Blackjack - Part Five - Splitting Pairs

If your first two cards are a pair, you have the option to split them, forming two hands. The dealer will deal a second card to each hand, which is then played out separately. Should the second card dealt to either hand also be of the same rank, you can split again. The maximum number of hands that can be formed by splitting is four.

When splitting, you are required to bet the same amount on each hand as you did on your original hand. When playing online, click the SPLIT button. In a casino, indicate to the dealer you wish to split by placing the additional bet on the table near the original bet and announcing "Split".

It's not always good sense to split a pair. Once again, the decision you should make depends on your cards, and possibly the dealer's upcard.

Never split a pair of ten-valued cards. 20 is a strong starting hand. If you split tens, you risk getting dealt, for example, a six on each of them, leaving you with two weak hands of 16 each.

Likewise, never split a pair of 5s. Treat them as 10 and play the hand accordingly.

A pair of 8s should always be split; 16 is the worst starting hand, so you should try to improve it. Always split aces, too. There are more 10-valued cards in the deck than any other rank, so you have a good chance of making 21 on each hand. If you do get dealt a 10 on any split ace, it counts as an ordinary 21, however, not blackjack.

Otherwise, split pairs of:

• 2s or 3s, if the dealer's upcard is 7 or less.
• 4s, if the dealer's upcard is 5 or 6.
• 6s, if the dealer's upcard is 6 or less.
• 7s, if the dealer's upcard is 7 or less.
• 9s, if the dealer's upcard is anything except a 7, 10 or ace.

That concludes our overview of basic blackjack strategy. It may seem quite a bit to digest at first, but as you get used to the game, you'll find the decision-making process becomes second nature.

The next few posts will present some ways of making it easier to memorise basic strategy, and also cover some common rule variations that you might encounter online or offline and how to handle them.

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Blackjack - Part One - Introduction

If, like me a few years back, you have never played a table game in a casino, you may find the idea of doing so a bit intimidating. What is the best game to start with? What are the rules? And, most embarrassingly, will I look stupid if I make a mistake as a new player? Today, we'll start setting your fears to rest.

In terms of the odds, the best table game bet in any casino is usually blackjack (with a few exceptions that I'll talk about in a future post.) An average game of blackjack favours the house by just one half of one percent on each hand, and a really good game has an even smaller house edge than that.

Playing online is a great way to familiarise yourself with the game before you head off on that big Vegas adventure, so by the time you arrive you'll be a seasoned pro.

As to the rules, well, that's what I'm here for! After we've covered game play, we'll look at what is called basic strategy - a way to play each hand that ensures the best chance of winning for the player. Basic strategy has been developed using mathematics and simulating millions of hands by computer. The good news for the average player is that all the hard work in developing basic strategy for blackjack has been done; if math isn't your thing, no problem.

So, let's begin.

The object of the game is simple: to beat the dealer's total without busting (scoring a total over 21 when adding up the value of all the cards in your hand.) A picture (face) card always has a value of 10, and an ace can be valued at 1 or 11, whichever makes the best hand.

At the start of a new hand, the dealer will give each player at the table one card in turn, starting from his left, then one card to himself, then another card to each player, and finally another to himself. The dealer's second card will be dealt face down.

The best starting hand a player can have is a blackjack, or natural 21, as it can never lose. A blackjack consists of any 10-valued card and any ace. Blackjack pays 3-to-2, so if you bet $10, you will receive $15 plus your original bet returned to you. Nice!

A blackjack is paid immediately, unless the dealer also has a blackjack, which he will check for before he continues with the hand. If this does happen, your blackjack is a push, or standoff, and your original bet is returned to you.

If you don't receive a blackjack, your first two cards will give you a total somewhere between 2 (a pair of aces) and 20 (a pair of 10-valued cards). At this point, the new player will be wondering what options they have, so let's look at them. You can:

• Hit, which means you ask the dealer for another card.
• Stand, which means you think your hand is as strong as it's likely to get.
• Split. If you have a pair of cards of the same rank, you can split them to make 2 hands.
• Double down. If you think your hand is particularly strong (we'll discuss later how to decide this) you can double your original bet. You will then receive one (and only one) more card on this hand.

I'll leave it there for today; as I continue with this series I'll be posting every day, so please do come again soon. The next posts will cover when to make one of the above 4 decisions.

If you want to ask any questions about anything on this blog, please contact me at anothergambler@gmail.com - I don't bite and always enjoy hearing from readers.

Luck to all!

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