Updated 2026-07-30 · 8 decks · S17 · DAS · methodology
Hard 19 vs dealer 2: the verdict
Basic strategy says stand. Against a dealer 2, hard 19 does best by letting the dealer take the risk of busting.
The numbers
| Action | Win | Push | Lose | EV per $1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stand | 62.8% | 13.0% | 24.2% | +0.386 |
| Hit | 12.6% | 1.9% | 85.5% | −0.729 |
| Double | 12.6% | 1.9% | 85.5% | −1.458 |
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Why stand is correct
A dealer showing 2 busts 35.4% of the time, and that bust chance is doing the work here: standing wins 62.8% of hands without ever risking your own bust. Drawing a card would improve the total sometimes, but the bust risk and the hands you’d ruin cost more than they gain.
For context, a dealer 2 finishes on 17–20 about 52.8% of the time, on 21 11.8%, and busts 35.4%. Those dealer outcomes are the same no matter what you hold — the whole game is choosing the action whose distribution fits them best.
What the mistake costs
Choosing hit instead of stand costs about $2788 per 100 such hands at $25 a hand (−1.115 EV per dollar). The genuinely expensive error here is double: −1.844 per dollar, or roughly $4611 per 100 hands at the same stakes.
Does the rule set change it?
No — stand holds across every common configuration: Vegas Strip, Atlantic City with late surrender, H17 games and European no-hole-card tables all agree here.
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19 against other dealer cards:
Other key hands vs a dealer 2: