Dealer Hits Soft 17 (H17): What It Really Costs You
Last reviewed: July 2026
Printed right on the felt, in small type: “Dealer must hit soft 17.” It reads like trivia. It is actually a rule change worth about 0.22% to the house — one of the quiet ways two blackjack tables with the same minimum can charge very different prices.
What a soft 17 is
A soft 17 is Ace-6 (or Ace-2-4, and so on) — a 17 counting the ace as eleven. At an “S17” table the dealer stands on it; at an “H17” table the dealer must take another card.
Why hitting helps the dealer
Standing on soft 17 locks in a mediocre total that loses to any player 18 or better. Hitting risks little — the hand cannot bust on the next card while the ace still counts as one — and gives the dealer a fresh chance at 18–21. Sometimes the dealer ends up worse; on balance the re-draw wins more than it loses. Net effect: roughly +0.22% to the house edge.
Where it sits among rule changes
| Rule change | Effect on house edge |
|---|---|
| Blackjack pays 6:5 instead of 3:2 | +1.39% (the big one) |
| Dealer hits soft 17 | +0.22% |
| No double after split | +0.14% |
| Fewer decks (8 down to 1) | roughly −0.5%, in your favor |
H17 is not the disaster 6:5 is — but the small takes stack. A 6:5 H17 table can quietly cost several times what a 3:2 S17 table does for the identical game.
What to do about it
You cannot change how the dealer plays, and basic strategy barely shifts under H17 (a few extra doubles and surrenders against a dealer ace). The real move happens before you sit down: read the felt, prefer S17, and never compromise on 3:2. Then play your strategy — drill it free in the blackjack simulator.