1. Why Do You Always Split 8s In Blackjack Machine
2. Do You Always Split 8's In Blackjack
3. Why Do You Always Split 8s In Blackjack
4. Why Do You Always Split 8s In Blackjack Card Game

The problem with real life is that it is maddeningly and consistently inconsistent. Change is the norm; reversals of fortune routine, betrayal de rigueur. Just when you think you have a handle on something, it turns out that there are so many exceptions to the rule you were about to create that the rule seems wrong.

Jan 22, 2020 Also, it is an excellent strategy always to split your pair of 8s and re-split if you get dealt with the second pair. Do remember that you triple original bet. When it comes to splitting 10s, it will depend on the particular blackjack game rules, because of there different 10-value cards. But a 16 composed of two 8s is an entirely different matter. In fact, very few players even think of two 8s as a 16; they merely think of it as an opportunity to split. It is an absolute truism in blackjack that every time you see those two 8s, you split them. Yes, you split them against aces and 10s and deuces and 3s. Always re-split aces or eights if you are dealt a second pair. When you split, the dealer gives you two cards — one for each of the new hands. If this gives you a second pair of aces or eights, treat it as its own hand and split again. Note that this requires you to triple your original bet (splitting the first time requires you to double it). Basic strategy suggests to always split a pair of 8s regardless of the dealer’s upcard. In most cases, this is players’ best move as having a total of hard 16 is a breaking hand. This places them in a very unfavourable position as they can easily go bust. Any card above 5 will cause them to lose the hand if they decide to risk by hitting. You shouldn't always split them, if surrender is available, take it against a 10 value or an ace. The reason you split them is that 2 hands that start with 8. Are better then one hand that starts with 16. In some cases it's not that you will win by splitting them, but that in the long run you will lose less. The math on this is pretty indisputable.

Even trite and seemingly true statements such as 'there are two sides to every story,' fail to take into account that sometimes there are three, four, five or more sides to some stories. Still other stories are all but unfathomable.

A simple perusal of history shows us the inconsistency of events spread over time. World War II saw America engaged in a life and death struggle with our bitterest enemies, Germany and Japan. Now, these nations are our friends. Of course, our country exists as a result of a war against England and, for a while there, England was to the United States what Godzilla was to Tokyo. Now, England is our best friend and Godzilla helps out Tokyo by battling all those other monsters who attack it.

You just can’t be positive in life about anything ever.

Except in gambling. There, certain things are as solid and as true and as consistent as, well, as...not like anything in real life!

Take blackjack as an example. There is one and only one way to play certain hands for the basic strategy player. [Quick refresher: Basic strategy is the computer-derived rules for the playing of every player hand against every possible dealer upcard.] You don’t have to think; you don’t have to wonder; you don’t have to ponder.

Take a hand of 16. No matter how you slice it, a hand of 16 is a rotten hand. Hit it and you’ll bust over 60 percent of the time; stand and the dealer will have to bust. You’ll be a big loser when you stand as well, around 70 percent of the time.

But a 16 composed of two 8s is an entirely different matter. In fact, very few players even think of two 8s as a 16; they merely think of it as an opportunity to split. It is an absolute truism in blackjack that every time you see those two 8s, you split them. Yes, you split them against aces and 10s and deuces and 3s. You split them against everything that dealer shows.

That is a clear, concise, precise and ironclad rule! No exceptions. No debates. You won’t have to worry that ten years from now, after some peace treaty, your enemy is now your friend and you’ll have to hit those 8s. No sir, you split them in the past, you split them today, and you will split them in the future.

Does this mean that a pair of 8s is a winning hand? Against some dealer upcards it is -- specifically 2 through 7 (assuming you can double after splits). You will win more money by splitting than you will by standing or hitting.

But a pair of 8s is a losing hand against 8 through ace. So why do you split? Because you actually lose less money by splitting than you do by standing or hitting. A starting hand of 8 is a stronger starting hand than 16. When you split, you give yourself a starting hand of 8. Again, a starting hand of 8 against 8s through aces is a loser but it loses less.

Why Do You Always Split 8s In Blackjack Machine

It is also a truism that you always split aces against every dealer upcard and for essentially the same reasons. You will win more or lose less when you do so. A 2 or 12 composed of two aces is not a very strong hand to hit. But a single ace is a very powerful card. It can be paired with a ten approximately 32 percent of the time for a 21 (give or take depending on the dealer upcard/number of decks); it can be paired with a 9 approximately eight percent of time for a total of 20, and it can be paired with an 8 approximately eight percent of the time for a total of 19. That means approximately 48 percent of the time (again give or take), you have a strong possibility of a winning hand -- as the average winning hand in blackjack is approximately an 18.8.

Splitting a pair of aces is a winning move in most cases.

Of course, even though the rule for aces and eights is ironclad, the results in the short term can be disheartening. Split your 8s against a dealer upcard of ten and get a ten on each half of the split. If the dealer flips over a 20, you’ve just lost two bets instead of one. Ugh! Some people, realizing that possibility, hesitate to split those 8s against a ten. Simple logic, however, can come to the aid of our faltering hearts as those two tens land, bing! bong! on our split 8s. If the dealer has a ten up, and you have two tens, the likelihood of another ten in the hole is much less than it would be had we gotten any other cards on our split.

It is no different with those two aces. Split and get a two on one ace and a three on the other ace. Then look across the table at that big, fat dealer ten. You have four non-tens sitting right in front of you. It’s an air-gulping moment for sure as the dealer flipped over his hole card to reveal another big, fat 10 (or even a 7, 8, or 9).

Okay, the rule is ironclad. Split aces and eights, period. But the destiny of the hand after it is split is not engraved in stone. You win some; you lose some. However, in the long run (that glorious long run!), you will win more money or lose less money, guaranteed!, if you follow the rule. That’s a fact. There’s no two sides to the story of splitting aces and eights.

If you’ve spent any time studying blackjack basic strategy, you’ve probably heard that you should always split aces and eights. The goal of this post is to explain why this is the appropriate move in almost any variation of blackjack. It doesn’t matter what the dealer’s face-up card is, by the way. Splitting aces and eights is always the right move.

A Note on “Basic Strategy”

If you’re new to blackjack, you might not have heard what basic strategy is. In brief, it’s a table of the mathematically correct moves to make in any blackjack situation.

You have 2 pieces of information, which are cross-referenced on a blackjack basic strategy chart:

• What’s in your hand
• Half of what’s in the dealer’s hand

In your hand, you have a soft total, a hard total, and possibly a pair of cards of the same rank.

In the dealer’s hand, you know one of his or her cards. In almost all blackjack variations, the dealer gets one card face-up.

The correct decision in any of these situations is the one with the highest mathematical expected return.

If you make the correct mathematical decision on every hand, you reduce the house edge that the casino has over you to its lowest possible number—usually between 0.5% and 1%, depending on the rules at the casino.

How Splitting Cards in Blackjack Works

One of the options you have in blackjack is “splitting” a pair of cards of the same rank. When you do this, you start 2 hands. The first card of each of those hands is one of the 2 cards from your original hand.

You also must put up another bet when you split your hand. You then play each hand independently of each other.

You could win both the new hands, lost both the new hands, or lose with one and win with the other.

Basic strategy tells you that you should never splits 4s, 5s, or 10s. It also tells you that you should always split aces or 8s.

Why You Do the Things You Do in Basic Strategy

Basic strategy has been derived by mathematicians and computer programs who run simulations of millions of hands. They look at the results of those hands to determine the playing decision which wins the most or loses the least amount of money in each situation.

But some of the thinking behind basic strategy makes sense, too.

Here’s an example:

You should never split 10s, no matter what the dealer’s upcard is.

Why not?

You have a hard total of 20. The only possible hand that could beat that 20 is a 21. It’s such a good hand that it’s hard to imagine improving your chances by creating 2 new hands—even though any hand which starts with a single 10 is going to turn out pretty good.

Let’s think about how many cards left in the deck will improve on a hard total of 20.

If you get a 10 on your new hand, that’s great. You now have what you would have had originally. You have 14 cards left in the deck which are worth 10 points. (There are 16 of those cards to begin with, but you already have 2 of them.)

If you get an ace, that’s even better. You get 3 to 2 on your payout. That’s not as likely as getting another 10, though. There are only 4 aces in the deck.

All the other cards, though, give you a worse hand. That’s a total of 32 cards which will give you a hand that’s not as good as your original hand. That’s about a 65% chance of getting a hand with a total not as good as you started with.

And some of those cards are rough, too. You get a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, and you have a stiff hand. That’s a hand that’s unlikely to beat the dealer unless you hit it. But it’s also a hand that has a good chance of going bust if you hit it.

This kind of thinking—about how good your total is, and about how the remaining cards in the deck might affect that total—is crucial to an understanding of basic strategy.

Let’s look at one more example:

You should also never split 5s. That’s a hard total of 10.

That’s a lousy total as it stands, but it’s a total you can’t bust with an additional card. Any card will improve your total, and a lot of those cards will give you a hand you’ll feel good about standing on. You have 16 cards worth 10 left in the deck, and 4 aces. That’s 20 cards that will give you a total of 20 or 21.

If you get a 7, 8, or 9, you also have a solid total you can feel good about. That’s another 12 cards, for a total of 32 cards which will improve your total.

Even if you get a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, it’s not the end of the world. You’re liable to get a stiff hand, but it’s not as likely as getting a good hand.

But what would happen if you split those 5s?

You’d wind up with 2 hands with a starting card of 5. It’s impossible to get a card on top of that to make you feel good about your hand. If you get an ace, you have a soft 16, and that’s probably the best you can hope for. If you get a 10, you have a total of 15, which is awful. It won’t beat the dealer, and it’s likely to bust when you take another card.

The other, lower value cards don’t help much either. A 9 gives you a total of 14, which is also awful. An 8 gives you a total of 13. Nothing to write home about there, either.

What Happens When You Split Aces

A hand of 2 aces that you don’t split is just a soft total of 12. That’s not terrible, because it’s hard to bust. But it’s not likely to win.

On the other hand, if you take a mediocre hand and turn it into 2 really good hands, you’ve accomplished something.

And let’s face it—anyone with a brain in his or her head knows that an ace is the best possible starting card in blackjack. If you get a 10 on top of that ace, you have a blackjack, which pays off at 3 to 2.

In fact, in a lot of casinos, you can split those aces and then immediately double down on them.

Remember, you have 16 cards worth 10 points each in the deck—more than any other specific total. Most of the cards aren’t worth 10 points, but enough of them are that you can be optimistic about getting that natural at least some of the time.

But if you miss your 10, you still wind up with a good hand almost every time. If you get a 9, you have a total of 20, which is a great hand. If you get an 8, you have a total of 19, which is good. Even a 7 leaves you with a total of 18.

Do You Always Split 8's In Blackjack

If you get a 6 or less, you don’t have such a great hand. But because one of the cards is an ace, you’re going to be able to try to improve that hand with little fear that it’s going to bust.

What Happens When You Split Eights

First, if you have a hand made up of 2 eights, you have a hard total of 16. That’s a lousy hand. You’re probably going to stand rather than take an additional card. Either way, you’re unlikely to win. If you stand, the dealer will probably wind up with a better total than you. If you hit, you’re probably going to bust.

On the other hand, if you split this into 2 new hands, each with a starting card of 8, a lot of good things can happen.

16 of the cards in the deck are worth 10 points, so you have a reasonably good chance of getting a total of 18 on your new hand.

If you get a 9, you have a total of 17, which is also a big improvement.

If get another 8, which is unlikely, since you already have 2 of them, you’re no worse off than you were to begin with.

But What If the Dealer Has a 9 or 10 Upcard?

Thoughtful blackjack players might wonder why you would split 10s or 8s in the face of a dealer’s upcard of 9 or 10. After all, the odds are good that the dealer will beat you. Aren’t you just losing twice as much money by splitting in this situation?

The crucial factor to keep in mind is whether you’ll win more in the long run or lose more in the long run by making a specific decision. In the case of a dealer 9 or 10, you’re not trying to win more often. You’re just trying to lose less often.

This is built into the logic of the game and into the logic of basic strategy.

Here’s an example:

Any total of 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, or 17 is probably going to lose to the dealer—more than 51% of the time, anyway. And you’ll see one of those totals a little more than twice out of every 5 hands.

The best you can do in that situation is try to lose less often than you would if you made another decision.

Let’s say you face a dealer upcard of 9, 10, or ace with a pair of 8s. If splitting weren’t an option, the correct strategy would be to hit the hard total of 16. You’d lose $52 out of every $100 you bet in this situation. (It seems like you’d lose more often than that, even, but remember—the dealer doesn’t always have an ace in the hole.)

But if you split that into 2 hands that each start with an 8, you’ll lose $43 of every $100 you bet in this situation. Yes, you’ve put twice as much money into the situation. But each of those should be thought of as 2 bets with a better on-average outcome than the one bet with a terrible possible outcome.

These are both losing situations, but one situation saves you $9 on average per $100 bet.

In fact, you’ll sometimes get some grief from the other players or even the dealer when you make this decision. The best thing to do is ignore them. They mean well, but they clearly don’t understand the math behind the game or behind basic strategy.

As an aside, I used to employ a former blackjack dealer to clean my house. Her understanding of the game and the math behind it was abysmal. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because someone deals blackjack for a living means they understand how to minimize the house edge.

Why Do You Always Split 8s In Blackjack

Always follow basic strategy, and always ignore other people who advise you to do something different.

Splitting Aces Is a No-Brainer, Though

Even people who are a little confused about basic strategy in blackjack understand the logic behind splitting aces. You’ll occasionally run into someone who’s too timid or too under-bankrolled to make the mathematically best choice. If you’re in a helpful mood, you might offer to cover the extra bet for that person at no risk to them. The dealer might or might not allow this. The player might or might not take you up on it.

But if he or she does, it’s a good deal, because you have an excellent chance of getting that 3 to 2 payout for a blackjack.

If you’re counting cards, you might even be in a situation where the deck is rich in 10s. In this case, such a play makes even more sense. That’s the reason card counting works, after all—it measures the ratio of 10s and aces in the deck to the number of lower cards in the deck.

Why Do You Always Split 8s In Blackjack Card Game

Splitting and Re-Splitting Aces

It’s possible when you split aces to get another ace on top of one or both of your new hands. In that case, if the casino allows it, you should split again. You could easily wind up with 4 hands in play at a time, all of which stand an excellent chance of turning into a blackjack.

Not all casinos allow this, and it’s easy to see why. At many casinos, after you split aces, the casino only lets you take one additional card. If you were to get another ace and not have the option of re-splitting, the casino has you. A total of 12 versus almost any dealer total is a likely loser.

Luckily, that doesn’t come up often enough to worry about it. Just remember that you always split aces, regardless of the dealer’s upcard, and you’ll be fine.

Conclusion

And that’s my explanation of why you should always split aces and 8s when playing blackjack. The dealer’s upcard doesn’t matter in any situation. You’ll either win more money more often or lose less money in the long run.

Splitting aces is an aggressive move that increases your winnings dramatically. Splitting 8s is a defensive move that helps to minimize your long-term losses.

Both are the mathematically correct play.