Do You Always Split 8's In Blackjack

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  1. Do You Always Split 8's In Blackjack Game
  2. Do You Always Split 8's In Blackjackin Blackjack
  3. Do You Always Split 8's In Blackjack Card Game
  • Always split eights. Besides aces, the other pair that almost every Blackjack expert will tell you to split on is eights. It's difficult to get a good hand when you play your eights as one hand. Your chances aren't fantastic when you play them separately, but you do stand a better chance mathematically.
  • One of the golden rules of basic strategists is to always split paired 8s in all blackjack variations where the dealer is bound to draw to 16 and stand on all 17s. This applies no matter whether the respective S17 game plays with one, two, four, six, or eight decks.
  • In that case, you always split. (Just remember—always split aces and 8s.) There’s no other way to get a soft total of 12, so you’re left with the possibility of a hard 12. If that’s what you have, you stand against a dealer 4, 5, or 6.
Two aces and two eights in a standard deck of playing cards.
Do you always split 8

Meanwhile, if you split the 5s, you will be left with two hands that can easily become stiff (all 10s, all 9s, all 8s and all 7s will make a stiff hand). Also, the opportunity for those two hands to be doubled down will require another 5 or a 6 (for a total value of 10-11), and two 5s have already been drawn out of the deck. Sometimes in blackjack, the best offense is a good defense. And splitting pairs is often a form of defense. Take a pair of 8s, especially when the dealer has a 10 face up. If we play it as a 16, we bust too often if we hit, and if we stand, the dealer beats us all 79 percent of the time he makes 17 or better.

Splittingaces and eights is part of blackjackbasic strategy. Rules vary across gambling establishments regarding resplitting, doubling, multiple card draws, and the payout for blackjack, and there are conditional strategic responses that depend upon the number of decks used, the frequency of shuffling and dealer's cards. However, regardless of the various situations, the common strategic wisdom in the blackjack community is to 'Always split aces and eights' when dealt either pair as initial cards.[1] This is generally the first rule of any splitting strategy.[2]

Splitting[edit]

The object of blackjack is for a player to defeat the dealer by obtaining a total as close to 21 as possible without accumulating a total that exceeds this number.[3] In blackjack, the standard rule is that if the player is dealt a pair of identically ranked initial cards, known as a pair, the player is allowed to split them into separate hands and ask for a new second card for each while placing a full initial bet identical to the original wager with each. After placing the wager for the split hands the dealer gives the player an additional card for each split card. The two hands created by splitting are considered independently in competition against the dealer.[4][5] Splitting allows the gambler to turn a bad hand into one or two hands with a good possibility of winning. It also allows the player to double the bet when the dealer busts.[2] Some rules even allow for resplitting until the player has as many as four hands[4] or allow doubling the bet after a split so that each hand has a bet double the original.[6][7] The standard rules are that when a bet is doubled on a hand, the player is only allowed to draw one more card for that hand.[8][9]

Aces[edit]

A pair of aces gives the blackjack player a starting hand value of either a 2 or a soft 12 which is a problematic starting hand in either case.[2][10] Splitting aces gives a player two chances to hit 21.[11] Splitting aces is so favorable to the player that most gambling establishments have rules limiting the player's rights to do so.[2][10] In most casinos the player is only allowed to draw one card on each split ace.[8][10] As a general rule, a ten on a split ace (or vice versa) is not considered a natural blackjack and does not get any bonus.[6] Prohibiting resplitting and redoubling is also common.[2] Regardless of the payout for blackjack, the rules for resplitting, the rules for doubling, the rules for multiple card draws and the dealer's cards, one should always split aces.[10][12][13]

Eights[edit]

If a player is dealt a pair of eights, the total of 16 is considered a troublesome hand. In fact, the value 16 is said to be the worst hand one can have in blackjack.[10] Since sixteen of the other fifty cards have a value of 10 and four have a value of 11, there is a strong chance of getting at least an 18 with either or both split cards. A hand totaling 18 or 19 is much stronger than having a 16.[6] Splitting eights limits one's losses and improves one's hand.[10][11][12] Probabilistic research of expected value scenarios shows that by splitting eights one can convert a hand that presents an expected loss to two hands that may present an expected profit or a reduced loss, depending on what the dealer is showing.[14] A split pair of eights is expected to win against dealer upcards of 2 through 7 and to lose less against dealer upcards of 8 through ace.[15] If a player hits on a pair of eights, he is expected to lose $52 for a $100 bet. If the player splits the eights, he is expected to lose only $43 for a $100 bet.[16]

History[edit]

Blackjack's 'Four Horsemen' (Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James McDermott), using adding machines, determined that splitting eights was less costly than playing the pair of eights as a 16.[17] They were part of a 1950s group that discovered that strategy could reduce the house edge to almost zero in blackjack.[18] Now a typical strategy involves the following sequence of playing decisions: one decides whether to surrender, whether to split, whether to double down, and whether to hit or stand.[19]

One of the earliest proponents of the strategy of splitting eights is Ed Thorp, who developed the strategy on an IBM 704 as part of an overall blackjack strategic theory published in Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One in 1962.[18][20][21] Thorp was the originator of the card counting system for blackjack.[18]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Gros, p. 60
  2. ^ abcdeOrtiz, p. 56
  3. ^Gros, p. 48
  4. ^ abGros, p. 51
  5. ^Jensen, pp. 22–23
  6. ^ abcSchneider, p. 47
  7. ^Gros, p. 52
  8. ^ abSchneider, p. 49
  9. ^Gros, p. 50
  10. ^ abcdefJensen, p. 53
  11. ^ abJensen, p. 56
  12. ^ abHagen and Wiess, pp. 68
  13. ^Schneider, p. 48
  14. ^Hagen and Wiess, pp. 66–67
  15. ^Scoblete, Frank. 'Why Splitting Eights At Blackjack Is An Iron Clad Rule'. Golden Touch Craps. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  16. ^Tamburin, Henry (25 October 1999). 'Splitting Aces and Eights'. Casino city Times. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  17. ^Snyder, Arnold (2005). 'Blackjack Basic Strategy: Aces and Eights'. Player Magazine (republished).
  18. ^ abcGros, p. 44
  19. ^Jensen, p. 51
  20. ^Thorpe, Beat the Dealer as cited in Snyder, Arnold citation below
  21. ^Levinger, Jeff (10 February 1961). 'Thorpe, 704 Beat Blackjack'(PDF). The Tech. Retrieved 30 May 2009.

Do You Always Split 8's In Blackjack Game

References[edit]

  • Dunki-Jacobs, Frits. Betting on Blackjack: A non-counter’s Breakthrough Guide to Making Profits at the Tables. Adams Media. pp. 28–34. ISBN1-58062-951-2.
  • Gros, Roger. The Winner's Guide To Casino Gambling. Carlton Books Limited. pp. 44–69. ISBN1-85868-899-X.
  • Hagen, Tom & Sonia Weiss (2005). The Everything Blackjack Strategy Book: Surefire ways to beat the house every time. Adams Media. pp. 66–68. ISBN1-59337-306-6.
  • Jensen, Marten (2003). Beat Multiple Deck Blackjack. Cardoza Publishing. pp. 22–23, 51–56. ISBN1-58042-069-9.
  • Ortiz, Darwin. Casino Gambling For The Clueless. Carol Publishing Group. pp. 55–59. ISBN0-8184-0609-7.
  • Schneider, Meg Elaine. The Everything Casino Gambling Book (2nd ed.). Adams Media. pp. 47–49. ISBN1-59337-125-X.
  • Thorp, Ed (1966). Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One. Vintage. ISBN0-394-70310-3.

Do You Always Split 8's In Blackjackin Blackjack

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aces_and_eights_(blackjack)&oldid=943811612'
On Dec 16, 8:16 pm, 'SteveT' <Ste...@nospam.org> wrote:
> At the Palms once I saw a guy slide chips next to his original bet while
> showing a pair of fives. The dealer was showing a 7. The dealer asked are
> doubling on the10? The guy said no he wanted to split his fives. The dealer
> and everyone at the table tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted he
> wanted to split the fives. He lost both hands.
>
> SteveT
>
> 'Patrick' <dickens12...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

>
> news:87b104a6-3bcd-4246-aa00-d9de872d8409@e4g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > Yes, I know I know...'serious' blackjack players always split 8s,
> > including against a dealer 10.
>
> > At first blush the Wizard of Odds seems to agree, since the projected
> > loss on a $100 bet by standing is $53.69, and the projected loss by
> > splitting is $47.55. No brainer, right?
>
> > But...since you're splitting, aren't you creating TWO $100 bets. So
> > wouldn't the projected loss be greater?
>
> > Or does the $47.55 projected loss covers the wager in its entirety,
> > including redoubles, splits, et al? In other words, if I were to split
> > 8s, resplit, and double, would the projected loss be the net of all of
> > those decisions?
>
> > Perhaps it's just too early in the morning and my brain is too
> > fuzzy. :)

Do You Always Split 8's In Blackjack Card Game

My favorite player was the guy betting several grand a hand and
DOUBLING on 12 against dealer's bust cards. His rationale was that he
stood only a 1/3 chance of busting himself. He actually made about
$50k in 20 minutes, then lost twice then in the next 30. Talking about
your high variance plays...