I like to assume that anyone reading one of my posts is starting at zero. I’m not doing exactly that here, because I’m not explaining in detail all the rules of casino blackjack.
Oct 22, 2016 Blackjack author Don Schlesinger takes this rule one step further with his Ultimate Blackjack Strategy card, where he states: “Stand if 16 is multi-card, or the result of a pair split.” According to Schlesinger, “When all multi-card 16s are taken into account, and the edges are weighted, it is wiser to stand on all of them rather than hit. The dealer would stand on 17 to beat your 16; therefore, you must hit the 16 to have the best chance to win. On the other hand, if you have 16 and the dealer's up-card is a 6, your assumption would be that his total is 16, making the dealer more likely than not to bust on the next card. Therefore, you stand on 16 versus 6. Players win by not busting and having a total higher than the dealer, or not busting and having the dealer bust, or getting a blackjack without the dealer getting a blackjack. If the player and dealer have the same total (not counting blackjacks), this is called a 'push', and the player typically does not win.
But I do want to draw the distinction between hard hands and soft hands.
Blackjack is a simple comparing game where the player and dealer each start with a two-card hand. The one with the higher total points for their hand wins the bet, but only if they keep theirtotal to 21 or below. A total of 22 or higher is an automatic loss.
The cards have points based on their rank. The numbered cards have the same number of points as their numbers: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The face cards (jack, queen, and king) are alsoworth 10 points each.
The only exception is the ace. No one would blame you for thinking that an ace is worth 1 point. It is, in fact, in many situations, worth a single point.
But it’s also worth 11 points.
When you have a hand with no aces in it, you have a hard total. This means that the total is what the total is.
For example, if you have a jack and a 3, you have a hard total of 13. There’s no wiggle room there. That’s the total.
But if you have an ace and a 3, you have a soft total. That’s because the ace counts as 11, but if you get a card that would otherwise give you a total of 22, you can count it as a 1 instead.
With an ace and a 3, you have a soft 14. If you hit that hand and get a 10, you have a hard 14. (Any hand where the ace must be considered 1 point to avoid busting is also considered a hardhand.)
The strategy for a player with a soft hand as opposed to a hard hand is significantly different. Since you have that added layer of protection from busting, the right move is often to play a softtotal more aggressively.
But when we talk about a soft 17 “rule” in blackjack, we’re talking about how the dealer plays his hand.
My question is if it is better to stand or hit if you have a 3/4/5 card 16 vs a 7, 8, 9, A. I understand the difference between hitting and standing is really really small but I guess it makes a little bit of a difference in the long run.
Also does it make a difference if it's a soft instead of a hard 3/4/5 card 16 against a 10? You would still hit in that case right?
EDIT: Nevermind! Wizard goes through all this thoroughly already in the appendices on the blackjack page.
You'd NEVER stand on a soft 16 regardless of the dealer's upcard (unless the next card to be dealt has been flashed and it would be better for the dealer to get it). You can't bust or weaken such a hand by taking another card. (For soft hands you'd have to have at least 18 to think about standing, and even with a soft 18 there are cases you'd still hit or double.)
Single Deck - http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/3c/
Double Deck - http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/3b/
Of note is this snippet from the Double Deck link:
The following lists will show exactly how to play your cards immediately after a shuffle in a double deck game where the dealer stands on a soft 17.
It states 'immediately after a shuffle'.
My question would be how to play this into the deck with no advantage play? Continue standing on a 3-card 16 vs 10 up?
It states 'immediately after a shuffle'.
My question would be how to play this into the deck with no advantage play? Continue standing on a 3-card 16 vs 10 up?
Yes, if you aren't counting at all, you would need to assume the count is zero. And when you have a 3-card hard 16, this would create a positive count which means you should stand. Now if you would bother to count, then you should hit when the count is negative (deck less rich in ten cards) and stand when the count is positive (deck more rich in ten cards).
There may be a few obscure composition-dependent exceptions for the other upcards (especially in pitch games) but in general unless you're counting you'd always hit 16 vs. 7-9 or A.
Wait, what? I thought that standing a 16 on 7-9 would be better than standing on the 10 since there's a better chance of the dealer bust, while your odds are relatively unchanged.
Yes, if you aren't counting at all, you would need to assume the count is zero. And when you have a 3-card hard 16, this would create a positive count which means you should stand. Now if you would bother to count, then you should hit when the count is negative (deck less rich in ten cards) and stand when the count is positive (deck more rich in ten cards).
Essentially, the Wizard's comment was made for AP's then? A BS player would continue on standing 3-card 16 vs 10, correct?
Wait, what? I thought that standing a 16 on 7-9 would be better than standing on the 10 since there's a better chance of the dealer bust, while your odds are relatively unchanged.
Check out this link:
Blackjack Appendix 9 — 2 Decks, Dealer Hits Soft 17 - http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/9/2dh17r4/
Wait, what? I thought that standing a 16 on 7-9 would be better than standing on the 10 since there's a better chance of the dealer bust, while your odds are relatively unchanged.
I believe it's because the dealer makes some of their strongest hands with a ten up (lots of 20s), so you're better off just standing and praying for a bust (at least with a positive count) instead of trying to improve your hand with a hit. With the ten up, if you hit to 18, you aren't out of the woods yet. You'd be in much better shape if the dealer had a 7 up.
Essentially, the Wizard's comment was made for AP's then? A BS player would continue on standing 3-card 16 vs 10, correct?
Well, it's such a marginal play, the correct play depends on card composition of your hand given no other info, and he wanted to point that out since you can obviously realize how many cards exist in your own hand. A Basic Strategy player should hit two card hard 16s vs 10 and stand with 3+ card hard 16s vs 10.
Well, it's such a marginal play, the correct play depends on card composition of your hand given no other info, and he wanted to point that out since you can obviously realize how many cards exist in your own hand. A Basic Strategy player should hit two card hard 16s vs 10 and stand with 3+ card hard 16s vs 10.
Some refine that by advocating the rule of 45. This would have the player stay on three card 16s containing a 4 or a 5 while hitting all other combinations. This is for basic strategy players only and it is very, very close. A three card 16 against a seven is not close and should be hit without hesitation.
Blackjack Hit On 16
Here are the links for anyone wondering: Single Deck -
' target='_blank'>http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/3c/I'm no blackjack expert so when I started playing the IGT full pay video blackjack (100.03%) I had to go to a blackjack expert to get the strategy. It was single deck, first hand off. I gleaned the entire strategy from the Wizard's of Odd's compositional dependent blackjack strategy. Thanks, Shack! I made a lot of money at that game whenever I found good cashback.
As for those 16's versus a dealer ten, there are a lot of combinations. I used a simplified rule. A 16 containing a 6, with either a 6,7,8, or 9 was a hit. The rest of the combinations were a stand.