New Blackjack Players

I was recently playing at a Southern California casino and – as usual – there was someone at the table moaning and groaning about how everyone else played their hand.

Seriously, she almost screamed (and not in delight) when another player contemplated splitting his pair of 9s against the dealer’s 3. He wavered and decided to stand on the hand.

It might have made the woman happy, but it was the wrong move.

If you’re a new blackjack player – and you haven’t studied Basic Strategy – you might be thinking to yourself: “Huh? Wha…? Split a pair of 9s against a dealer 3? But a pair of 9s is a winning hand against a dealer 3!”

That’s probably what most new blackjack players think – and apparently, a lot of “experienced” blackjack players, as well.

Ask yourself something – how do you advance your chip count in blackjack?

1. You raise your bets.
2. You split whenever possible.
3. You double down whenever possible.
4. All of the above

Basic Strategy says you’re going to split that pair of 9s against a dealer up card of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9.

Huh? Wha…??

Yes, that’s what it says. And here’s why…

It should be obvious why you’re going to split them against a dealer’s 2-6. Any time you can, you’re going to try and increase your chip count by splitting. What’s the worst that can happen? If the deck is rich in 10s, instead of having one hand of 18, you’re going to have two hands of 19 or possibly 20 (if you get an Ace). If the deck is depleted of 10s, you may catch a 2, which will give you a double down against a dealer bust card and another opportunity to increase your chip count. In any case, you’re going to have 2 hands to play against a dealer bust card.

But why, you may ask, am I splitting them against an 8 or a 9?

If the dealer is showing an 8 and you expect the down card is a 10, all you have is a push – and you may be okay with that. The Wizard of Odds says to stay on this hand, but it appears to me the cost of splitting versus standing is minimal and I can’t find any other statistics on split v. stand on this play. All things being equal, I’ll go with the Basic Strategy engine, which says split it. If the shoe is heavy with 10s, you’ve got a good chance of improving your 18 to two better hands of 19 or 20. If it’s light with 10s, then you have a good chance of a getting a 3 or 4 and a double down on one or both of your hands.

I always split against a dealer 9. An 18 is not a winning hand if the dealer has a 10 or an Ace under the 9 they’re showing. If you stand on this hand, you’ll beat the dealer’s hand (on average) 8 hands out of 20. If you split this hand, your chances of beating the dealer’s hand improves to about even.

Now, I could understand if the woman mentioned at the beginning of this story was upset about a player contemplating splitting 9s against a dealer 7, 8 or 9. A lot of players don’t know those are splits; or, even if they know it, they may choose not to split. But to have a fit about splitting 9s against a dealer 3? Another bonehead move and another reason why you should learn Basic Strategy for yourself and not let the other players at the table influence how you play.

Blackjack Player Personalities