16 vs 10
Hard 16 against a dealer 10 is a poor hand. Every two-card option has a negative expected value. Basic strategy picks the least-bad action under the rules in force. Educational, 21+, not gambling advice. Use the calculator to enter the exact cards.
| Rules | Play | Expected values (units) |
|---|---|---|
| 6-deck S17, DAS, no surrender (default) | Hit | Hit −0.534819, stand −0.540125, double −1.069638 |
| 6-deck H17, DAS, no surrender | Hit | Same hit and stand EVs: a dealer 10 never holds a soft 17 |
| 6- or 8-deck, late surrender on (S17 or H17) | Surrender, otherwise hit | Surrender −0.500000, hit −0.534819 |
| 1-deck S17, late surrender | Surrender vs 10 and ace; hit vs 9 | 15 vs 10 stays a hit on the 1-deck chart |
| A pair of 8s vs 10, any of the 32 mixes above with DAS | Split (not a 16) | 6-deck S17 DAS: split −0.474785, hit −0.535361, stand −0.536853 |
Without surrender, why hit?
Under default six-deck S17 DAS, no surrender, hitting is better than standing by about 0.0053 units on the frequency-weighted total. Both plays lose more than half a unit on average. Hitting is not a claim that the hand is likely to win; it is the smaller average loss. This cell matched Wizard of Odds and Beating Bonuses (30-cell spot-check and 350/350 grid, 10 Nov 2026). Exact 9,7 EVs from our engine (stand −0.536809, hit −0.535392) also matched the Wizard of Odds hand calculator to the printed decimals.
Beating Bonuses marks this cell H*, meaning hit with two cards and often stand later. That is the exact-card distinction, not a disagreement on the two-card chart.
When late surrender is offered
Surrender locks in −0.500. That is better than hitting (−0.534819) by about 0.0348 units under the default shoe. Six- and eight-deck late-surrender charts also surrender 16 vs 9 and 16 vs ace, and they matched Wizard of Odds 350/350 on 10 Nov 2026. One-deck late surrender surrenders 16 vs 10 and ace but hits 16 vs 9 on the chart.
A pair of eights is not surrendered in six-deck S17. Split is far better than giving up half the bet (split −0.3647 vs ace, −0.4748 vs 10). See 8s vs ace.
Three or more cards
Many three-card 16s vs 10 prefer to stand. 4,5,7 vs 10 stands (stand −0.539167, hit −0.545943, margin +0.006776), verified 10 Nov 2026. So do 4,4,8, 3,5,8, 5,5,6, 2,5,9, 3,4,9, 5,10,A, and 2,7,7, among others. A few holdings are closer than our 0.0005-unit display cutoff and, as proposed, follow the chart (hit) until Jake confirms the threshold. The full list and labels are on exact-card plays.
Do not use a phone at the table. 21+.