing; if it wins, you are paid on two bets instead of one.

That is why the chart shows a free double even on 9 against a 10 or 11 against an ace, hands you would hit in a normal game. Hitting keeps the option of taking more cards, but the free double's extra payout on every winning hand outweighs that flexibility. The same logic applies to free splits: a pair of 4s against a 10 is a weak hand, but one of the two hands costs you nothing, so splitting is still better than hitting an 8.

How the Dealer 22 push changes stiff hands

Standing on a stiff hand (a hard 12 to 16) is a bet that the dealer will bust. Under the Free Bet rules a dealer bust of exactly 22 pays nothing, so that bet is worth less than in a classic game, and the chart hits a little more often against small dealer cards.

The visible differences from standard basic strategy are in the first two stiff rows. Hard 12 hits against a dealer 4, where classic strategy stands, and hard 13 hits against a dealer 2. From 14 upwards the familiar stand-against-small-cards pattern returns, because the risk of busting on a hit grows faster than the value lost to dealer 22.

The chart: hands you funded yourself

Find your hand in the left column and the dealer's up card along the top. H = hit, S = stand, Fd = free double, P = free split, D = double with your own chips.

Soft hands

Soft hands never qualify for a free double, so the only doubles here are paid ones: soft 16 against a 6, soft 17 against a 5 or 6, and soft 18 against a 5 or 6. Soft 18 stands against 2 to 4 and 7 to 8 and hits against 9, 10 and ace. Soft 19 and above always stand.

Pairs

Every pair other than tens is split, and after a split each new hand is played with the hard and soft tables. A split hand that becomes a two-card hard 9, 10 or 11 can take a free double. Split aces are the one exception: each ace receives a single card and the hand stands.

The chart: hands the house is paying for

When you free split, the second hand is funded by the house. That hand wins the same as any other, but a push and a loss are worth exactly the same to you: nothing. Because there is no bet of your own to protect, a push is no better than a bust, and the right play is more aggressive. The game keeps a second pair of tables for these hands.

Compared with the tables above, a free-bet hand hits hard 14 against a dealer 2, hits hard 17 against a 7, 8 or ace rather than settling for a likely push, and doubles far more soft hands: soft 18 against 4 to 6, soft 19 against 5 or 6, and even soft 20 against a 6. Pairs are split exactly as before.

Soft hands on a free-bet hand

Doubling with your own chips

A paid double puts a second bet at risk, so on a hand you funded it only appears where the hand is clearly ahead: soft 16 against a 6, and soft 17 and 18 against a 5 or 6. If you would rather not risk the extra chips, hitting those hands gives up very little. Never pay to double a hard 9, 10 or 11; those are free.

Insurance and even money

Decline insurance. It pays 2 to 1 but the dealer has a ten-value hole card less than one time in three, so the bet loses chips over time. The same applies to taking even money on your own blackjack against a dealer ace.

Side bets

Pot of Gold and Dealer 22 Push settle separately from your main hand and do not change any decision above. Pot of Gold pays by the number of free doubles and splits you take in the round, so the chart's advice to take every free bet also maximises your coin count. Treat both side bets as entertainment rather than strategy; their paytables are on the rules page.

Practice with feedback

These charts are built into the game. Signed-in players can open them from the table and turn on strategy tracking, which compares every decision with the chart and shows how closely you follow it and which hands you most often get wrong. The free demo is the quickest way to try the chart; create an account to keep your results.