Hard Total Vs Soft Total Blackjack

Posted : admin On 4/9/2022
Hard Total Vs Soft Total Blackjack Average ratng: 5,9/10 3159 votes
lamby130
Sorry I'm still a bit new so this might sound really silly. I've been playing the practice game based off of the basic strategy card for a while now and I only just found out that it's better to stand on a 3 card 16 vs a dealer's 10.
My question is if it is better to stand or hit if you have a 3/4/5 card 16 vs a 7, 8, 9, A. I understand the difference between hitting and standing is really really small but I guess it makes a little bit of a difference in the long run.
Also does it make a difference if it's a soft instead of a hard 3/4/5 card 16 against a 10? You would still hit in that case right?
EDIT: Nevermind! Wizard goes through all this thoroughly already in the appendices on the blackjack page.
Kellynbnf
  1. Double Down on 7-5 Vs. Dealer 6; Doubling Down with any hard total of 12 or higher; Double Down with 5-4 Vs. Dealer 7; Why Do Players Make Basic Blackjack Mistakes? Something very interesting about these mistakes is that they are made by players who have experience with basic blackjack strategy.
  2. An informative guide to Soft Total Vs Hard Total Blackjack the pros and cons of using Cryptocurrencies for online casino transactions. All the advantages and disadvantages. Most casino games can be played for real money. If you are unfamiliar with the casino game, try out the free game to get a feel of it.
  3. A hard hand is a hand in blackjack that has an Ace where its value is one or a blackjack hand that has no Ace. We now proceed to the strategy used in blackjack. Let's start with blackjack's basic strategy for hard hands. If the total for your hand currently is anywhere from 17 to 20 you must stand regardless of the card the dealer shows.
In general the stand-on-3+-card 16 rule applies only to a 10 upcard (and obviously you always stand on hard 16 vs. a low upcard). There may be a few obscure composition-dependent exceptions for the other upcards (especially in pitch games) but in general unless you're counting you'd always hit 16 vs. 7-9 or A.
You'd NEVER stand on a soft 16 regardless of the dealer's upcard (unless the next card to be dealt has been flashed and it would be better for the dealer to get it). You can't bust or weaken such a hand by taking another card. (For soft hands you'd have to have at least 18 to think about standing, and even with a soft 18 there are cases you'd still hit or double.)
DealerSix
Here are the links for anyone wondering:

So now I'm thinking along the lines of what do I do with a soft 15 versus a 2. Again, according to basic strategy, you hit that total vs a 2. So I do and get an 8. So now my hand consists of 3, A, A, 8. I now figure that I obviously have to treat both Aces as 1's or I've busted. So I figured this is now a 'hard' total of 13. Blackjack Basic Strategy For Hands Totaling Soft Eighteen (18) How to Play a Soft Eighteen Total in Blackjack - Soft 18 Hard hands: Hard 8 or less - Hard 9 - Hard 10 - Hard 11 - Hard 12 - Hard 13 - 16 - Hard.


Single Deck - http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/3c/
Double Deck - http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/3b/
Of note is this snippet from the Double Deck link:

The following lists will show exactly how to play your cards immediately after a shuffle in a double deck game where the dealer stands on a soft 17.


It states 'immediately after a shuffle'.
My question would be how to play this into the deck with no advantage play? Continue standing on a 3-card 16 vs 10 up?
tringlomane


It states 'immediately after a shuffle'.
My question would be how to play this into the deck with no advantage play? Continue standing on a 3-card 16 vs 10 up?


Yes, if you aren't counting at all, you would need to assume the count is zero. And when you have a 3-card hard 16, this would create a positive count which means you should stand. Now if you would bother to count, then you should hit when the count is negative (deck less rich in ten cards) and stand when the count is positive (deck more rich in ten cards).
Venthus

There may be a few obscure composition-dependent exceptions for the other upcards (especially in pitch games) but in general unless you're counting you'd always hit 16 vs. 7-9 or A.


Hard Total Vs Soft Total Blackjack No Deposit

Wait, what? I thought that standing a 16 on 7-9 would be better than standing on the 10 since there's a better chance of the dealer bust, while your odds are relatively unchanged.
DealerSix

Yes, if you aren't counting at all, you would need to assume the count is zero. And when you have a 3-card hard 16, this would create a positive count which means you should stand. Now if you would bother to count, then you should hit when the count is negative (deck less rich in ten cards) and stand when the count is positive (deck more rich in ten cards).


Essentially, the Wizard's comment was made for AP's then? A BS player would continue on standing 3-card 16 vs 10, correct?
Quote: Venthus

Wait, what? I thought that standing a 16 on 7-9 would be better than standing on the 10 since there's a better chance of the dealer bust, while your odds are relatively unchanged.


Check out this link:
Blackjack Appendix 9 — 2 Decks, Dealer Hits Soft 17 - http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/9/2dh17r4/
tringlomane

Wait, what? I thought that standing a 16 on 7-9 would be better than standing on the 10 since there's a better chance of the dealer bust, while your odds are relatively unchanged.


I believe it's because the dealer makes some of their strongest hands with a ten up (lots of 20s), so you're better off just standing and praying for a bust (at least with a positive count) instead of trying to improve your hand with a hit. With the ten up, if you hit to 18, you aren't out of the woods yet. You'd be in much better shape if the dealer had a 7 up.Poker
tringlomane

Essentially, the Wizard's comment was made for AP's then? A BS player would continue on standing 3-card 16 vs 10, correct?


Well, it's such a marginal play, the correct play depends on card composition of your hand given no other info, and he wanted to point that out since you can obviously realize how many cards exist in your own hand. A Basic Strategy player should hit two card hard 16s vs 10 and stand with 3+ card hard 16s vs 10.
1BB

Well, it's such a marginal play, the correct play depends on card composition of your hand given no other info, and he wanted to point that out since you can obviously realize how many cards exist in your own hand. A Basic Strategy player should hit two card hard 16s vs 10 and stand with 3+ card hard 16s vs 10.


Some refine that by advocating the rule of 45. This would have the player stay on three card 16s containing a 4 or a 5 while hitting all other combinations. This is for basic strategy players only and it is very, very close. A three card 16 against a seven is not close and should be hit without hesitation.
Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth. - Mahatma Ghandi
mickeycrimm
Soft vs hard blackjack

Here are the links for anyone wondering: Single Deck -

' target='_blank'>http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/3c/
I'm no blackjack expert so when I started playing the IGT full pay video blackjack (100.03%) I had to go to a blackjack expert to get the strategy. It was single deck, first hand off. I gleaned the entire strategy from the Wizard's of Odd's compositional dependent blackjack strategy. Thanks, Shack! I made a lot of money at that game whenever I found good cashback.
As for those 16's versus a dealer ten, there are a lot of combinations. I used a simplified rule. A 16 containing a 6, with either a 6,7,8, or 9 was a hit. The rest of the combinations were a stand.
'Quit trying your luck and start trying your skill.' Mickey Crimm

This how to play blackjack guide will teach you all the basic rules required to be able to play online blackjack efficiently. To start, let’s define the objective of blackjack because this is commonly misunderstood.

THE OBJECT OF BLACKJACK IS TO BEAT THE DEALER

Hard

Many people believe the objective is to get 21 or as close as 21 as possible. While achieving a total of 21 is desirable, it is not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to beat the dealer and this can be achieved whether you have a total of 21 or not.

Remember, blackjack is a game played against the house and not other players, therefore, the sole objective is to focus on beating the dealer.

How do you Beat the Dealer?

There are 2 ways you can beat the dealer:

  1. By having a total larger than the dealers (making sure your hand does not exceed 21).
  2. When the dealer goes on to bust and your hand is 21 or below.

Blackjack Basics (Rules)

The objective of blackjack has been made very clear, so lets go over some of the basic blackjack rules.

The Cards

Blackjack is played using standard playing cards without the jokers. There are some variants of blackjack, however most casinos use 6 decks.

The card values of blackjack are perhaps the easiest aspect of the game. As with any standard deck of cards, it contains 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A in one of four suits, spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts.

  • The cards 2 – 9 have a value equal to its number
  • The cards Jack, Queen and King have a value of 10
  • An Ace has a value of 1 or 11 depending on which is more preferable to the player.

Blackjack Card Values

Number of Players

On a standard blackjack table, there are seven positions, therefore, one player up to seven players can play against the dealer at any one time.

Number of Decks

Blackjack is generally played with 6 decks of cards.

Hard Total Vs Soft Total Blackjack Games

Outcomes

There are three outcomes, win, lose or draw.

  1. As previously mentioned a player wins when their hand total is more than the dealers hand total or when the player remains in the game and the dealers total exceeds 21 (goes onto bust).
  2. The player loses when their hand totals less than the dealers total or when the player busts.
  3. A draw or “push” as it is normally called is when the player and dealer both have the same total.

Hard vs Soft Hands

The concept of a hard and soft hand is relatively simple. An ace can have a value of either 1 or 11 depending on which is more preferential. When an ace is counted as 11 this is known as a soft hand, while hands which do not contain aces or when an ace is counted as 1 are referred to as hard hands.

For Example:

A 14 comprising of an ace and a three is referred to as a soft 14 (ace counts as eleven). If another card is taken and a king is pulled this will then result in a hard 14 as the ace is now counted as a one.

Soft hands are generally very good for the player because it gives the player a free opportunty to take a card and improve their hand without the risk of busting.

Hitting

You might have heard a blackjack player in the casino utter the words ‘hit me’. This means the player wants the dealer to deal another card. A player takes another card or hits when trying to improve his hand.

A good example would be – A player has a total of 13 (5 and 8) against a dealer 9. The best play is to hit and hope to improve the hand without going over 21. The reason for this is because you have to assume the dealer has 19 (there are more 10 valued cards in the deck than any other value, so therefore, a dealer 9 and a presumed 10 valued card equals 19).

Standing

Once the player has been dealt their starting 2 cards and the dealer their 1 card, the action is then on the player. The player can opt to stand and therefore not receive any more cards.

For example – player 14 (k and 4) vs dealer 4 – The best option is for the player to stand because the dealer will have to pull at least 2 more cards and will hopefully bust. The rationale for this is because, as just mentioned, there are more high valued cards in the deck than low valued cards. If the player stands on 14 and the dealer then pulls a 10 card and a 9 card, the dealer will bust.

This also highlights the reason why its important to understand of the objective of playing blackjack. A novice player may hit on 14 against a dealer 4 because they believe they need to get a total close to 21. However, the opposite is in fact true because the dealer is more likely to bust, therfore it’s best to stand on a low total of 14.

Double Down

This is the situation all blackjack players dream of because this is where the real money can be made. A player may double their initial bet after receiving their first 2 cards, however it is only advisable in certain advantageous situations. For example 11 (6 and 5) vs dealer 5. Before your cards are dealt you will need to wager how much you would like to bet. Once you place your chip/s on the table the cards will be dealt. The casino will then allow you to increase your bet by doubling its value, after which you will receive one extra card. Remember, you’ll only be dealt ONE extra card.

Split

Like doubling down, splitting the hand offers another opportunity for you to double your wager, however, this method is a little more complicated. If you are dealt two of the same cards, such as two 8’s, you can split them, meaning that each 8 will receive an extra card as if they were being played by different people. Each hand can receive as many cards as you like. The only time you are limited on how many cards you want is if you split two Aces. If you split Aces then each Ace may only receive one more card. The rewards on a successful split can be extraordinary. However, there is always the possibility of both hands losing. Pro Tip: NEVER SPLIT 5s

Even Money

The best feeling as a blackjack player is when you are dealt an Ace and a card with a 10 value. This hand is known as blackjack. When a player is dealt a blackjack hand, and the dealer deals himself an Ace, the dealer will ask the player if they would like even money. This means the player will accept a 1:1 payout and the round ends. Alternatively the round would have continued where the dealer would have lost and the players payout would have been 3:2 or the dealer would have scored a blackjack himself, and the round would have been null and void (a push), with the player keeping the original wager.

Thats the basics explained, now it’s time to take your blackjack game to the next level. Advanced plays are key to becoming successful at blackjack as they allow you to gain an upper hand in terms of knowledge and percentages.

The best way to improve your skills whether you play blackjack in a casino or blackjack online is to learn and practice basic strategy and another advanced play called card counting.

  1. Learn blackjack basic strategy first.
  2. Then move onto card counting.

Both are legal to implement, however, the casino frowns upon card counting. By using this model and combining basic strategy and card counting, you can get a good indication of what cards are left in a deck and the correct play to use. It takes some practice, so don’t bust into a casino and give it a first time bash. Take some time at home to fiddle around and get it right.