When Do Dealers Have To Hit In Blackjack

When Do Dealers Have To Hit In Blackjack Average ratng: 7,3/10 372 reviews
By: Harper Whitefield
  1. When Does The Dealer Have To Hit In Blackjack The basic rules that most dealers follow, across the board, are determined to their mathematical advantage over years of study and play. The dealer will always hit on anything below a 16 total.
  2. Blackjack charts from all across the world say to hit the 16 when the dealer is showing a 7 or higher, even surrendering in some situations. If you want to beat the casino, you’re going to have to do better than that. So let me share with you one of my key winning blackjack plays Never hit your 16.

When a player holds a 9-3 (12) against a dealer 3 upcard, he is reluctant to hit for fear of drawing a 10 and busting, especially when the dealer is showing a “weak” upcard. In the case of 6-5 (11) vs a dealer 10, players are averse to double down (and double their bet) because they fear the dealer has a 10 in the hole and a. There are two versions of the blackjack strategy chart, one being when the dealer stands on a soft 17 and one being when a dealer hits on a soft 17, which means they require different actions. When the dealer has a six, both strategy charts are the same in terms of what to do but there is one exception which you can read about below. Soft 14 (A,3) doubles against dealer 5 through 6, otherwise hit. Soft 13 (A,2) doubles against dealer 5 through 6, otherwise hit. Hard totals: A hard total is any hand that does not start with an ace in it, or it has been dealt an ace that can only be counted as 1 instead of 11.

Blackjack is an extremely popular casino game, and one that offers lots of strategies and tips to help the player overcome the house edge; as much as possible anyway. Below, we've documented the Top 10 Blackjack Tips to help you improve your game.

Blackjack Tips #1: When To Hit

Use the following rules to determine when to Hit, according to your hand and the dealer's face up card.

-If the dealer's face up card is 7, 8, 9, 10 or Ace, and your hand totals 8 or 12 through 16, Hit.
-If the dealer's face up card is Ace, and your hand totals 11, do not Double, Hit.
-If the dealer's face up card is 10, and your hand totals 10, do not Double, Hit.
-If the dealer's face up card is 7, 8 or 9, and your hand totals 9, do not Double, Hit.

Blackjack Tips #2: When To Stand

Use the following rules to determine when to Stand, according to your hand and the dealer's face up card.

-When your hand totals 17 or above, no matter what, Stand. (Some strategies will tell you to hit 17 if the dealer has an Ace.)
-If the dealer's face up card is 6 or below, and your hand totals 13 or above, Stand.
-If you have a splitable pair of 10s or Face Cards, do not Split them, Stand.

Blackjack Tips #3: When To Split

Use the following rules to determine when to Split your hand, according to value of your pair and the dealer's face up card.

-Only Split 2s and 3s if the dealer's card is 4-7
-Never Split 5s; either Double Down, or Hit if the dealer is showing a 10 or Ace.
-Split 6s and 7s if the dealers card is 6 or below.
-Always split 8s, no matter what.
-Always Split Aces if allowed.

When Do Dealers Have To Hit In Blackjack

Blackjack Tips #4: When To Double

Doubling is a strategy often used when the player's hand equal 9, 10 or 11, giving the player a good chance of hitting 19-20 with a 10 or Face card. Use the following rules to determine when to Double your hand, according to your total and the dealer's face up card.

-Always double a total of 10 unless the dealer has 10 or Ace.
-Always double an 11 unless the dealer has an Ace.
-9 should only be doubled when the dealer has 3, 4, 5 or 6 showing.

Blackjack Tips #5: When in Doubt, Use a Strategy Chart

Blackjack Strategy Charts are designed to tell a player exactly how to act in every possible situation. Some players do not like blackjack Strategy Charts because they remove the element of decision making, but consider this... Casinos get the upper hand because the dealer cannot make decisions. The dealer must follow strict rules based on probabilities when playing their hand. If the player uses the same strategy, he is effectively decreasing the house edge to a minimum.

Blackjack Tips #6: Game Selection, Know The Rules

There are many more variations of Blackjack than the classic version we all know and love. Each has a slight difference in the rules, and some even have optional side bets and progressive jackpots. When choosing to play a new variation of blackjack, such as Perfect Pairs, Super 21 or Progressive Blackjack, be sure to know all of the rules and payouts involved.

Blackjack Tips #7: Card Counting

Blackjack Card Counting is an age-old strategy used by many professional blackjack players. It is not that hard to learn, and can be very effective in minimizing losses and maximizing profits. It is recommended to get a good deal of practice in card counting before applying the strategy at a live casino so that the extensive security staff does not discover you are doing it. Card counting is not illegal by any means, but it may get you promptly, if not permanently, removed from the casino if caught. Note that card counting is not a viable online casino blackjack strategy. Online casino software re-shuffles the deck with each new hand.

Blackjack Dealer Rules

Hit

Blackjack Tips #8: Play Online, It's Cheaper

Aside from the omission of card counting, playing online blackjack has many benefits. For one, you can put all of the money you intended to spend towards your bankroll. You won't have to gas up the car, purchase airline tickets or book a hotel (if no local casino). When you win, you won't have the obligatory 'tipping the dealer' to reduce your profits. All in all, it just makes sense to stay home, eat your own food, drink your own drinks and spend a lot less money by playing blackjack online.

When Do Dealers Have To Hit In Blackjack

Blackjack Tips #9: Play Online for Bonuses

Playing online isn't just about convenience. You can actually double or triple your bankroll when you sign up at an online casino. They all offer welcome bonuses, most matching your first deposit 100% to 200% or more, up to a certain amount. Instead of starting with $100 bankroll, made up of your own hard earned cash, why not play online and claim a welcome bonus that could give you're a lot more bankroll for your buck by way of free casino chips?

Blackjack Tips #10: Bet Sizes That Match Your Bankroll

Lastly, we'll go ahead state the obvious. Don't play a blackjack table where the limits do not correspond with your bankroll. If you have $200, don't sit at a blackjack table with a minimum $100 bet. No matter how many blackjack tips and strategies you apply, you'll want to have plenty of opportunities to play hands, with splitting and doubling available, in order to make a sizeable profit. Make sure you will be able to place a minimum of 40 bets with your bankroll before choosing a table.

Best Online Casinos

By Henry Tamburin
No other hand makes blackjack players feel queasy than the dreaded 16. Players hate to hit the hand because they are afraid tobust. So many chicken out and stand no matter what the dealer shows. Others opt for the surrender option if it’s available figuring losing half a bet is better then losing it all. If your 16comes as a pair of 8’s most players are reluctant to split if the dealer shows a 9, 10, or ace because they are afraid of losing two bets instead of one. Then there is the 16 made up with anAce counted as 11 (i.e., soft 16). So what’s a player to do when he gets a 16?

First, let’s focus on a hard 16. That’s a hand that does not contain an Ace or if it does the Ace counts as one. Some examples of a hard 16 would be 10-6 or 5-7-4 or 7-8-Ace.

The correct basic playing strategy for hard 16 is to stand when the dealer shows a small card (2 through 6) and hit when the dealer shows a high card (7, 8, 9, 10, or Ace). Following thisplaying strategy will not guarantee that you will win every time but that you are more likely to lose less in the long run.. Let me explain.

When Do Dealers Have To Hit In Blackjack For Real

Suppose you are dealt a 10-6 and the dealer shows a 7 upcard.

If you hit you win on average 30% of the time and lose 70%.

If you stand you will on average win 26% and lose 74%.

Note that you improve your chances of winning the hand by 4% if you hit rather than stand. But the dealer is still an overwhelming favorite to beat you because he will win 70% of the hands toyour 30%. But is it better to win 26% of the time by standing or 30% of the time by hitting? You should hit because it will increase your chance of winning by 4%, not much, but every percentagewill help you in the long run when you play blackjack.

So the bottom line with a hard 16 is this. Even by following the basic strategy, you will lose more hands than you win but in the long run, you will lose less than following a seat-of-the-pantsstrategy. Losing less on hands where you are the underdog is just as important as winning more when you are the favorite.

What if your 16 consists of three or more cards like 5-7-4? Normally the basic strategy ignores the composition of the hand. However, if you have a hard 16 hand consisting of three or morecards, then you should stand when the dealer has a 10 showing. The reason is that you have consumed a few of the small cards that you need if you were to draw. This tips the odds in favor ofstanding.

Some casinos allow players to surrender. This means you give up the opportunity to play out your hand and automatically lose half your bet. Even when surrender is offered, most players don’tlike “giving up” without a fight. So they rarely surrender. That’s unfortunate because surrendering a hard 16 when the dealer shows a 9, 10, or Ace will save you more money in the long run thanhitting. In fact, surrender is always the best option when your chance of winning a hand is less than 25%. Take the hand of hard 16 against a 10. If we hit our chance of winning is 23.4%. Thismeans the dealer’s chance of beating us is 76.6%. If we played a hundred hard 16’s against the dealer 10 with those probabilities, we would end up winning about $23 and losing $77 for a netloss of $54 on average. By surrendering on every hand our net loss would be $50. Get the point? You are better off losing $50 then $54 which is why surrendering a hard 16 against a 10 is thebetter play because you will save $4.

When Do Dealers Have To Hit In Blackjack Terms

If you happen to be dealt a soft 16 (like Ace-5), you should never surrender and you should never stand. Your first option is to double but only if the dealer shows a weak 4, 5, or 6 upcard. Ifnot, then hit.

Finally, we have a pair of 8’s. The correct basic strategy play is to always split the 8’s no matter what the dealer shows. Even though you will lose money on both 8’s when you split, thecombined loss, in the long run, will be less than the amount you will lose by playing the one hand as a 16. Splitting 8’s against a dealer 10, by the way, is also a slightly better play thensurrendering.

No question that 16 is a lousy blackjack hand. Unfortunately, it’s one of the most frequent hands you are going to be dealt in blackjack. But, by following the above playing strategy you willbe optimizing your chances of winning more, and losing less, in the long run. It’s the smart way to play blackjack.

Henry Tamburin has been a respected casino gambling writer for the past 50 years. He is the author of the Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide and was editor of the BlackjackInsider newsletter. You can read his latest articles on blackjack, video poker, and his personal playing experiences at https://www.888casino.com/blog/writers/henry-tamburin