I recently came across the following article and found it informative. As a long time blackjack player I found the information useful. This is a long read regarding the 10 most difficult hands in blackjack. Hopefully some of you can take a few bits of knowledge away from the discussion. These are not my teachings. Don't shoot the messenger:. The smiling dealer deals the cards to three players. Player 2 is dealt a , takes a hit, draws a 7 for 16, then hits again and busts.

All three players misplayed their hands. Putting it another way, I observe players misplay these 10 hands more often than other hands. The list is in no particular order.

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I agree with Renzey wholeheartedly. So why do average players insist on taking even money? But here are the facts about why the best play is to NEVER take even money. When you have a blackjack and the dealer shows an ace, 31 percent of the time the dealer will also have blackjack and you will tie.

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If you average these two possibilities, your average gain will be 1. But if you decline the even money, your average gain will be 1. But the facts are this: So hitting soft 18 is the correct play even when your soft 18 hand consists of three or more cards. Thus Player 1, who was dealt AceAce-4 and stood, should have hit again.

When you hit a 12 once, you can bust only if you draw a What are the chances of that happening? Only 4 out of 13 times on average, which means 9 out of 13 times you will survive the draw and not bust. In fact five cards—the 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9—will give you a pat hand of , so there are more cards that can help you than break you. With a 3 upcard, the dealer will break about 37 percent of the time compared to 40 percent with a 4 upcard and 42 percent with a 5 or 6 upcard.

Why compound my losses by splitting and betting more?

The right play is to split the 8s. Because playing two hands with a starting count of 8 is much better than a single hand of You are giving yourself two decent starting hands while breaking up a horrible However, both of the split 8 hands will lose you money in the long run.

The correct play, the one that will save you more money during your blackjack playing career, is to split the 8s against the 9, 10, and Ace. So, what would you rather do?

Win 10 dollars 56 percent of the time, or 20 dollars 54 percent of the time? The choice should be clear. There are 18 small soft hands that should be doubled, and the easiest way to remember them is to follow these three rules developed by Renzy. If they total nine or more, double down. With Ace-5 against a dealer 4 you should double down because 5 plus 4 totals 9.

So what should you do? Just follow these two simple rules to play these hands perfectly every time. If you have soft 17 or less, always hit i.

If you have soft 18 - 21, always stand, except hit a multi-card soft 18 against a dealer 9, 10, or ace. You have the same high risk of busting when you hit 16 regardless if the dealer shows a 7 or But what happens if you get lucky when you hit your 16 and draw a small card, say a deuce?

How am I supposed to win when I keep getting those bloody 16s when the dealer shows those blasted picture cards? A 16 against a 10 occurs fairly frequently about once every 30 hands. How best to play this hand depends on the casino rules and the composition of your hand. Because when you surrender you lose 50 percent or half of your bet, and if you play out the hand instead, you stand to lose slightly more than 50 percent of your bet about Your best play, by a slim margin, is to hit.

However, if you have a multi-card 16 like player 2 above, who had , your best play is to stand against a dealer The removal of just a few of these small cards tips the scales ever so slightly in favor of standing over hitting.

When the basic strategy tells you to double down, it does so because your net gain due to the extra bet you make is always greater compared to your net gain if you were to hit or stand. So why would you shoot yourself in the foot and diminish your gain by doubling for less? When the basic playing strategy says to double down, do so for the full amount of your original wager.

Even if it means digging in to your wallet or purse to get the extra cash to make the full double down, do so. If you still feeling uneasy about whether or not you will remember the correct plays in the casino, take along some insurance in the form of a basic strategy card. But at the same time, it's human nature to remember pain differently than happiness.

We are hard wired to remember pain so as to avoid it in the future. This might play a role in remembering those soft 18 losses because they hurt so much while the soft 18 wins are not as eventful. My brain is going to hurt trying to remember the best way to play every hand next time i'm at the table! I have learn many of these same pointers from playing over 20 years. Be advise other "experienced players" may mumble under their breath "WTF About Las Vegas Hotels Vacation Rentals Restaurants Things to do Flights Travel Forum Airlines Travel Guides Best of Road Trips Help Center.

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