Soft Hands and Hard Hands in Blackjack

For players who enjoy Blackjack in any form, it’s essential to first understand the game rules well before beginning to bet real money. Becoming familiar with the terminologies used in the game can improve your gameplay and make you more confident before the dealer and other players. There are two basic types of hands namely hard and soft hands in Blackjack. The card playing a vital role in these two types of hands is Ace. Once you understand the hands better, it will become easier to formulate a winning strategy when playing your hand. However, hard and soft hands also influence the dealer’s game especially when it comes to hit or stand.

What is the Soft Blackjack Hand?

A hand that has an Ace with a value of 11 can be called a soft blackjack hand and refers to that hand which cannot be busted over a single hit. There are two main components in the soft hand which comprise the ace and its enclosed value. Between the hard and soft hands, the soft hand provides an advantage when it comes to the card options. Players can add a third card to the soft hand and still prevent busting. For instance, if you have a hand with Ace that counts as an 11 in your hand and a 6 with it, this hand is called a soft 17. Unlike in a normal scenario where if you draw a card that gets your total count as higher than 21, you would lose, in this case, the Ace counts as only 1 to make you feel safe.

The Hard Hand in Blackjack

A hard hand in Blackjack is different from a soft one. Primarily, a hard hand might not have an Ace always. In case there is an Ace in the hard hand, its value is 1 and this value can differ unlike in the soft hand. The soft hand is relatively more flexible than the hard hand offering an edge.

For the hard hands, you must consider that the dealer has reserved a 10. This means that you will have to predict his total by adding ten to the card shown by him.  If your game’s dealer has a face-up card with a value of 9, it means that you assume it to be 19. This total value that you estimate is the sum that you will need to beat his hand for a win in most cases.

Experts suggest that you must hit hard totals of values such as 14, 15 or 16 against the 10 of the dealer. Moreover, hitting remains as the only viable option if you can’t surrender. Don’t be trapped by the urge to stand on such totals for if the dealer shows a 10, you’ll lose it. It’s best to hit the hand till you arrive at 17 or alternatively bust.

Several card counters suggest that doubling down on a hard hand valued at 12 can be profitable especially when the shoe is in favour of the player though this could be a little risky as casinos often recognise the strategy.

Things to consider when playing Blackjack

Different card combinations from different hands at every Blackjack table lead to specific combinations. This leads to players having either hard or soft hands. With anticipation on possible outcomes that come from specific actions, your chances of having an advantage over the casino increases as you could be in a position to think ahead of the dealer’s corresponding turn.

Many casinos change the rules which compel the croupier to hit a soft hand of 17 to increase the house advantage against you. It’s important to remember that in such situations the house gets to enhance their hands against players because hands known as soft ones are impossible to bust and only can be improvised.

If you are a regular player, you may be already familiar is that of skills and experience. Players need to get familiarised with the basics of soft and hard hands at play to increase chances of winning. Each time you want to improve your game, you may stand better odds of winning.