15 vs 10
Hard 15 against a dealer 10 is a stiff total against a strong upcard. Without surrender, you hit. With late surrender in a six- or eight-deck game, you surrender. Educational, 21+, not gambling advice.
| Rules | Play | Expected values (units) |
|---|---|---|
| 6-deck S17 DAS, no surrender (default) | Hit | Hit −0.503456, stand −0.539475, double −1.007032 |
| 6- or 8-deck, late surrender on (S17 or H17) | Surrender, otherwise hit | Surrender −0.500000, hit −0.503456 — a thin but real gap |
| 6-deck S17, late surrender, 15 vs 9 or ace | Hit (do not surrender) | Vs 9: hit −0.471434, surrender −0.500000; vs ace: hit −0.481719 |
| 6-deck H17, late surrender, 15 vs ace | Surrender, otherwise hit | An H17-only flip vs ace |
| 1-deck S17, late surrender, 15 vs 10 | Hit on the chart | Some compositions prefer surrender (exact-card notes); weighted action is hit |
Without surrender
Under default rules, hitting loses about 0.503 units and standing loses about 0.539. Hitting is better by 0.0360 units — a clearer gap than 16 vs 10, where the two-card hit/stand margin is only 0.0053. You will still bust often; you will also improve into 16–21 often enough that standing is worse. This is a total-dependent hit in all of our no-surrender tables.
With late surrender
Surrender at −0.500 is only 0.0035 units better than hitting in six-deck play. That is a close cell, and it is composition-dependent: some two-card 15s prefer to hit even when surrender is offered, but the frequency-weighted action is surrender-else-hit, matching Wizard of Odds 350/350 on 10 Nov 2026 for six- and eight-deck late-surrender tables. One-deck late surrender keeps 15 vs 10 as a hit on the chart; our one-deck exceptions include 5,10 and 6,9 vs 10 preferring surrender (margins +0.001091 and +0.009827).
Do not surrender a 15 vs 9 or vs ace in six-deck S17: hitting is better than giving up half a unit. Under H17, 15 vs ace does become a surrender. For the neighboring 16, see 16 vs 10.