Should you stay on soft 18?

In shoe-dealt blackjack and double-deck variations, you must always hit your soft 18 when the dealer's exposed card is a 10 or an ace. Here the dealer is in a particularly beneficial position and stands good chances of outdrawing you and beating your 18.

Do you hit or stay a soft 18?

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.

What is a hard 18 vs soft 18?

The 18 could be “hard,” meaning the hand either doesn't contain an ace, or if it does, the ace is counted as one. (Examples are 10-8, 8-5-5 and ace-4-10-3.) Or you can get a “soft 18,” meaning a hand containing an ace that is counted as 11. (Examples are ace-7, and 5-2-ace.)

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).

Do you hit on 13 against a 2?

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.

Blackjack Strategy: How to play a Soft 18 at Blackjack - 888casino

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.

Should you ever stand on 12?

It is common practice to hit on eight or less, but stand on anything 12 or higher. When the dealer has a three, you should hit on anything eight or below and 12, while standing on anything 13 or over. If the dealer has a two it is best to hit on nine or less and stand on anything 13 or over.

Should I split 3s against a 7?

For other pairs, the best course of action usually depends on the card the dealer is showing. For example, pairs of twos, threes, and sevens should be split when the dealer shows a relatively low card. If the dealer has an eight or better showing, just take a hit.

Do you hit 15 vs 7?

Question: “When should I hit on my 15?” Sam says: “Always hit a hard 15 when the dealer's up-card is a 7 through an ace. If you stand on that 15, you will win 25.36 percent of the time and lose 74.64 percent of the time. That makes a net loss of 49.28 percent.

Do you hit 16 against 7?

You actually gain more by hitting 16 vs. 7 than you do by hitting 16 vs. 10 or Ace. That's because if you improve your 16, you win more often when the dealer starts with a lower card.

Is soft 17 better?

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.

Is soft 17 or hard 17 better?

Dealers do not bust more often when standing on soft 17. After all, there is no risk of busting when they stand on the hand. When the dealer stands on all 17s, he busts about 29.1 percent of the time, and that increases to 29.6 if he hits soft 17. However, a dealer who stands on soft 17 can't improve the hand.

What is a hard 17 or soft 18?

As a player, you can do virtually whatever you like with your hand, but the dealer must act according to a simple rule. In every blackjack game, the dealer either stands on Soft 17 or higher, or hits Soft 17, which means they can only stand on Hard 17, plus any 18 or more.

Should you ever hit soft 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 you ever hit a soft 19?

MULTI-CARD SOFT 19

You hit and draw an Ace giving you a soft 19. The playing rules in most land-based and online casinos prohibit you from doubling down on a hand once you draw a third card; therefore, if you hold a multi-card soft 19, you should always stand.

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.

Do you split 7s against a 5?

RESPLITTING 7S

For example, if you are dealt a pair of 7s against a dealer's 5 upcard, you should split them.

Should I hit 15 against 10?

In a double- or multi-deck game, if your 15 consists of an 8-7, hit against a dealer 10 upcard (rather than surrender). In all games, if your 16 is multi-card or the result of a pair split, stand against a dealer's 10 upcard instead of hit.

Should you split 9s?

The basic playing strategy for a pair of 9s is to: Split when the dealer's upcard is 2 through 6 or 8, 9. Stand when the dealer's upcard is 7, 10, or Ace.

Should you always split 8s?

Splitting eights limits one's losses and improves one's hand. Probabilistic research of expected value scenarios shows that by splitting eights one can convert a hand that presents an expected loss to two hands that may present an expected profit or a reduced loss, depending on what the dealer is showing.

Why is splitting 10s bad?

That's not too surprising because it's tough for the dealer to beat a strong hand of 20. If you split the 10s one time, you stand to win 63% and lose 37% on each split hand. That's a significant decrease in the number of hands won simply because if you split, you will often end up with less than 20 on both hands.

Do you split 8s against a 5?

Other experts advise against splitting 8s against anything but a 7, or unless the dealer shows a bust card of 3, 4, 5 or 6. (In the latter case, you likely would split anything short of 9s or 10s.)

How often does 20 win in blackjack?

But players win with 20 a lot more often than they lose, with about 70.2 percent of player 20s winning, 12.2 percent losing and 17.6 percent pushing. Twenty is a profitable hand for players against every dealer face up card. Let's look at player 10-10 vs.

Do most people win at blackjack?

A skilled blackjack player has an almost even chance of winning against the house. “Theoretically, out of every 100 hands played, the house (on average) wins 55 against a skilled player, but the cards don't know that so many times you win way more than you lose,” Brian said.

Why hit 16 in blackjack?

According to basic computations, a dealer with 7, 8, 9, 10 or Ace showing, is going to end with a total between 17 and 21, anywhere from 74% to 83% of the time. Therefore, a blackjack basic strategy will correctly dictate that hitting the 16 gives the player the best chance of beating the dealer.