What H, S, D, Ds, P and R Mean on a Strategy Chart

Updated 24 August 2026

Strategy charts are printed as grids of single letters, and almost none of them say what the letters mean. The single letters are easy. The two-letter codes — Ds, Rh, Rs — are where people go wrong, because they encode a fallback for when the table does not allow the first choice.

The short version

H hit · S stand · D double · P split · R surrender.
Ds = double if you are allowed to, otherwise stand.
Rh = surrender if allowed, otherwise hit. Rs = otherwise stand.
Read your total down the side, the dealer’s upcard across the top.

Every blackjack figure on this page is computed with our own solver and checked against an independent reference. The house edge calculator adds them up for one specific rule set, and the live calculator applies the same numbers at the table.

The five single letters

Letter	Means	Note
H	Hit	Take another card.
S	Stand	Take no more cards.
D	Double	Double your bet, take exactly one card.
P	Split	Some charts use SP or Y.
R	Surrender	Give up half your bet. Often SUR or U.

The two-letter codes, which are the real problem

A chart cannot assume your table allows doubling or surrendering. So where the best play needs a rule your table might not have, the chart gives the play and its fallback. The first letter is what you want, the second is what you do instead.

Code	First choice	If not allowed
Ds	Double	Stand
Dh	Double	Hit
Rh	Surrender	Hit
Rs	Surrender	Stand
Rp	Surrender	Split

The classic mistake is reading Ds on soft 18 against a 6 as “double, and if I cannot, hit”. It is stand. Hitting there gives back most of what the cell is worth.

Reading the grid

Your hand total runs down the left, the dealer’s upcard across the top — the one card you can see, not a guess at their total. Find the row, find the column, read the letter.

Most charts are split into three blocks: hard totals (no ace, or an ace counted as 1), soft totals (an ace counted as 11, written A,2 through A,9), and pairs. Check the pair block first when you have one, then the soft block, then hard.

There is no single correct chart

A chart is only right for one set of rules. Deck count, whether the dealer hits soft 17, whether doubling after a split is allowed and whether surrender exists all move cells around. A chart for eight decks used at a double-deck table is wrong in several places.

Ours generates the chart for your exact table rather than printing one and hoping. If you want it on paper, there is a printable version.

Keep reading

Your chartgenerated for your rules Rule variationswhat each one is worth Hit, stand, double, splitthe reasoning behind the letters

By Martin Kosek · every number on this site is computed by us, not copied.

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