Strategy charts · Hi-Lo

Blackjack H17 Deviation Chart: Illustrious 18 & Fab 4

Every standard Hi-Lo index play for 6-deck H17, with S17 alongside — from the engine behind the free blackjack trainer.

32 index plays
6 decks
Dealer hits soft 17
Double after split
Late surrender

6-deck H17 chart with deviations

HHitSStandDDoublePSplitRSurrenderHS ≥ 0Index cell: corner is the play at the index · tap for details Amber = S17 differs.

Hard totals

Dealer upcard

	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
8	H	H	H	H	HD ≥ +2 8 vs 6 Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ +2Double HTC below +2Hit	H	H	H	H	H
9	HD ≥ +1 9 vs 2 Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ +1Double HTC below +1Hit	D	D	D	D	HD ≥ +3 9 vs 7 Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ +3Double HTC below +3Hit	H	H	H	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	HD ≥ +4 10 vs 10 Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ +4Double HTC below +4Hit	HD ≥ +3 10 vs A Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ +3Double HTC below +3Hit
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	HD ≥ -1 11 vs A Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ -1Double HTC below -1Hit
12	HS ≥ +3 12 vs 2 Hi-Lo index play STC ≥ +3Stand HTC below +3Hit	HS ≥ +2 12 vs 3 Hi-Lo index play STC ≥ +2Stand HTC below +2Hit	HS ≥ 0 12 vs 4 Hi-Lo index play STC ≥ 0Stand HTC below 0Hit	HS ≥ -2 12 vs 5 Hi-Lo index play STC ≥ -2Stand HTC below -2Hit	HS ≥ -3 12 vs 6 Hi-Lo index play STC ≥ -3Stand HTC below -3Hit	H	H	H	H	H
13	HS ≥ -1 13 vs 2 Hi-Lo index play STC ≥ -1Stand HTC below -1Hit	HS ≥ -2 13 vs 3 Hi-Lo index play STC ≥ -2Stand HTC below -2Hit	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	HR ≥ +3 14 vs 10 Hi-Lo index play RTC ≥ +3Surrender HTC below +3Hit	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	HR ≥ +2 15 vs 9 Hi-Lo index play RTC ≥ +2Surrender HTC below +2Hit	HR ≥ 0 15 vs 10 Hi-Lo index play RSurrender offered, TC ≥ 0Surrender SNo surrender, TC ≥ +4Stand HTC below 0Hit	HR ≥ -1 15 vs A Hi-Lo index play RSurrender offered, TC ≥ -1Surrender SNo surrender, TC ≥ +5Stand HTC below -1Hit
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	HR ≥ +4 16 vs 8 Hi-Lo index play RTC ≥ +4Surrender HTC below +4Hit	RS ≥ +5 16 vs 9 Hi-Lo index play RWith surrender offeredSurrender at every count SNo surrender, TC ≥ +5Stand HNo surrender, TC below +5Hit	RS ≥ 0 16 vs 10 Hi-Lo index play RWith surrender offeredSurrender at every count SNo surrender, TC ≥ 0Stand HNo surrender, TC below 0Hit	RS ≥ +3 16 vs A Hi-Lo index play RWith surrender offeredSurrender at every count SNo surrender, TC ≥ +3Stand HNo surrender, TC below +3Hit
17	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Soft totals

Dealer upcard

	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,2	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,3	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,4	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,5	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,6	HD ≥ +1 A,6 vs 2 Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ +1Double HTC below +1Hit	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,7	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A,8	S	S	SD ≥ +3 A,8 vs 4 Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ +3Double STC below +3Stand	SD ≥ +1 A,8 vs 5 Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ +1Double STC below +1Stand	SD ≥ 0 A,8 vs 6 Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ 0Double STC below 0Stand	S	S	S	S	S
A,9	S	S	S	SD ≥ +5 A,9 vs 5 Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ +5Double STC below +5Stand	SD ≥ +4 A,9 vs 6 Hi-Lo index play DTC ≥ +4Double STC below +4Stand	S	S	S	S	S

Pairs

Dealer upcard

	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
2,2	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
3,3	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
6,6	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
7,7	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
8,8	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	R
9,9	P	P	P	P	P	SP ≥ +3 9,9 vs 7 Hi-Lo index play PTC ≥ +3Split STC below +3Stand	P	P	S	S
10,10	S	S	S	SP ≥ +5 10,10 vs 5 Hi-Lo index play PTC ≥ +5Split STC below +5Stand	SP ≥ +4 10,10 vs 6 Hi-Lo index play PTC ≥ +4Split STC below +4Stand	S	S	S	S	S
A,A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P

* Only at tables without surrender — the starred stand indices are the hit/stand crossovers for when you can't give the hand up. Where surrender is offered: 16 vs 9/10/A keep surrendering at every count, while 15 vs 10 and 15 vs A follow the Fab 4 index in the cell — surrender at the index and above, hit below it (the deck is small-card rich, so playing the hand out beats the flat half-bet loss).

The Illustrious 18 list, ranked by value

Don Schlesinger's list, most valuable first — learn it from the top down.

Illustrious 18 deviations with H17 and S17 true count indexes
#	Hand	Play	H17 true count index	S17 true count index
1	Insurance vs A	Insure	≥ +3	≥ +3
2	16 vs 10	Stand	≥ 0	≥ 0
3	15 vs 10	Stand	≥ +4	≥ +4
4	10,10 vs 5	Split	≥ +5	≥ +5
5	10,10 vs 6	Split	≥ +4	≥ +4
6	10 vs 10	Double	≥ +4	≥ +4
7	12 vs 3	Stand	≥ +2	≥ +2
8	12 vs 2	Stand	≥ +3	≥ +3
9	11 vs A	Double	≥ -1	≥ +1
10	9 vs 2	Double	≥ +1	≥ +1
11	10 vs A	Double	≥ +3	≥ +4
12	9 vs 7	Double	≥ +3	≥ +3
13	16 vs 9	Stand	≥ +5	≥ +5
14	13 vs 2	Stand	≥ -1	≥ -1
15	12 vs 4	Stand	≥ 0	≥ 0
16	12 vs 5	Stand	≥ -2	≥ -2
17	12 vs 6	Stand	≥ -3	≥ -1
18	13 vs 3	Stand	≥ -2	≥ -2

Make the play at the index or beyond; otherwise play basic strategy. Tap a row to find it in the chart. Amber = S17 differs.

The Fab 4 surrenders

The top surrender indices, plus 16 vs 8. Late-surrender tables only.

Fab 4 surrender deviations with H17 and S17 true count indexes
Hand	Play	H17 true count index	S17 true count index
14 vs 10	Surrender	≥ +3	≥ +3
15 vs 9	Surrender	≥ +2	≥ +2
15 vs 10	Surrender	≥ 0	≥ 0
15 vs A	Surrender	≥ -1	≥ +1
16 vs 8	Surrender	≥ +4	≥ +4

Make the play at the index or beyond; otherwise play basic strategy. Tap a row to find it in the chart. Amber = S17 differs.

What changes under S17

Only these indices move; every other cell is the same. Full grid: S17 deviation chart.

Indices that differ between H17 and S17
Hand	Play	H17 true count index	S17 true count index
11 vs A	Double	≥ -1	≥ +1
10 vs A	Double	≥ +3	≥ +4
12 vs 6	Stand	≥ -3	≥ -1
16 vs A	Stand	≥ +3	≥ +5
15 vs A	Stand	≥ +5	—no index
A,8 vs 6soft 19	Double	≥ 0	≥ +1
A,9 vs 6soft 20	Double	≥ +4	≥ +5
15 vs A	Surrender	≥ -1	≥ +1

Make the play at the index or beyond; otherwise play basic strategy. Tap a row to find it in the chart. Amber = S17 differs.

blackjacktrainer.fyi/charts/deviations — interactive chart, EV per index, and the free trainer

Printable chart — free download

Printable blackjack deviation chart: color-coded 6-deck H17 grid with every Hi-Lo index play — the Illustrious 18 and Fab 4 — drawn into its hand-vs-dealer cell, plus ranked lists with S17 indexes

Tap to view full size

One sheet · poster quality

Hard, soft and pair grids with every index
Ranked Illustrious 18 and Fab 4 lists
S17 indexes printed alongside

Download the chartOpen full size

PNG · 2480 × 3844 · 618 KB

Reading this chart

What does a two-tone cell mean?

Lower-left is the play below the index; the corner is the play once the true count reaches the number shown.

What game is this chart for?

6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, late surrender. For other rules, the interactive chart rebuilds every cell for your table.

Why might another site's chart show slightly different numbers?

Rounding conventions differ, so published tables vary by a point. These are the standard Hi-Lo values, from the same engine that grades you in the trainer.

Next step

How to actually learn these

The trainer keeps a live Hi-Lo count and grades every play against this chart. Preview which cells flip at any count in the interactive chart, or see what each spot is worth in the EV heatmap.

Drill the Illustrious 18