This bad boy is either the first or second worst hand in blackjack, depending on whether the dealer hits soft 17 or not. To make matters worse, it is a fairly common hand. You will be dealt a 2-card 16 vs. Dealer 10 about once every 54 hands, not including those occasions where the dealer has the blackjack. Some players believe the Soft 17 rule to be a small matter, but it is a big deal since it alters the chances of winning. Many players do not recognise the difference with the soft and hard 17 rules and believe that hitting on a soft 17 will work in the favour of the player since the dealer will bust more often. Nov 12, 2018 This is the best possible situation for the player as it relates to the soft 17 rule. And this rule doesn’t take into account whether the total is soft or hard. But in some casinos, at some blackjack tables, the dealer is required to hit a soft total of 17. Therefore, you need to hit your hard blackjack hands until you either beat that total or reach 17. You cannot reasonably hit a hard 17 at the blackjack table. Nor can you hit a hard 18 or 19 or 20. These hard totals give you the best chance of winning the hand and you must stand on them in all circumstances. Jun 13, 2019 Editor's note: This answer provided by blackjack Hall of Fame member Arnold Snyder. Arnold is also the author of our books The Blackjack Shuffle Tracker's Cookbook and Risk of Ruin.). These days you almost have to play in games where the dealer hits soft 17, as most casinos have adopted this policy. Most blackjack players are oblivious to whether the dealer stands or hits on soft 17. Dealer stands on soft 17 was the standard rule in years past, but a growing number of casinos now require the dealer to hit on soft 17 (hands like Ace, 6).
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May 31, 2013 The difference between a “hard” and “soft” hand in blackjack is one single card. If one of the two cards you’re dealt is an Ace, you have a “soft” hand. An Ace card can either be a 1 or an 11 which means that you have quite a bit of liquidity.
NOTE: This is the first in a series of articles, each focused on a particular blackjack hand. These articles are written for both intermediate and advanced players. The counting system used throughout this series is Hi-Opt I unless otherwise indicated (3, 4, 5, 6 value +1; 10’s value -1; Ace, 2, 7, 8, 9 neutral).
Hard 16 vs. Dealer 10
This bad boy is either the first or second worst hand in blackjack, depending on whether the dealer hits soft 17 or not. To make matters worse, it is a fairly common hand. You will be dealt a 2-card 16 vs. dealer 10 about once every 54 hands, not including those occasions where the dealer has the blackjack. This is the hand that built Las Vegas. If you play simple Basic Strategy and could somehow avoid this hand forever, the house edge would actually be reversed in your favor. But dream on. To start the analysis of this hand, let’s first take a look at the special case of a pair of 8’s vs. dealer 10. Here are the HIT, STAND, and SPLIT curves vs. running count (Hi-Opt 1) with one deck remaining (exactly 52 cards). To keep it simpler, let’s assume Double After Split (DAS) is allowed, which is fairly standard in Las Vegas today.
Hard Vs Soft 17 Blackjack Game
First of all, notice that as the count increases, your expected return is diminishing for all your options (except Surrender). If the count is +4 or higher, Surrender is the best option if allowed. Second, it is clear that splitting the 8’s is a much better option than hitting or standing, within the normal radar range on the count. To be clear, the EV calculation for pair splitting is based on the original bet only. For example, let’s suppose you were faced with this scenario 100 times:
Here would be your final bankroll expectation after 100 hands:
Casino at the empire wiki. STAND $481.71 ($1,000.00 - $518.29)
HIT $488.25 ($1,000.00 - $511.76)
Blackjack Strategy Hard Vs Soft
SPLIT $551.84 ($1,000.00 - $448.16 [not 2x448.16])
Clearly, the best long term decision is to split your 8’s vs. the dealer 10. Now, if you were to plot a bell curve on the actual returns, you would see much more volatility (wider range) when you split. For this reason, there is a notable blackjack “expert” who claims it is better not to split the 8’s vs. 10. I agree with the Wizard of Odds on this one and you should avoid that bad advice. Yes, it sucks when the dealer exposes another 10 underneath and you lose both hands, but that happens only about 31% of the time (it only feels like 90% of the time).
So here is the correct play for the pair of 8’s vs. dealer 10 if Surrender is allowed:
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And here is the correct play for the pair of 8’s vs. dealer 10 if Surrender is not allowed:
Since we will be splitting (or surrendering) the 8+8 vs. 10, we will not consider that variant when we calculate the HIT/STAND decision for hard 16 vs. dealer 10. Here are the EV curves for the combined probabilities including 10+6 vs. 10 and 9+7 vs. 10.
If Surrender is allowed, hard 16 vs. 10 should be HIT for negative counts up to -2, then Surrender if the count is -1 or higher. However, a game allowing Surrender is the exception rather than the rule, so normally you will need to make the HIT or STAND decision. Per Basic Strategy, with a neutral deck the proper play is HIT. However as the deck gets richer in 10’s, there is a flipping point where the better play flips from HIT to STAND. As seen in the graph, the flipping point for hard 16 vs. 10 is +2. Gw2 upgrade slot.
So here is the correct play for hard 16 vs. dealer 10 if Surrender is allowed:
And here is the correct play for hard 16 vs. dealer 10 if Surrender is not allowed:
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Now, we could end this here. However, for those who want to chip away at the house edge just a tiny bit more, this is a hand where composition dependent strategy is not all that difficult to remember. So here’s the deal. The graph above is a combined result of the two variants 10+6 vs. 10 and 9+7 vs. 10, based on their frequency of occurring. As it turns out, the 10+6 vs. 10 is a significantly stronger HIT than the 9+7 vs. 10. For those who want to try composition dependent strategy, here are the correct plays assuming Surrender is not allowed:
Note that if the deck was neutral before the deal, then the count for both of these variants is now -1 and both are a HIT as in Basic Strategy. The difference is that the 9+7 vs. 10 flips to a STAND right away as the count moves positive, but the 10+6 vs. 10 remains a HIT until the count is +3 or higher.
One final note. Most Blackjack players realize that 16 vs. 10 is a very close call. There is a common myth at the tables that you should pick your poison. Either always HIT or always STAND, but do not vary. Obviously, advanced play will betray that notion as nonsense. When you get accused of not sticking with one or the other, don’t let it bother you. Just smile and say, “Yep, that’s what they say.”
So for now, have fun, tip well, and may your variances be mostly positive.
Next up: 3-Card 16 vs. 10
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In the game of blackjack, an ace is a most amazing card. It can count as either a 1 or an 11, whichever will be more beneficial. It is this magical power of the ace that underlies the concept of hard and soft blackjack hands.
A 'hard hand' is a blackjack hand with no ace, or with an ace that must count as 1. A blackjack hand comprising an ace, a 7, and a 9 is a 'hard 17.' Notice that the ace must count as 1 in this hand; if it counted as 11, the hand would 'bust' (i.e., go over 21). A 'soft hand' is a hand with an ace that counts as 11. A hand comprising an ace and a 6 is a 'soft 17.' The beautiful thing about a soft hand is that you can always add another card to a soft hand without fear of busting. Suppose you have a soft 17, and you draw a 5. Immediately you think: 'Uh-oh! 17 plus 5 makes 22! I'm busted!' But actually, you have nothing to worry about. In that situation, the ace magically transforms itself from an 11 to a 1 and you hand is saved. That is why it is so cool to have a soft hand when playing blackjack. http://www.wildjackcasino.com/blackjack-hands.html Comments are closed.
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