Do You Split 8s In Blackjack 4,4/5 7916 votes
If you’ve been playing blackjack for a while, you know when to hit and when to stand. But do you know when to split? Anytime you get dealt a pair, you have the option of splitting that pair into two separate hands. Many casinos also allow you to split mixed pairs, meaning any two cards with a value of 10. You’ll find many veteran blackjack players who won’t hesitate to split all these pairs, and they’ll tell you to do the same.
Don’t do it. There is a time to split your pair, and a time to keep your cards together. In addition to the dealer’s upcard, your decision to split or not depends on five factors:
Sometimes blackjack strategy decisions are a matter of playing defense, trying to lose less. That’s what you’re doing when you split 8s against a dealer’s 10. It’s a lousy hand no matter what you do, but playing it as 16 against a 10 gives the house a bigger edge than when you split the 8s. In blackjack basic strategy, the rules for playing a pair of aces or eights is simple and straightforward. Basic blackjack strategy states that you should always split these pairs. There is a prevailing reason for splitting each of them. Eights should be split so you don’t have 16 in your hand – you’ve got a good shot at getting at least one 18 out of the bargain instead. Never Split Fives and Tens Pairs of Tens and mixed pairs should never be split, because you’ve already got 20.
Why You Should Always Split Your Eights. Having two 8’s in your hand leaves you with the worst position you could be in blackjack: 16, it never has much of a chance to win. But if you do split, you increase your chances of getting two hands of 18. Many experienced blackjack players are hesitant to split 8s when dealer is showing an 8 or higher. 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.
1. How many decks of cards are in the shoe?
2. Does the dealer hit or stand on soft 17?
3. Are surrenders allowed?
4. Can you double down after splitting?
5. Does the dealer “peek” to see if he has blackjack?
Each variable requires you to tweak your splitting strategy if you want to play optimally. But if you already take blackjack seriously, you won’t find it too difficult to figure out. Start with these general rules that apply to every situation:
Always Split Aces and Eights
If you get dealt two shiny Aces, you simply have to split those and go for two blackjacks. Then you should double down if your casino allows it. Many locations (including Ignition Casino) allow you to receive only one more card after you split your Aces; in this case, doubling the bet makes even more sense, and there are a lot of Tens through Kings to help you get there. Eights should be split so you don’t have 16 in your hand – you’ve got a good shot at getting at least one 18 out of the bargain instead.
Never Split Fives and Tens
Pairs of Tens and mixed pairs should never be split, because you’ve already got 20. And if you’ve got a pair of Fives, you’re holding 10, which is a solid starting point; again, you should double down with this hand, provided the dealer’s upcard isn’t also worth 10 or more. Just don’t split them first.
There’s one more hand that you can treat the same in virtually all forms of blackjack: a pair of Fours. Even some of the top players will recommend you never split Fours; if the dealer’s upcard is a Five or a Six, they’ll tell you to double down instead. But there are a few rare occasions where it makes sense to split those Fours. The game has to allow for doubling after splitting, and again, the dealer’s upcard has to be a Five or Six – or even another Four, if it’s Single Deck Blackjack. The more of these subtleties you can pick up, the more money you’ll make, so take the time to learn if you want to make the move from blackjack enthusiast to blackjack expert.
The aces are easy—you will have two chances to get 21!
With 8s, mathematical analysis shows that splitting them loses less often over the long run than any other move you could make. Still a tough hand though.
In most versions of Blackjack, when you are dealt a pair (two of the same card), you have the option to split them into two new hands. When you split, you must match your bet on the new hand, effectively doubling the amount wagered.
You now have two chances to beat the dealer—or two chances to lose.
After the split, you are dealt two more cards, one for each hand. Play then proceeds, with you playing both hands.
Why split two Aces?
Should you receive two aces, the split is an easy move because an Ace is the most powerful card in Blackjack. Any card drawn next that is valued at 10 gives you 21.
The deck has more 10-value cards than any other single value—10s, Jacks, Queens, and Kings all count as 10. So, you combine an Ace with the higher probability of drawing a 10-value card, thus increasing your chances of beating the dealer and winning.
What are your other options?
An ace can count as either a 1 or an 11, so you could play either of those values. Or, you could add the 1 and the 11 to total twelve. If you draw a ten-value card against that 12, you will bust immediately at twenty-two!
Splitting Aces offers two chances for the strongest hand in the game. Draw a 10 after splitting, and you’ve got 21. Draw a 10 on the other Ace, and you’ve got two 21s.
Note: After splitting those Aces, any draw of a 10-card isn’t considered a Blackjack hand, so you’ll be paid at even money.
But splitting Aces every time is mathematically the best move possible, against any possible dealer up-card.
Why split two 8s?
The hard fact is that the dealer is favored to win when you hold a pair of 8s.
Together, your cards total 16–the weakest, most dangerous hand in Blackjack. The most likely single card to draw in any situation is a 10 card, as mentioned, because each deck has more 10-cards than any other value.
Draw a 10 against your two 8s, combining for 16, and you bust. As a matter of fact, any card over 5 will bust you.
What are the possibilities? If the dealer shows 6, 5, 4 or another ‘bust’ card, you are playing against the weakest ‘up’ cards possible. Splitting 8s makes sense here, because you have increased your odds of drawing a better hand.
If the dealer shows a 7 or an 8—your spilt 8 could easily draw a pair of 10s and beat a potential dealer 17 with both hands, or tie a dealer 18.
But what if the dealer is showing a 10 card? Why would you want to split two 8s against a dealer’s 10 and possibly create two losing hands instead of one?
In this situation, the dealer may already have 19 or 20.
Simply put, the math says that over the long-term, you have the best chance of minimizing your losing hands by splitting the 8s.
The dealer has the upper hand when you combine your pair of 8s against her 9 or 10. With a dealer presenting 10, computer analysis shows her hand will hit a total of 17-21 about 77% of the time, busting only about 23% of the time.
Let’s quantify the benefit of splitting 8s. If you bet $1.00 each time you combined two 8s against a dealer 10, you’d win 23 times, or $23.00, and lose 77 times, or $77.00, for a net loss of $54.00 after 100 hands.
But split those 8s, and you change the math.
Should You Split 8's In Blackjack
Computer analysis* shows that each time you play an 8 against a dealer 10, you will win the hand about 38 times out of 100 –better than the 23% you would win by combining the 8s. You will still lose more than you will win, but your expected loss will be lower by splitting, even though you are playing two hands with twice the bet as before.
Money you don’t lose is money saved. Put another way, you’re better off to play an 8 against a 10 two times, with twice the bet, than to play a 16 against a 10 once with one bet.
Should I Split 8s In Blackjack
*Analysis assumes the following game rules: 6-deck game, dealer stands on 17, double after splitting is allowed, and resplitting is allowed up to four hands.