Atlassino Academy · Blackjack · Lesson 1

Card values, soft and hard hands

The first thing a table asks you to know: what your cards add up to, and whether the ace among them can still be eleven.

  • About 16 minutes
  • Illustrated hosts: Leo and Maya
  • Last checked 25 October 2026

You do not need to know anything about blackjack yet. How a round is played, who acts first and what the moves are all come in later lessons. Today you only count: what your cards add up to, and what the hand you are holding is called. Never sat at a table? Joining a table in the first-visit track shows you how.

You hold a four and a two, and the next card is an ace. What is the hand worth?

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The short answer

An ace counts 1 or 11. A jack, a queen and a king count ten; every other card counts the number printed on it. While an ace can still be eleven without taking the hand over 21, the hand is soft and has two totals at once; otherwise the hand is hard and has one total. At a Córdoba table an ace among your first two cards is declared 1 or 11 and keeps that number. A blackjack is 21 on your first two cards, an ace and a ten-value card, and no other 21 is a blackjack.

Leo leans over a green table and touches the edge of the left of two cards lying face up on the felt — one diamond alone on that card, eight spades on the other — while Maya reads them from the rail beside him.
Leo smiling, explaining with an open hand.

Leoformer dealer · rules and maths

I dealt this game before I taught it, and the quietest mistake at a table looks like this: the player makes the right move for a hand he is not holding. Every decision in blackjack is a decision about a number, so the number has to be the right one before anything else.

What each card is worth

You are trying to finish with a higher total than the dealer, without going over 21. The whole game sits in that one sentence, so the first skill to have is adding up the cards in your hand, quickly and without a mistake.

Cards 2 to 10 count the number printed on them

22
2
33
3
44
4
55
5
66
6
77
7
88
8
99
9
1010
10

A jack, a queen and a king count ten, all three of them

JJJ
10
QQQ
10
KKK
10

The picture on the card is different; the value of the card is not.

Cards come out of a shoe (the box the dealer deals from, holding several decks shuffled together) of 8 decks, and four of the thirteen kinds put ten on your hand: 30.8% of the cards in the box.

The ace: two numbers at once

The ace is the only card with two values: one or eleven. An ace that can still be eleven without taking the hand over 21 gives the hand two totals at once; once eleven no longer fits, the ace is one and the hand has one total. The words for the two cases are soft and hard, and the test is one question, the eleven question:

  1. Step 1Count the ace as one and add the hand up.A four, a two and an ace: 4 + 2 + 1 is 7.
  2. Step 2Add ten to that total.7 + 10 is 17.
  3. Step 3Is the new total 21 or under?Yes: the ace can be eleven, the hand has two totals, and the hand is soft. No: the ace is one, the hand has one total, and the hand is hard.

Soft

4422AA
7 or 17

A four, a two, then an ace. With the ace at eleven the hand is 17, inside 21: two totals.

Hard, no ace

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17

A ten and a seven. No card in the hand has two values: one total.

Hard, with an ace

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17

A ten and a six, then an ace. With the ace at eleven the hand would be 27: the ace is one, and the hand has one total.

At a Córdoba table: the ace you declare

One rule changes the ace among your first two cards. At a Córdoba table the dealer asks you to declare that ace 1 or 11, and the answer holds until the hand is settled. So an ace and a six there is not 7 and 17 at once: it is a 7 or a 17, by your word.

Declared 11

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17

An ace and a six, the ace declared eleven: a hard 17 for the rest of the hand.

Declared 1

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7

The same two cards, the ace declared one: a hard 7, and a later four makes 11, not 21.

An ace that comes after your first two cards is not declared, and it counts the way the rest of this page counts it. What to declare against each dealer card, and what the rule costs, is the soft-hands lesson.

When a soft hand turns hard

Every new card asks the eleven question again.

Before the card

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7 or 17

A soft 17.

A three comes

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10 or 20

Still soft: 4 + 2 + 11 + 3 is 20, inside 21.

A ten comes

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17

Hard now: with the ace at eleven the hand would be 27, so the ace is one.

Two aces never both count eleven: 11 + 11 is already 22. However many aces a hand holds, at most one of them is eleven.

Blackjack, and what is not one

One hand at this table has a name of its own: the blackjack (twenty-one on your first two cards: the one hand a table pays at a rate of its own). A blackjack is an ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards. There is nothing to declare on it: it is 21 at once.

A blackjack is worth knowing on sight because of what it pays.

What comes back in addition to your betThe rate is the same at any bet; the amount grows with the bet.
Your handPaid atBack, on an example bet of 10 units
Higher than the dealer’s hand1 to 110 units
A blackjack, when the dealer has no blackjack3 to 215 units
21 on three cards or more1 to 110 units

Twenty-one built from three cards or more pays the ordinary 1 to 1, and against a blackjack it is the lower hand.

Twenty-one on a split hand. An ace and a ten-value card on a hand made by splitting a pair is 21 on two cards, and at a Córdoba table it is paid 1 to 1, not as a blackjack.

Two blackjacks. In the Entre Rios guide a blackjack against the dealer’s blackjack is a tie, and your bet comes back. Not every rulebook in the country settles this hand the same way.

What a misread costs

A misread is a move made for a hand you are not holding. Read a hard 17 with an ace in it as a soft 17, and you take a card on a hand that the chart stands on.

A hard 17 read as soft, against a 7

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3.72 units

a hand, on an example bet of 10 units: what taking another card costs against standing.

A hard 18 read as soft, against a 9

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4.29 units

a hand, on an example bet of 10 units, for the same mistake.

Amounts are for an example bet of 10 units; at twice the bet, twice the cost. Amounts are in betting units, not pesos: a unit can stand for any amount, and the arithmetic is the same at any scale.

Even read correctly, every hand of the evening still costs: these rules leave the house 2.08% of every bet when every hand is played by the full chart. Reading the hand right keeps you from paying more than that.

Maya with a hand on her chest, speaking gently and seriously.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Counting right is the first skill, and a limit set before you sit down is the second. If the money on the table starts to feel like money you need, stop and call one of the lines below.

If it stops being fun

If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. Minimum entry age: each province sets its own. Where we found the rule or regulator that sets it, we cite it on the page; those we found set it at 18. More on responsible gaming.

Show all provinces
0800-666-6006Buenos Aires City (CABA) · Línea de orientación por juego problemático (LOTBA) · Monday to Friday, 9 to 17
0800-444-4000Buenos Aires Province · Programa de Prevención y Asistencia al Juego Compulsivo (IPLyC)
0800-777-2983Cordoba · Línea 0800-777-AYUDA (Lotería de Córdoba) · 24 hours
0800-268-5640Santa Fe · Línea gratuita de la APRECOD (Santa Fe) · Every day, 8 to 24
0800-888-2202Entre Rios · Departamento Juego Responsable (IAFAS, PREVENJUEGO)
0261-424-7536Mendoza · Programa de Juego Responsable (IPJyC) · Monday to Friday, 8 to 14
0800-888-5836Misiones · Programa de Juego Responsable del IPLyC S.E. (0800-888-LUDO)
0800-888-2008Chaco · Línea de Juego Responsable (Lotería Chaqueña)
0299-403-8900Neuquen · Líneas de contacto, orientación y tratamiento (IJAN, juego responsable) · Monday to Friday, 8 to 15
0800-222-1700Rio Negro · Línea de Orientación al Jugador Problemático (Lotería de Río Negro)
02901-433515Tierra del Fuego · Departamento Juego Responsable (IPRA, Ushuaia)
0800-555-7678Tucuman · Juego Responsable, Ley 8986 (Caja Popular de Ahorros)
0800-999-1314San Juan · Línea gratuita del Programa Provincial de Juego Responsable (Caja de Acción Social) · Monday to Friday, 08 to 12

If you are thinking about suicide, call 135 or 0800 345 1435 from anywhere in the country

Practice table

Four levels: two cards, one more card, more than one ace, and the dealer waiting with the price of a misread. Every answer is the reading of the cards on the felt; the one hand with an ace among the first two cards asks what you may declare.

The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one hand from it, with the answer.

Level 2 · One more card

Blackjack · 8 decks, dealt from a shoe

A four and a two, then an ace. What do you hold?

The answer: A soft 17.

An ace drawn after your first two cards is not declared: 1 + 4 + 2 is 7, and with the ace at eleven 17, still inside 21. Two totals, and the hand is soft.

En el caso de que alguna de las dos primeras cartas del apostador sea un " AS ", el pagador solicitará a aquél que defina su puntaje , haciendo valer al " AS " como Uno ( 1 ) o como Once ( 11 ). Esta decisión será irrevocable hasta la completa definición del pase.-

Free translation: If either of the bettor's first two cards is an " ACE ", the dealer shall ask the bettor to define his score, counting the " ACE " as One ( 1 ) or as Eleven ( 11 ). This decision shall be irrevocable until the hand is completely settled.-

Lotería de Córdoba S.E. (portal) · Reglamento del juego «Black Jack» · read
Todas las cartas se cuentan según su valor, excepto las figuras (J,Q,K) que valen 10 (diez) y los ases que pueden valer 1 (uno) u 11 (once) según la conveniencia o criterio del jugador.

Free translation: All cards are counted at their face value, except the face cards (J,Q,K), which are worth 10 (ten), and the aces, which may be worth 1 (one) or 11 (eleven) at the player's convenience or discretion.

IAFAS Entre Ríos · Black Jack / Juegos Tradicionales de Casinos (DOC-H8-GCA-CSJ-001 V00) · read
Las cartas numéricas suman su valor, las figuras suman 10 y el as es un 11 o un 1, según como convenga al jugador

Free translation: Numbered cards add up to their value, face cards count as 10, and the ace is an 11 or a 1, whichever suits the player

IPJyC Mendoza (SAPIA, Res. Dir. 812-16) · Información sobre juegos vivos o de paño: JUEGOS CARTEADOS, pagos, probabilidades · read

Level 1 · Two cards

Blackjack · 8 decks, dealt from a shoe

At a Córdoba table you are dealt an ace and a six, and the dealer asks you to declare the ace. What can the hand be?

The answer: A 7 or a 17, as you declare, and then only that.

The rule asks for the declaration while the ace is one of your first two cards, and makes it final for the hand. What to declare against each dealer card is the soft-hands lesson of this track.

En el caso de que alguna de las dos primeras cartas del apostador sea un " AS ", el pagador solicitará a aquél que defina su puntaje , haciendo valer al " AS " como Uno ( 1 ) o como Once ( 11 ).

Free translation: If either of the bettor's first two cards is an " ACE ", the dealer shall ask the bettor to define his score, counting the " ACE " as One ( 1 ) or as Eleven ( 11 ).

Esta decisión será irrevocable hasta la completa definición del pase.

Free translation: This decision shall be irrevocable until the hand is completely settled.

Lotería de Córdoba · Reglamento del juego «Black Jack» · section Desarrollo del juego, 10) · read

Every hand is read the same way: add the cards, then ask whether an ace among them can still be eleven. At a Córdoba table an ace among your first two cards is declared instead.

Check yourself

Maya with a finger raised and a knowing look.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Five quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.

A question marked “New situation” asks you to use the lesson on a case it did not show.

1You hold a four and a two. You take a card and it is an ace. What do you hold?

Show the answer

Answer: A soft 17: 7 or 17. Two totals at once, 7 and 17, because the ace can still be eleven without taking the hand past 21.

  • A soft 17: 7 or 17 Right. The ace came after your first two cards, so nothing was declared: 1 + 4 + 2 is 7, and with the ace at eleven 17, still inside 21.
  • A 7, and nothing else Half right: 7 is one of the two totals. Counting only the smaller one throws away the 17 you already hold.
  • A hard 17 The ace in this hand can still be eleven or one, so the hand has two totals: soft.
2At a Córdoba table you are dealt an ace and a six. What can the hand be?

Show the answer

Answer: A 7 or a 17, as you declare, and then only that. A 7 or a 17, by your word, and the word is final for the hand. What to declare is the soft-hands lesson.

  • A 7 or a 17, as you declare, and then only that Right. At a Córdoba table the ace among your first two cards is declared, and the hand keeps that number.
  • A soft 17: both totals, until a card decides That is how an ace counts when nothing is declared. At a Córdoba table the dealer asks you to declare it, and the hand has one total from then on.
  • A 17: the ace always counts eleven first The ace counts what you declare, and 1 is as good an answer as 11.
3You are dealt an ace and a king. What is that called?

Show the answer

Answer: A blackjack, paid 3 to 2. A blackjack: 21 on the first two cards.

  • A 21, paid 1 to 1 A 21 on three cards or more is paid 1 to 1. An ace and a king as your first two cards is a blackjack.
  • Nothing yet: you declare the ace first An ace and a ten-value card is 21 at once, and a blackjack: there is nothing to declare on it.
  • A blackjack, paid 3 to 2 Right: an ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards.
4You hold a ten and a six, and an ace comes. What do you hold?

Show the answer

Answer: A hard 17. Add the cards with the ace at one: 17. Then ask whether eleven still fits: 27 does not. One total, and the hand is hard.

  • 27, and over 21 The ace counts one when eleven would take the hand over 21: this hand is 17.
  • A hard 17 Right. 10 + 6 + 11 would be 27, so the ace was never eleven: one total, 17.
  • A soft 17 Soft means the ace can still be eleven, and here eleven would make 27.
5You hold a four and a two, an ace comes, and then an eight. What do you hold now? new situation

Show the answer

Answer: A hard 15. The same question after every card: can the ace still be eleven? After the eight it cannot, so the hand has one total and the hand is hard.

  • 25, and over 21 The ace drops to one and saves the hand. A hand with such an ace is over only when it is over with the ace at one.
  • A hard 15 Right. 4 + 2 + 11 + 8 would be 25, so the ace drops to one: 4 + 2 + 1 + 8 is 15, one total.
  • A soft 15 A hand stays soft only while its ace can still be eleven. Here eleven would make 25.

And the question we opened with

A four, a two and then an ace: a soft 17, worth 7 or 17. The ace came after your first two cards, so nothing was declared, and the ace stays free to be eleven until a card takes the eleven away.

Where to play, and further reading

18+ under each province’s rules · Play responsibly · help, day or night: Línea 0800-777-AYUDA (Lotería de Córdoba) 0800-777-2983, 24 hours

Further reading

How it’s worked out

Rules, numbers and hosts

Soft and hard. The two words are the trade’s words, and the definition on this page is ours: a hand is soft while an ace in it can count eleven without the hand going over 21, and hard otherwise. The rulebooks we read give the card values and the ace’s two values, and none of them defines soft and hard; the practice table reads every hand by this definition.

Rules. The decks, the 3 to 2 and the figures follow the rules Lotería de Córdoba publishes for Córdoba casinos: at least eight decks (the figures take exactly eight), blackjack paid 3 to 2, and an ace among the first two cards declared 1 or 11 for the hand. It is a preset for learning, not a statement about any one casino: the room settles anything its rulebook leaves open.

Numbers. The share of ten-value cards is card arithmetic on the shoe. A misread’s cost is worked out by our blackjack engine: the average result of the chart’s move minus that of the move made for the wrong hand, for an example bet of 10 units, each average rounded to the hundredth first. The house edge assumes the full chart and cards shuffled after every hand.

Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.

No promise. Blackjack is played against the house. Reading your hand correctly keeps you from paying more than the game already costs; nothing on this page removes that cost or says how an evening will end.

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