In most varieties of blackjack dealer must take another card if he has sixteen or less points, and stop on seventeen or more. This is a traditional rule, usually specified directly on the markup table. However, in some versions of the game the croupier stops only at "hard" seventeen, and at "soft" (with an ace, regarded as eleven) he continues to draw cards.
Many inexperienced blackjack fans don't use this rule, considering it not so significant. Some do not even realize that it is in favor of the casino. But we do not recommend you to be careless.
On the one hand, if the dealer draws a card on the "soft" seventeen, he will bust more often. On the other, it will be increase more powerful hands to his win. As a result, this "insignificant" deviation from the classical mathematical provisions increases the house advantage over a player by 0.2%.
What advice can we give to those who are going to play blackjack with a side panel on the card "soft" seventeen? Top tip is give it up and find a game with generally accepted rules. But we understand that this option is not always available. Besides, there are versions of blackjack, balanced by a similar lack of some beneficial aspects for the player.
So, if you play blackjack with six decks (we'll talk about one deck below when the dealer draws a card to "soft" seventeen, you need to make the following changes in the basic strategy:
- Double ace with a seven ("soft" eighteen) at two of a dealer.
- Double ace with eight ("soft" nineteen) at six of a dealer.
- Double eleven when a dealer has ace.
In all these situations, the basic strategy recommends to stop.
Many casinos in Reno and Las Vegas, as well as some online casinos use a single deck in blackjack, which is much more profitable for the customer than the game with several decks. In such games, the casino restores its advantage by the fact that the dealer will hit on "soft" seventeen. But even in this case, this blackjack better than the one with several decks.
The following table will help you understand the casino mathematical advantage in changing various rules, if you play strictly by the optimal strategy.
- Six decks, dealer hits on "soft" 17, a double after split - 0.63%
- Six decks, dealer stands on all 17, a double after split - 0.41%
- One deck, the dealer takes the "soft" 17, no doubles after split - 0.18%
- One deck, the dealer takes the "soft" 17, a double after split - 0.06%
- One deck, the dealer stands on all 17, no doubles after split - 0.01% (the advantage of a player)
- One deck, the dealer stands on 17, a double after split - 0.13% (the advantage of a player)
As you can see, not always dealer cards of "soft" Seventeen is a good reason to abandon this version of blackjack. If the casino offers blackjack with single deck without this rule, it allows players to get a mathematical advantage, so this version may be difficult to find.
In general, we recommend that you carefully study the information on how various points of the rules affect the house edge in blackjack. Such information can be found in the section of Casinoz with articles devoted to this game.
