In our series of Blackjack Super Strategies blogs, today, we would like to introduce, ‘Splitting’ a hand in Blackjack. For those who have played the game in the past, must be aware of what splitting means while playing Blackjack.
But even for those who have previous Blackjack experience, as well the the ones that are new to the game, we would like to recommend, when to split a hand to your advantage.
When a player is dealt two cards of the same face value, he may choose to ‘Split’ his cards and play them as two different hands. The player has to place another bet of the same size as initial bet amount for the second hand as well. He will then, play both hands separately and make the Hit or Stay decision for each one of them.
So basically whenever you are dealt, it is time to decide whether to Split the hand or not. Based on mathematical probability here’s when you should Split the hand and when to refrain from doing so.
1. You should always split 8’s and Aces: Splitting 8’s is recommended as two 8’s which is 16, is the worst total to sit on, in Blackjack. Splitting Aces is a great idea as the deck is full of picture cards (K, Q J and 10) and there is a fair chance of you scoring a couple of Blackjacks instantly.
2. You should never split 10’s or 5’s: The explanation is pretty simple for 10’s, as two 10’s totals 20, which is second to a Blackjack and a rarity to lose. Whereas two 5’s totals 10, which again gives your hand an edge against the dealer, as you have a great chance of ending up with a winning total with an Ace or any picture.
3. Avoid splitting 4’s: Two 4’s adds up to 8, which is a good enough total to draw further cards. Whereas if you’d be splitting 4’s, you may be drawing to much worse hands and may bust even before the dealer draws his cards.
4. It is fine to split 2’s, 3’s and 7’s: You can go ahead and split these pairs unless the dealer has strong card (10 or Ace). This is simply because dealer already has a very strong chance to improve to a winning hand and it is better that you play your pair as one hand and do not risk, losing double the money against the dealer’s potentially strong hand.
5. Only split 6’s if the dealer’s has a weak card (2 to 6): If the dealer has a anything between 2 and 6, his chances of busing are pretty high anyway, so there is no harm in splitting the 6’s but avoid splitting 6’s against a strong card (10 or Ace), the reason is similar to what has already been explained in point 4.
Hope you find these Splitting tips handy enough to chip up, when you are on a Blackjack table next. Good Luck!