Should you hit or stand at 17?

When the casino rules specify that dealer's must hit their soft 17 (rather than stand), the house edge increases, meaning hitting a soft 17 is better for the dealer than standing. It's the same for players … hitting soft 17 is always better than standing.

Should you stand at 17?

If it's good enough for the dealer, it's the same for players … hitting soft 17 is always better than standing. Therefore, one of the golden rules of smart play is this: No matter what blackjack game you are playing, never stand on soft 17.

Do dealers have to hit on soft 17?

But there is one significant difference. In most casino blackjack games, a dealer must take a card if he hits 16 or below and stand at 17 or above. Some tables, though, say the dealer must hit soft 17, meaning he has a chance to increase his score up to 21.

Why does it make sense to hit on a 16 but to stand on a 17?

Dealers are required to stand on 17 per the rules of the game. If they have less than seventeen, they draw to their best hand or bust using no more than 5 cards. If the dealer has 16, and you have 19, they will draw to beat, or your 19, or bust in the process.

Should I hit or stand on hard 16?

If you hit the 16, you will win 25.23 percent of the time, bust out 69.31 percent of the time and push 5.46 percent of the time for a net loss of 44.08 percent of the time. By standing on the “hard 16” you will win 29.01 percent of the time and lose 70.99 percent of the time for a loss of 41.98 percent of the time.

Dealer Reaches 17 Rule in Blackjack

Is it better for the player if dealer hits or stands on soft 17?

That's important because if a player makes a hand of 17 or better, the best the dealer can do is push. Hitting soft 17 gives the dealer the chance to make the 18, 19, 20 and 21 hands that can win on their own against a player pat hand.

What is a soft 17?

In literal terms, Soft 17 is another way of describing a blackjack hand worth 17 which includes an Ace, where the Ace counted either as 1 or 11. A Soft hand cannot bust if you take one card more. In contrast, a hard hand is simply one without an Ace, or which includes an Ace but it can bust if another card is taken.

Do dealers hit on 16?

The Dealer's Play

If the total is 17 or more, it must stand. If the total is 16 or under, they must take a card. The dealer must continue to take cards until the total is 17 or more, at which point the dealer must stand.

Should I hit or stand on 18?

If your hand totals 17, 18, 19 or 20, then you should stand, no matter what – you have a pretty good chance of going bust as your next card is likely to take your hand over 21. Some hands, such as 10-10 or 9-9, can be split into two new good hands.

Do you hit on 16 when dealer has 7?

On all your two-card hard 16s, you gain by hitting whenever the dealer has 7 or higher, but the gain is biggest when the dealer has a 7 up. There are some hands of three or more cards where it's a better play to stand on 16 vs.

Should you ever split 10s?

When it comes to splitting 10s in the game of blackjack, the bottom line should be: Average players should never split and should always stand on 20. Card counters will sometimes split in ten-rich decks. Smart tournament players will sometimes split when they need to bet more chips, especially if it's the last hand.

Do most casinos hit on soft 17?

These days you almost have to play in games where the dealer hits soft 17, as most casinos have adopted this policy. But if you have a choice, playing where they stand is better.

Do you hit a soft 17 against a 7?

The basic strategy rules for hitting soft 17 are as follows: For double- and multi-deck games, hit when the dealer's upcard is a 2 or 7 through ace. For a single-deck game, hit when the dealer's upcard is 7 through ace.

Do you hit on 15 against a 7?

Regardless of the number of decks of cards or the mix of playing rules, the correct playing strategy for a soft 15 is: Hit against a dealer's 2, 3, and 7 through ace.

Do you hit a 13 against a 6?

14 stands against dealer 2 through 6, otherwise hit. 13 stands against dealer 2 through 6, otherwise hit. 12 stands against dealer 4 through 6, otherwise hit. 11 always doubles.

Do you hit 12 against a 3?

That may be true for most stiff hands (meaning, a hard 12 through 16) but it's not the case when you are holding a 12 against a 3. There are only four cards that could bust your 12 — a ten, jack, queen, or king. On the other hand, five cards will get you to 17–21 (a five, six, seven, eight, or nine).

Should I hit 12 against a 4?

Traditional basic strategy (also known as “total-dependent strategy”) says to stand on hard 12 against a dealer's 4, 5, and 6 up card, and hit against a dealer's 2, 3, and 7 though Ace up card. The biggest mistake that players make when they are dealt a hard 12 occurs when the dealer's up card is a 2 or 3.

Should I hit a soft 18 against a 10?

REASON FOR STRATEGY

Notice that you will lose more hands than you win regardless of what strategy you invoke; however, you win 2% more hands and lose 2% fewer, for a net gain of 4%, by hitting soft 18 against a dealer's 10 upcard vs. standing, making hitting the better strategy.

Is it better to hit or stay at 17 in blackjack?

It is best to hit when holding a hand of 10 or 12-16, and stand on anything 17 and over. An ace gives you a good chance of making 21 with a hit. When a dealer has a seven, eight or nine card it is impossible for them to make a blackjack, so your chances increase.

What are the odds of busting on 16?

Hit on 16 = 62% chance of busting. Hit on 15 = 58% chance of busting. Hit on 14 = 56% chance of busting. Hit on 13 = 39% chance of busting.

Does dealer stick on 17?

The Dealer must draw on 16 or under and must stand on 17 or over. The Dealer's first ace counts as 11 unless it busts the hand. Subsequent aces count as one. If the player's total is closer to 21 than the Dealer's, the player wins even money (1 – 1).

Does blackjack beat 21?

If the dealer's hand exceeds 21, all players with 21 or less win. If your hand is higher than the dealer's, without exceeding 21, you win. If you have the same total as the dealer, it's a push—even if you got blackjack. A Blackjack will beat 21.

Should you hit on 16?

Never hit your 16.

But you definitely can't beat the dealer if you've busted out. And you'll lose nearly 70% of the time when you hit your 16. Here's the statistics. If you hit on your 16, you'll win 25.23% of the time, push 5.46% of the time, and you will lose 69.31% of the time.