When we think of classic casino games, the most popular casino games that spring to mind are games like baccarat, roulette, blackjack, poker and craps, which do sit neatly together at most casinos. However, it would be incorrect to assume these all function in the same way. Unlike roulette and craps, where the player leaves much of their turn up to fate, blackjack incorporates strategic gameplay, and players need to focus their efforts if they want a good shot at winning!
One important aspect to building a good blackjack strategy is your blackjack hands! A hand is the state of one or more cards during a game, and knowing how to use certain hands is an essential tool if you want to have more playing options and be in a better position when playing blackjack. Stick with this guide to know what to do the next time you’re looking to score blackjack!
BEST HANDS IN BLACKJACK
To start, let’s look at the value of every card in the game. Every card in blackjack corresponds to its numeric value. When it comes to special cards like queens, kings, and jacks, these cards (known as face cards) are all counted as 10. Aces are the most powerful card, counted as either one or 11. So how does all that impact your hand? Here’s a breakdown of your best and worst blackjack hands in a standard game of blackjack.
BLACKJACK
This hand is the best hand you can get, which is not surprising at all, considering the hand is literally named after the card game itself!
There’s not much to it with this one, although it is far from an average winning hand. It consists of an ace card as well as a 10-value card, which could be either a 10, a jack, queen or king. The value of this hand is 150% of your stake. So for a stake of €100 for example, a blackjack hand will earn you €150. Keep in mind, though, that if the bet is pushed (both you and the dealer have a hand with the same value) you don’t win anything at all, rather you’ll earn the original wager amount back.Typically, though, this hand offers an instant win.
HARD 20 VS EIGHT
A hard 20 simply means a hand that consists of two cards with a value of 10. As you might be able to tell, this is a pretty mighty hand to draw from, and it can be at its most valuable against an upcard of eight for the dealer. Taking €100 as an example, the player can stand to win €79.18 in the game, as this hand will win the player 79.18% of their original bet.
It’s quite difficult for a dealer to beat your hard 20, but don’t count your chickens before they hatch because it’s still a possibility! The only hand that can beat it is a blackjack hand of 21, and there are a number of card combinations that the dealer can draw to reach it. If the dealer card is eight, followed by a six (totalling to 14) and a seven (totalling to 21), then the dealer will win.
HARD 20 VS SEVEN
Similarly, a hard 20 comes in handy against a dealer’s seven. At a percentage value of 77.32%, winning with this hand against an upcard of seven wins you €77.32. The seven is of particular importance as an upcard, as the rules of blackjack state that the dealer must always stand on a total of 17. Because there are more 10-value cards in a given deck than cards of other values, the likelihood of a dealer’s hole card being a 10-value card is high. If the dealer were to draw a second card totalling to 20 or 21, then the bet will be pushed or beaten, depending on the player’s hand.
What you need to keep in mind with a hard 20 is that, while you stand at 20, the dealer still has a chance at pushing the bet or beating you. The lower the value the dealer’s card is, the more chances they have at drawing a combination that forms blackjack. So, a hard 20 gives a particular advantage, but it’s not necessarily in the bag.
WORST HANDS IN BLACKJACK
Now you’re familiar with the best blackjack hands, what they are and how to use them, let’s get familiar with which possible combinations of blackjack hands will work against you.
THE 16 VS 10
When it comes to your starting hand, the worst hand of all is a 16 against an upcard of 10. If the dealer’s upcard is a jack, valued at 10, it will be quite likely that the dealer will finish with a 20 or slightly lower. With the chances of winning at 0.5398%, a player betting €100 on their first two cards, results in a money loss of €53.98 over the course of the game. This hand is not a death knell for the player. Drawing a third card of five or lower value is still possible. The dealer’s face-down card might also be weak, which would lead to a theoretical win. But the likelihood of that is 0.5398%, so don’t count on those possibilities too much.
THE 16 VS ACE
After 16 versus 10, the next worst hand to be dealt would be a 16 versus an ace card. The negative odds with this hand are placed at 0.5171%. So, if you were to wager that €100 and get this hand, you stand to lose €51.71. Two cards totalling 16 give the player the least amount of chances at drawing a winning hand, while the ace upcard gives the dealer an impeccable chance of winning.
THE 16 VS 19
Another terrible hand to be dealt is a 16 against a dealer’s 19. At a negative expectation of 0.5093%, a player in this scenario stands to lose €50.93 for every €100 wagered. Conversely, a nine is a strong card for a dealer to earn, and since there is a large possibility of drawing a 10-value card (since there are more 10-value cards in a deck), it increases the chances of a dealer having a standing total of 19.
It might seem like such hands gives no hope for a win, but it doesn’t have to. If you’re dealt a 13 or 14, you might be on the fence about standing, but if you choose to hit that means you risk going bust.That said, if the dealer card is weak, there is a chance that, should you stand, the dealer will have a higher second card. If they do, they would need to draw a third card, which leaves them at risk of busting. The key is to consider all your possibilities when choosing whether or not to stand, because the most unlikely outcome still has a shot at being the result in a game of chance!
WHAT ARE SOFT HANDS IN BLACKJACK?
Of course, there’s a bit more to your hand in a blackjack game than that. When you are dealt a hand with an ace, this is called a soft hand. The term ‘soft’ can be taken to mean flexible or malleable — this is because an ace is a card with an adjustable value, which is extremely beneficial. There is never a risk of going bust when you choose to hit and request an additional card, because the ace’s value can vary between one and 11 at any point!
Suppose you have a hand featuring an ace and a six — this is what is known as a soft 17. But, if you draw a third card with a value of five or above, that ace would switch its value from 11 to one, bringing your total down to as low as 12.
Naturally, soft totals are what most players hope for during a game of blackjack, because the player’s bet is in a much better position to win.
WHEN TO PLAY SOFT HANDS
Bear in mind, no wins are ever guaranteed, but soft hands are likely to appear which means they are often mapped out on basic strategy charts. Let’s look at different soft hands in action with a basic strategy chart.
Split aces automatically form two soft hands. If dealt an ace and a two, in other words a soft 13, it’s safe to hit if the dealer’s upcard is not a five or six, in which case you should double down. For a soft 14, 15, 16 and soft 17, you should always hit unless the dealer has an upcard of four, five or six. If the dealer’s upcard is between three and six, to your soft 17, doubling down is the safest course of action. Barring these circumstances, the best thing to do is hit.
In the case of a soft 18, your next move depends on the dealer and their upcard. If the upcard is between three and six, to your soft 18, then you should double down. That said, were their card a two, a seven or an eight, your best choice is to stand. If your case is neither, choosing to hit would be the smartest choice. When dealt a soft 19 or 20, then you should always stand no matter what upcard the dealer has, because a soft 19 or soft 20 shift your chances of winning significantly and it’s not recommended to mess with these odds.
| YOUR HAND | DEALER’S UPCARD 2-6 | DEALER’S UPCARD 7-A |
| 13-14 | HIT BUT DOUBLE DOWN VS 5,6 | HIT BUT DOUBLE DOWN VS 5,6 |
| 15-17 | HIT BUT DOUBLE DOWN VS 4,5,6 | HIT BUT DOUBLE DOWN VS 4,5,6 |
| 18 | STAND VS 2,7,8 & DOUBLE VS 3-6 | HIT VS 9-A |
| 19 | STAND | STAND |
WHAT ARE HARD HANDS IN BLACKJACK?
Soft hands are some of the best blackjack hands, but what happens if you get a hard hand instead? Well, a hard hand is a hand that either doesn’t contain an ace or contains an ace that is counted as one in the event that your hand total would exceed 21. It’s no surprise, then, that such cases are quite risky for the player — basically the opposite of what a soft hand would be. All that said, low-value hands totalling four through eight can be improved easily, and as such, the risk is lower with these hands. In these cases, hitting is always the recommended choice, irrespective of the upcard the dealer has.
WHEN TO PLAY HARD HANDS
As previously stated, hard hands put you at a disadvantage in blackjack games, and basic strategy dictates that you should always try to improve your hand to lower the house edge. The recommended course of action to do this depends on the total of your hand.
If your hand totals to nine while the dealer has an upcard of between three and six, then double down. Otherwise, taking a chance and hitting is the smartest move to try and improve your hand. On that note, doubling down with a total of 10 or 11 is advised unless the upcard is a 10 or ace for the dealer.
In a scenario where you have two cards which total to 12, you should hit but not unless the dealer shows a four, five or six, in which case it’s best to stand.
When it comes to a hard 17, the basic strategy recommends standing. When it comes to the rest of the potential hard hands (a hard 13, 14, 15 and 16), the best thing to do is to stand were the dealer to show any card between two and six. If the card they show is different, your best option is to hit and seek to improve your total to bridge the gap between the dealer’s advantageous position and your own as much as possible.
| YOUR HAND | DEALER’S UPCARD 2-6 | DEALER’S UPCARD 7-A |
| 4-8 | HIT | HIT |
| 9 | DOUBLE EXCEPT AGAINST 2 | HIT |
| 10-11 | DOUBLE IF MORE POINTS THAN DEALER | DOUBLE IF MORE POINTS THAN DEALER |
| 12-16 | STAND | HIT |
| 17+ | STAND | STAND |
WHICH HANDS TO SURRENDER?
There’s still one more option, which is to surrender!
Before delving into the definition of surrendering, it should be noted that this move may not necessarily be available in all games. Therefore, it’s best to always check the rules of your chosen blackjack game.
Surrendering is an option where you keep half of your initial bet and give the other half to the house without playing your hand. Essentially you “surrender” and withdraw from the game with half your stake, often in a situation where you’re stuck between two evils. Let’s look at an example.
In the event that you have a hard 15 or 16, and the dealer shows either a nine, a 10 or an ace, then the surrender option would be the best choice in such cases. If you’re dealt a pair of eights, though, the better approach would be to split the pair so that you have two hands, both with a good chance of making a strong total.
That may sound like a silver lining for the player in the middle of an uncomfortable losing streak, but this move can either be a life-saver or a nail in the coffin in a game, and it all depends on knowing how and when to use it (in addition to whether it’s available in the game).
SUMMARY
Ultimately, the best blackjack hands are the ones used with strategy in mind! The game gives different variations of hands that distinguish between reduced chances (hard hands) and increased chances (soft hands). If all else fails (and house rules allow it), half of the player’s bet can be returned, and half of the money will go to the house. This is known as a surrender and is chosen if the player is likely to lose money.
That being said, these options mean nothing without a strategy, and many players compete without this in mind. What could be an advantageous move in one round could be the move that will make you lose everything in the next, especially when playing a game with multiple decks.
In the past, a card counting system was used by many players on blackjack tables in brick-and-mortar casinos. However, the player edge over the casino was too high, so over time, casinos prohibited card counting. Nevertheless, as long as you trust basic strategy charts, get familiar with the table rules and set betting limits on your real-money wagers, you can stay insulated from serious financial problems that form with the financial risk in online gambling.
Be sure to play at reputable online casino sites as they often award incentives that will boost their experience as they play games and potentially increase their amount of available funds. While many online casinos offer great rewards, at EnergyCasino, we have some healthy promotions and money offers that help tailor the Energy experience to your personal preferences, so head on over to our online casino to make the most of your blackjack casino experience!