Recently I talked a bit about the different types of hands players are going to find when playing blackjack. Most specifically I talked about
Tag: Soft Hands
General Tips for Playing Soft Hands
Aces are the best cards in a game of blackjack. Your first thought as to why might be that an Ace is the best card because it is necessary to having a natural blackjack.
But if that were true, then why are cards worth 10 not considered the best?
Simply put, Aces are the best cards in blackjack because of their flexibility. Hands with Aces, called soft hands, do not bust like hard hands
Dealer Hitting Soft 17 is Not Good
Some players think that working in games that allow the dealer to hit a soft 17 is good for their blackjack strategy.
They would be mistaken.
Sure, on the surface a dealer hitting a soft 17 sounds like a good thing. Players might think that the dealer has a better shot of busting because he is so close to 21. But what these players are forgetting is that Ace. The Ace that makes that soft 17 soft can be reduced to a 1 if the dealer hits and receives a card that would cause him to bust.
Because of that Ace, dealers can actually reduce that 17 to an 8 and hit to rebuild a stronger hand. He might then wind up with a hard 17 or higher that stands a shot of beating the player. Just like how an Ace can benefit a player, so too can it benefit the dealer. A soft 17 can be rebuilt whereas a hard 17 has a better shot of being beat by the player.
With that ability to rebuild his soft 17, the house
Blackjack Strategy: Soft Hands
Blackjack Strategy: Things Not to Do
No one is a perfect blackjack player. Well, professional players might come close, but still, no one is perfect.
In blackjack there are strategy plays that have good intentions that end poorly, but the point is that you played the correct play based on basic strategy
Best Blackjack Strategy
Blackjack Strategy: Two Card Soft 18 and Multi Card Soft 18
Knowing When to Double Down on Soft Hands
Soft hands tend to throw some blackjack players off. Most tend to play them as if they were hard hands. Sometimes this works and other times players are not playing their blackjack hands to the greatest advantage.
And you should want the greatest advantage.
Even if a player is playing according to basic strategy the casino will still have the advantage. It does not matter if you are playing blackjack online or in a brick and mortar casino, the house will still have around a 0.5% advantage over you.
And because they will always have the advantage over the player (other than skilled card counting players) you should always want to play your hand to the greatest advantage in blackjack.
Stiff hands and soft hands are the hardest hands to play. There is nothing you can really do about stiff hands other than play them according to basic strategy. But soft hands do not have to be played like a hard hand
Bad House Rule: Dealer Can Hit Soft 17
I have noticed something rather interesting of late pertaining to blackjack. There seems to have been an increase in blackjack games that allow the dealer to hit on a soft 17. And this happens with the casino industry being hit harder by a hurting economy and an increase in online blackjack.
On the surface a dealer hitting a soft 17 does not sound like too big of a deal. If you are shrugging your shoulders and saying,
Blackjack Myth
I have said it before and I will say it again. Soft hands are some of the most misplayed hand in blackjack. I have seen a good number of blackjack players who, while they can handle their hard hands, do not seem to know what to do with soft hands. And a soft 18 is one of those misplayed blackjack hands.
A fair amount of blackjack players will stand on a soft 18. To them it seems like there is no other possible way to play this hand. They get caught up in the 18 part and forget about the Ace.
When facing down a dealer