Dana White: “I Always Hit on 16” — But Is It the Smart Way to Play Blackjack?
Dana White, CEO of the UFC with a net worth of around $500 million, is a self-confessed “degenerate gambler”. He’s mainly known for his association with combat sports, having taken the UFC from a small fight promotion on the verge of bankruptcy to a multi-billion dollar enterprise that everybody on the planet knows. These days, Dana is also spending a lot of time promoting Power Slap, a new combat sports promotion based around two opponents taking turns to slap each other in a winner-takes-all format. And, of course, he’s still gambling.
When Dana first started getting rich, it didn’t take long for him to become a huge name in the gambling space. It’s something he gets asked about constantly in podcasts and interviews, where he’s already told countless stories of his experiences playing in Las Vegas casinos and high-stakes blackjack tournaments. It’s one of the reasons people find the guy so interesting, as it’s rare for the CEO of any company to openly talk about their love for gambling the way Dana does.
One specific thing that Dana gets asked about more than anything is blackjack. It’s his personal favourite casino game, and White has even said before that the blackjack trophies he’s won from high-stakes tournaments mean more to him than some of his business ventures. And when it comes to blackjack itself, the 55-year-old has discussed his interesting strategy on more than a few occasions, which revolves around always hitting on the number 16.
Dana White Always Hits on 16 When Playing Blackjack
Dana’s blackjack strategy is about as cut and dry as you can get. In his own words, he almost always bets on 16, which is something he spoke about as recently as last year during a post-match press conference for Power Slap 6:
“I always hit on 16. That’s hilarious you ask me that. This is awesome.”
White then followed it up with a hilarious story about the time he played in a $250,000 entry fee blackjack tournament where he decided to hit on 17, landed a 4, and won the whole thing. However, he did stress that he rarely ever hits on 17 and instead sticks to only ever hitting on 16, which for him is the sweet spot that’s helped him win millions of dollars from playing blackjack over the years.
The UFC CEO isn’t the guy who invented this strategy, though. For who knows how long, casino players and gamblers have been following the sacred rule of always hitting on 16, whether it’s on the Las Vegas Strip or inside online sweepstakes casinos where you can use the latest sweeps casino bonuses. This is effectively a baseline strategy used to reduce the house edge, remove emotional bias, and keep the game as simple as possible. And for Dana, it’s clearly worked wonders, which is why he talks about it all the time in interviews.
Dana’s strategy doesn’t end there, though. Last year, he also appeared on the FULL SEND podcast, where gambling was one of the big topics. Outside of 16 being his magic number in blackjack, White detailed how he targets a specific amount of money to win before he walks away from the table:
“My strategy is always this: let me bet as much as I possibly can. I play $350,000 a hand. Once I get up to $800,000, or a million, we’re leaving.”
Essentially, what White does is he goes to a high roller casino, pulls up a seat at a blackjack table, and usually starts betting $350,000 a hand. In his words, the aim is to win 3 hands on the bounce so that he can then walk away with roughly anywhere from $800,000 to a million. Once that mark has been hit, he’ll stop playing, which is why many of Dana’s gambling sessions often end up being extremely short. The only time he stays to keep playing is if those initial hands fail, which is when he’ll try to win his money back before going for the $1m target again.
On the same podcast, Dana White also went into detail about a winning streak he caught at Caesars Palace in 2024. The streak, which saw the UFC mogul keep going back to the same casino every night from January to March, ended up with White winning a cool $26 million in total. However, White has also lost money in the past, claiming there was a single blackjack session where the casino ended up taking $8 million from him, so his strategy is far from bulletproof.
What’s crazy about Dana White is that he’s also helped friends reclaim money they’ve lost in Las Vegas casinos. They hand some cash over to Dana, ask him to play blackjack on their behalf, and he more often than not helps clear their debts. White even claimed before that he did this for a doctor friend who was down $3 million and losing his mind about it. White took a seat at the blackjack table for him and ultimately got the doctor’s money back again, all thanks to his classic 16 strategy.
Does Hitting On 16 Actually Work in Blackjack?
If you take Dana White’s word for it, hitting on 16 is the best possible blackjack strategy you can use. That’s just one person, though, so is this strategy really legit? The truth is that it is — and both beginners and experienced players use it.
When you’re at a blackjack table, you’re limited with what you can do. The aim is, of course, to get as close to 21 as possible without going “bust”. And at times, you’re going to experience tricky moments where the dealer has a strong face up card and you’ve got a hand total of anywhere from 14 to 19, meaning a decision has to be made whether you hit or not.
During these moments, the 16 strategy is the best possible option you have. It’s been mathematically proven that hitting on 16 or any lower number gives you the best possible chance of winning, especially when the dealer is showing a 7 through Ace. If you decide to “stand” in those moments, you’re statistically more likely to lose, which is why Dana and countless others always hit on 16.
Whether you hit on 17 is a whole other story. That’s when it’s really risky. Most of the time, pros, and even Dana himself, will stand on 17, but it’s entirely up to the player. If you have a positive gut feeling, you can do it, but the risk is much higher.
Where Does Dana White Gamble?
Dana White mainly gambles at Caesars Palace and spoke about this recently:
“Caesars is gangster. If you’re a big player and you like to play big money, Caesars Palace is where you should play. They treat their players really well.”
Here, White almost exclusively plays blackjack. And because he plays so much, White collects a ton of loyalty points throughout the year. In his words, he usually redeems rewards from these points, like holidays, and gives them to his employees as a thank you.
There are also videos out there of White playing inside Red Rock Casino — one YouTube video even shows him being down $750,000 at a table there — but White isn’t a massive fan of that particular casino, despite being friends with the owners. He claims he’s the only true big gambler at Red Rock, whereas Caesars Palace has at least “25 other guys like me”.
Outside of blackjack, Dana White is also quite the fan of baccarat, thanks largely to the game’s 50/50 odds. When you play Baccarat, you’re either betting on the player or the dealer’s hand to win, so Dana claims he bets $350,000 a round here in this casino game, too. But if you were to ever run into White at a casino, the chances are you’ll see him playing blackjack rather than slots or any of the other high house edge games.
If You Need a Blackjack Strategy, Always Hit on 16
Is hitting on 16 the best blackjack strategy like Dana White claims it to be? The answer is yes, although there’s nothing in the rulebook that says you have to follow it. Many players out there adopt different blackjack strategies, while others simply go with their gut feeling based on what card they think is coming next. However, from a pure mathematical standpoint, 16 is the ultimate number to use as a baseline for whether you hit or stand, especially when the dealer looks like they have a strong hand. Love him or hate him, Dana’s got this one right.
