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- Strategy suggests a player with a soft 13 should look to double down if the dealer has a Five or a Six showing, otherwise hitting is advisable as a card from Five through to Eight putting you in a strong.
- Soft Hands in Blackjack and How to Play Them. In blackjack, basic strategy is what should determine all your decisions. You should ignore your hunches and the advice of the other players at the table. This is more important with soft blackjack hands than any other kind of hand, but those are also some of the harder hands.
Any reading material you can track down about blackjack will include something about basic strategy. Put simply, it's a set of optimized guidelines to follow that give you a better chance of coming out ahead at the tables. With only a limited number of potential player hands against a similarly limited number of possible dealer up cards, a basic strategy can be memorized for use at the blackjack table. In addition to the basic strategy, it's key to understand the differences in play when holding cards considered a 'soft' hand.
Atlantic City Blackjack –is another variation which originated in the United States. Now this type of blackjack is popular in the USA too. If you play in a land-based casino, expect eight decks and classic rules. The difference is that a soft 17 forces the dealer to stand. If your opponent has an ace, they can look for blackjack. The optimal plays for soft 18 in double-deck and multiple-deck S17 blackjack largely coincide. Basic strategy advises players to stand whenever the dealer's upcard is a 2, a 7 or an 8. You hit your two.
What is a Soft Hand?
A soft hand is one that contains an Ace, which can be counted as either 1 or 11. Beside understand the pivotal role that Aces play, the other universal hint regarding this type of strategy is to always assume the dealer's hole card is a 10. Basic blackjack strategy is constructed around this assumption because there are 16 out of 52 cards that can be counted as 10s (10-J-Q-K). By always assuming that the dealer's hole card is a 10, along with always assuming you'll get a 10 on a hit, you'll be able to discern the proper strategy during most games.
Guidelines for Playing Soft Hands in Blackjack
Here are some general guidelines for how to play soft hands. Throughout these suggestions, always remember that a soft hand contains an Ace, which can count as 1 or 11.
Playing a Soft 13 or 14: You should take a hit under most circumstances with a soft 13 or 14. But if the dealer is holding a 5 or 6, you should double down. Standing on a hand like this is a great way to lose money. The total is just too unlikely to beat the dealer's hand. Even getting a ten will just leave you stranded holding the total with which you started. Any card under a ten, however, will improve your hand (except for an 8 or 9 coming into a soft 14, which would leave you with a 12 or 13, respectively). The dealer has a greater chance of going bust if he or she has a 5 or 6 for an up card. With a high chance of a dealer bust, the best move for you is doubling down. You have a good chance of improving your hand, and even if you don't improve it, the dealer is very likely to bust when they take a hit.
Playing a Soft 15 or 16: You should double down on a soft 15 or 16 only when the dealer is showing a 4, 5, or 6. If the dealer is showing any card besides those three, you should take a hit. A soft 15 or 16 plays similarly to the soft 13 or 14 strategy, for similar reasons. You should never stand on a soft 15 or 16 for two reasons—the chance of getting a bust doesn't exist here, and it's very likely your hand will improve with the new card. You can also get more money in action by doubling down, which is a smart choice here because the dealer is likely to bust and the chances of your hand improving are high. Double down in this situation and there's a greater chance of winning more money.
Playing a Soft 17: It's a good idea to take a hit on a soft 17 unless the dealer is showing a 3, 4, 5, or 6. If the dealer is holding any of these four cards, you should double down. With the dealer showing an up card of 3, 4, 5, or 6, their hand is probably a bit stiff, meaning he or she has a greater chance of going bust when taking a hit. When you have a soft 17, the highest card you can receive is a ten, which would put your hand back at 17 (an Ace and a 6, plus the ten). Even a 17 can come out ahead against several dealer hands. When you have an advantage like this, doubling down will get more money in the action and possibly lead to a big win!
Playing a Soft 18: If the dealer has a visible 3, 4, 5, or 6, you should double down. If the dealer is showing a 2, 7, or 8, you should stand. Finally, if the dealer shows a 9, 10, or Ace, you should take a hit. Doubling down against a dealer's 3-6 has a simple rationale behind it: You have a distinct chance of improving your hand while the dealer has a greater probability of a bust. In fact, your chance of getting a bust is far lower than the dealer's in this case. This can be an extremely lucrative situation for players. A good blackjack player always assumes the dealer's hole card is 10, so with a 2, 7, or 8 showing it's good to assume the dealer is holding a 12, 17, or 18. If any of those totals turn out to be true, there's a larger chance of hurting your hand rather than improving it by taking a hit. The 12 total is included here because it's far less likely the dealer will bust, and dealers will always stand on a 17 or 18. With the dealer showing anything from a 9 to an Ace, you should take a hit in an effort to improve your hand against the dealer's potential monster.
Playing a Soft 19 to 21: Always stand on a soft 19, 20, or 21. A natural 21 is an automatic winner; there's simply no way to improve upon it. And there's only one card that can make a soft total of 20 a real winner, which means it's not even worth trying to improve. A total of soft 19 falls in the same category. Only two cards can improve a soft 19, but 19 is a very strong hand that should be held onto. Trying to improve a soft 19 will more than likely lead to a bust.
- Strategy suggests a player with a soft 13 should look to double down if the dealer has a Five or a Six showing, otherwise hitting is advisable as a card from Five through to Eight putting you in a strong.
- Soft Hands in Blackjack and How to Play Them. In blackjack, basic strategy is what should determine all your decisions. You should ignore your hunches and the advice of the other players at the table. This is more important with soft blackjack hands than any other kind of hand, but those are also some of the harder hands.
Any reading material you can track down about blackjack will include something about basic strategy. Put simply, it's a set of optimized guidelines to follow that give you a better chance of coming out ahead at the tables. With only a limited number of potential player hands against a similarly limited number of possible dealer up cards, a basic strategy can be memorized for use at the blackjack table. In addition to the basic strategy, it's key to understand the differences in play when holding cards considered a 'soft' hand.
Atlantic City Blackjack –is another variation which originated in the United States. Now this type of blackjack is popular in the USA too. If you play in a land-based casino, expect eight decks and classic rules. The difference is that a soft 17 forces the dealer to stand. If your opponent has an ace, they can look for blackjack. The optimal plays for soft 18 in double-deck and multiple-deck S17 blackjack largely coincide. Basic strategy advises players to stand whenever the dealer's upcard is a 2, a 7 or an 8. You hit your two.
What is a Soft Hand?
A soft hand is one that contains an Ace, which can be counted as either 1 or 11. Beside understand the pivotal role that Aces play, the other universal hint regarding this type of strategy is to always assume the dealer's hole card is a 10. Basic blackjack strategy is constructed around this assumption because there are 16 out of 52 cards that can be counted as 10s (10-J-Q-K). By always assuming that the dealer's hole card is a 10, along with always assuming you'll get a 10 on a hit, you'll be able to discern the proper strategy during most games.
Guidelines for Playing Soft Hands in Blackjack
Here are some general guidelines for how to play soft hands. Throughout these suggestions, always remember that a soft hand contains an Ace, which can count as 1 or 11.
Playing a Soft 13 or 14: You should take a hit under most circumstances with a soft 13 or 14. But if the dealer is holding a 5 or 6, you should double down. Standing on a hand like this is a great way to lose money. The total is just too unlikely to beat the dealer's hand. Even getting a ten will just leave you stranded holding the total with which you started. Any card under a ten, however, will improve your hand (except for an 8 or 9 coming into a soft 14, which would leave you with a 12 or 13, respectively). The dealer has a greater chance of going bust if he or she has a 5 or 6 for an up card. With a high chance of a dealer bust, the best move for you is doubling down. You have a good chance of improving your hand, and even if you don't improve it, the dealer is very likely to bust when they take a hit.
Playing a Soft 15 or 16: You should double down on a soft 15 or 16 only when the dealer is showing a 4, 5, or 6. If the dealer is showing any card besides those three, you should take a hit. A soft 15 or 16 plays similarly to the soft 13 or 14 strategy, for similar reasons. You should never stand on a soft 15 or 16 for two reasons—the chance of getting a bust doesn't exist here, and it's very likely your hand will improve with the new card. You can also get more money in action by doubling down, which is a smart choice here because the dealer is likely to bust and the chances of your hand improving are high. Double down in this situation and there's a greater chance of winning more money.
Playing a Soft 17: It's a good idea to take a hit on a soft 17 unless the dealer is showing a 3, 4, 5, or 6. If the dealer is holding any of these four cards, you should double down. With the dealer showing an up card of 3, 4, 5, or 6, their hand is probably a bit stiff, meaning he or she has a greater chance of going bust when taking a hit. When you have a soft 17, the highest card you can receive is a ten, which would put your hand back at 17 (an Ace and a 6, plus the ten). Even a 17 can come out ahead against several dealer hands. When you have an advantage like this, doubling down will get more money in the action and possibly lead to a big win!
Playing a Soft 18: If the dealer has a visible 3, 4, 5, or 6, you should double down. If the dealer is showing a 2, 7, or 8, you should stand. Finally, if the dealer shows a 9, 10, or Ace, you should take a hit. Doubling down against a dealer's 3-6 has a simple rationale behind it: You have a distinct chance of improving your hand while the dealer has a greater probability of a bust. In fact, your chance of getting a bust is far lower than the dealer's in this case. This can be an extremely lucrative situation for players. A good blackjack player always assumes the dealer's hole card is 10, so with a 2, 7, or 8 showing it's good to assume the dealer is holding a 12, 17, or 18. If any of those totals turn out to be true, there's a larger chance of hurting your hand rather than improving it by taking a hit. The 12 total is included here because it's far less likely the dealer will bust, and dealers will always stand on a 17 or 18. With the dealer showing anything from a 9 to an Ace, you should take a hit in an effort to improve your hand against the dealer's potential monster.
Playing a Soft 19 to 21: Always stand on a soft 19, 20, or 21. A natural 21 is an automatic winner; there's simply no way to improve upon it. And there's only one card that can make a soft total of 20 a real winner, which means it's not even worth trying to improve. A total of soft 19 falls in the same category. Only two cards can improve a soft 19, but 19 is a very strong hand that should be held onto. Trying to improve a soft 19 will more than likely lead to a bust.
How To Play Soft Hands In Blackjack Game
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