Playing the Blackjack Soft Hands

In blackjack, a hand that has an Ace in it is called a soft hand. For instance, a player's hand has a Two and an Ace, this is called a soft thirteen. The Ace in a soft hand can be counted as 11, or it can also be counted as a one without having the hand bust making the player lose.

The player who is able to practice correct basic strategy with soft hands is the one who is able to reduce the house edge and win more during a session. Players at times feel overly complacent that they won't bust since an Ace can either be played as a one or an 11. The truth is that soft hands can also bust if not played with basic strategy.

Here's a list of things you can do when playing the soft hands in blackjack. These would constitute basic strategy when a player gets a soft hand during a game. A player who practices soft hand strategy will have the opportunity to lower the house edge.

The first step in basic soft hand strategy is to check the dealer's up card and the cards on your hand as well. From what cards we see, we make our game decisions accordingly.

If you have a soft 13 or soft 14 (Ace and a Two or Ace and a Three correspondingly) your options are either to double down if the dealer's up card is a five or six, or to hit if the dealer has a different up card.

If you have a soft 15 or soft 16 (Ace and a Four or Ace and a Five) your first option is to double down if the dealer's up card is within Four to Six, and second option is to hit if the card isn't within the range.

A soft 17 (Ace and Six) requires you to double down if the dealer's up card is within Three to Six or to hit if the up card isn't within that range of numbers.

A soft 18 (Ace and Seven) would have you to stand if the up card is a Two, Seven, or an Eight, to double down if it is within Three to Six, and to hit if the card isn't in the specified numbers.

A soft 19 (Ace and an Eight) or a soft 20 (Ace and Nine) will always require a player to stand.

These are the soft hand strategies in blackjack. The players who use basic strategy are well off into the game in that they can lower the house edge during a game.

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