Five Blackjack Hands You Are Playing Wrong! 

i get so many dirty looks from other people at the table when I hit a 12 against a 2 or a 3

Blackjack player for years. This guy absolutely knows his stuff!

Outstanding explanations of how to deal with certain hands you're sure to encounter even if you're only an occasional player, and the strategies and math behind them.

#3 I genuinely learned something on that one. Great explanations on all the examples.

I only play 3 and 1 differently, but your analysis is compelling. Giving me the probabilities illustrates your argument objectively. John Patrick has served me for decades, but I must re-evaluate those plays based on your strong evidence. Thanks.

I do like this video, the reasoning explained in a lucid, rational manner is superb, it helps fix the correct decisions enormously

I stick to basic strategy, but I'm soooo tempted to not hit 12 vs. 2 or 3. Why? Because I get a 10-value card about 60% of the time. I think it's the card gods' way of laughing at me.

This is great advice. I wish more people learned basic strategy before they played, or at least had a basic strategy chart with them

i'll be heading to Vegas in a few weeks, and like to hit the Black Jack tables between tourneys.. some of this is brand spankin new to me, and valuable info.. will be putting it to good use..!!

Please bear in mind that this is only true when following strict basic strategy. If you play with card counting strategies you also have to follow specific deviations from basic strategy. This means that e. g. sometimes you stand with a two-card 16 vs. T (if the count is high).

Agree about surrender with 16 vs dealer 10, but most casinos don't offer that choice. If they did I would probably surrender a 15 also.

I under stand splitting 8's to lift my chances from 23% to 38% chance of winning. But It also means I have to double my bet. I question if splitting and doubling my bet is the right strategy for such a small chance.

Good advice on playing these hands. I gave up playing blackjack many years ago, since I got tired of being beat by the dealer so often. I would have 19 or 20, then she would turn over 3, 4, 5 or 6 cards, and it wouldn't be 19 or 20 - it would be 21 almost every time. Seems very hard to win against 6 decks, even using basic strategy.

Yes, 9s split on everything save for (a) 7, (b) 10, and (c) A. 12 hits on 2, 3 and 7-10, plus A 16 doesn't just hit against a 10, it hits against everything 7 or higher and, when you can surrender, that is against a 9, 10 or A Soft 18 hits on 9, 10 or A. Lastly, always split 8s, agree. This is identical to the Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart, which must be played perfectly in order to minimize casino vig

@4:50...a sneaky introduction to card counting (and how it can mod. basic strat.)! haha

Yes that is the thing when I have a 12 I figure I will bust if I hit but if I don't hit I will lose anyway so might as well hit and take a chance.

This is helpful, thanks!

Thank you. Solid advice.

I've always hit a stiff 12 against a dealer's 3 upcard, BUT one thing you didn't mention is you don't hit it more than ONCE! (at least I don't) In your advice, some folks may take you to mean you keep hitting it until you have 17 or better, but I doubt that's what you meant.

Knows his shit that fella. All his advice is 100% spot on.

#3 you have it wrong for a deck shoe game. You still have to keep hitting or give the casino the advantage

For 8's vs. 10. Yes, splitting will lose less in the long run than hitting or standing, so I do it. But I cringe every time, because I am risking twice as much money on a losing proposition.

Most misplayed hands in my opinion: 1) they take insurance 2) they accept even money 3) they misplay soft totals especially soft 18 versus dealer 9-10-A 4) on a h17 table they dont double soft 19 versus dealer 6 5) on a s17 table they double 11 versus dealer A

Is the green screen a picture of Belterra (riverboat)? It looks familiar! 🌞

You are amazing! Thanks for all your knowledge.....If only I can remember it all!!!

Is this advice for single deck or does it work with multiple decks as well"?

Wow this is really really good advice

I’ve been playing for a few months now & got the hang of it, but I personally would always hold on a A,7. Now I know to hit!

The best advice I’ve ever heard

16 vs. 10 hitting depends on running count and not if it is a 3 card 16. If running count is already way negative you should hit 16 even if multiple cards 16.

The _stand on hard 16 if it's made up of small cards_ rule convinced me it's best to play with lots of people on the table... so you can see even more high or low cards on the table.

A7 should hit against a dealer ace as well, correct?

I play Blackjack for many years I would say past 10 years a lot and there's people that go to casino and have never played in this one to learn as they play any game you had to at least know the basics at least before sitting down is too much troubles for the dealer or player to be trying to help people along the way but even some players who play a lot still have difficulties if they going to split or double do something so but it's close to never good when people that don't know how to play and they start their first time being at the table that's all you have to do is watch even if they watch for 20 minutes they don't even do that they just jump on the table

Here's a little tid bit if your learning to count cards. A deck of cards will end in 0 if you count correctly. Progressive betting strategy is as important as counting. Large swings in bets will put you on the pit bosses radar faster than anything.

I think A7 is the most misplayed hand I've seen. Consistently players mess that hand up.

I agree with you on one point here only, rest all false. when player 16 and dealer showing 10, player can surrender. This one only right from this video rest all doesn't work in real time.

Are there specific literature saying that if a dealer gives too many chips for a win that you don’t have to give it back? Or if they place it next to your chips it’s already in your possession?

Good advice thanks

4:38 does this apply in a 6- or 8- deck shoe? 3 cards seem negligible.

well explain this in online casino they put at least 16 card decks into the shuffle and yet you don't know how many face cards in the half of the decks the dealer cuts you shouln't everytime play what in playbook says sometimes you have to ignore it what I mean is like not you shuold hit your 14 against 5 but maybe you should stop hitting 16 against 17 sometimes

I have heard that soft 18 against a face should be treated differently if you have multiple cards with a 2 or 3 in your hand. In those cases I heard you should stay rather than hit. Especially true the more cards you have in your hand.

What about 13 versus 2 dealer up card?

Wow great video. Just wondering.. is there anyway you can direct me to a cheat sheet for perfect blackjack strategy? Please let me know

There's one answer not included that's more important than the explanations here - what is the count? Knowing if the deck favors you or does not favor you by tracking cards is key to the decisions. The most accurate answer should be - "here's the best move to make IF the deck mathematically helps". Yes, you can split 9-9 vs. 9, but only if the count favors you to do so. Hitting 12 vs. 13 is correct, but only if the count is correct to do so. Sometimes the best answer is the opposite of what is suggested here, depending on the count.

How is taking Even Money and insuring a pair of 10's not part of this list? I see this happen a lot more often than most of the 5 listed here.

What were the 5 blackjack hands again, I keep falling asleep.

am I right to assume you always hit on 16 against a dealer's 10 in multi deck black jack? Unlike in the video when he talks about standing on 16 when it's 3 or more cards

If you're going to play blacjack, by all means learn basic strategy. It puts you just short of even with the house, so you have a decent chance to win.

Incidentally, hitting 12 against 3 is basic strategy. However if the true count is plus 2 you should stand. Neutral count of 0, 16 player should stand, stand 15 against true count plus 2. Double 10 against 10 or A up. Insure 10, 11, 20 against A plus 3. Insure all hands against A plus 6 or above. Should win over 70% of insurance bets. Don't split A against negative 6 or below. Hit don't split 8's against negative 6 true count. Otherwise your advice is competent. Consider baccarat best odds and most beatable game in the casino.

Thank you for this info. Black Jack is my hubby's favorite card game and I shared this video with him😁👍

I think you missed on I am a casino dealer for a very long time and the most misplayed hand I see no matter what betting level is 33 against a dealer 7 up card very few people split this hand and even the most experienced players don’t slit the threes against a 7

The amount of cards you have doesn’t matter you surrender 16s against tens if you can hit if the count is under plus one or stand if its over.

Could you go into table position and where the best seat is?

I get that splitting 8s vs. 10 gives you a better chance of winning but is it cost effective to double your bet against a 10 starting with an 8 in your hand?

I disagree with the 3-card 16 advice. Three cards won't do much to the true count except, perhaps, in a single-deck game. If you're an advantage player, you might sometimes vary basic strategy based on the true count, but I don't know if this is one of those. Treat the 2-card and 3-card 16s the same.

Free bet blackjack though. Rule number one only use the free bet if the book says you would normally split or double. Don’t take free bet outside the book unless playing pot of gold bonus

This advice may be correct for US casinos but you should not split 88 v 10 if you lose both bets when the dealer has a blackjack.

Very few casinos offer surrender anymore. I agree with the other decisions except splitting 8's against a 10 or A......it's suicide......I'd rather hit my 88 and you'd be surprised how many times i get a 5 or 4

ok question with that #1 mistake, with the two 8's vs a 10.... 23% to win but when you split it you said you have a 38% but you are doubling your money and NOT even doubling your percentage to win so if you go with percentage wise, arent you still losing more in the end.... Isn't it like poker where to by a plus eva player, you need the right amount of odds to justify the call here based on percentage, and other stuff..... well in this case don't i need at least 2 to 1 odds to be winning with my money thus need double the 23% which is 46% to make it worth risking double my money in a already losing position? The other tips i agree with but this one seems like it didn't factor in the money you are risking portion part and just basing it all on percentages and forgetting about what you are risking for those percentages?

8-8 against a dealer 10 and splitting seems odd. You go from 23% chance to win to 38%, but you are risking double. So I did the math... Scenario A: 100 bets at $1, win 23 and lose 77 times. $23-$77 = down $54 Scenario B: 100 bets at $2, win 38 and lose 62 times. $76-$124 = down $52 I guess splitting is right.

Thankyou

I was playing 1st base at Riviera,2nd player played $10 on 1 hand and $800 on anchor hand. Dealer showed a ten. His $10hand was a blackjack and $800 hand was 16. He surrendered $800 and was paid on his blackjack and left table. Dealer had a 20. Next hand I was dealt a 5. He would have made 21. He left table with $425 He would have $1625 if he hit the 16.

People also misplay their weak aces (A2-A6). Could have an entire video just on this subject.

I know it’s probably taboo but I’ve asked casinos if I could double down on my blackjack. Some allow me to, some don’t. My thinking is I’m trying to get 2-1 instead of 6-5 or even 3-2 payouts. Note: I only do this when I’m up a bit and getting greedy.

Shouldn’t a hard 15 surrender to a dealer ten (or face) as well?

If you have a pair of 9s, and you win 9.5/20 times by splitting them, but you have to double your bet to do so, why not just take the 8/20 chance on a single bet, rather than doubling it for under 50% odds. Either way you have a losing hand, one option you don't invest more money into your losing hand. I don't get it.

I know its an extremely niche case, but 9-9 against a 7 has to be an honorable mention. I find most players split this thinking their naked 9s have an advantage over the 7. They DO have an advantage, but 18 against a 7 is better than starting two hands with nines.

Splitting 8s, the reason to do so : you're more apt to break even( win one, lose one) instead of just losing

Wait a minute.......why did you not double down after splitting 8th's and getting a 2?

4:17 if i had a hard 15 with 3 or 4 cards where dealer has 7+ as face, what is my optimal play?

Does the hard 16 hit vs a face card change with a large shoe? Is there a point in the true count where this changes?

#3 I assume that this is based off of single deck blackjack. In a 6, 7, or 8 deck having three low cards in your hand, compared to just two, pretty much changes nothing in regards to percentages.

what about a 12 Versus a 2 ?

I'll tell you how to beat blackjack right now. You gotta read this whole novel first. He couldnt be more wrong. Most people watching this video I assume are playing at a 15 min bet table which uses 8 decks there are 4 2's thru-6's in each deck, so thats 20 cards that help you multiply that by the 8 decks you're playing with and thats 160 cards that could move your hand into the 17+ range without busting. 1 card out've 160 cards isn't going to move the odds enough to make staying the right move. Now if you're playing 2 deck blackjack or single deck, thats different, maybe he's right but Ive been to many casinos and Ive never seen anything but 6 deck(higher stakes) and 8 deck(lower stakes). Surrender your 15-16 against 9,10, and ace. It's the correct move, dont worry about what would've happend on one particular hand. When I surrender and the next card would've given me 20-21, it doesnt faze me. I know Im doing the right thing. He's right that an 18 isn't quite good enough but he's wrong as well. If you have an 18 every single time, that means you're never going to bust, you would win alot of money. As the dealer's advantage is when you make a hand and they bust, you win. When they make a hand and you bust, they win. If you both bust, they win. Thats what gives them an edge of about .4%(if you're playing perfect basic strategy including surrender and never taking insurance, including even money). If you can have an 18 every time, that means you'd never go over, you would in fact be a winner. Only follow the staying on 16 if you're playing single or double deck, although it's a bad spot either way, the difference long term is probably like a 1/10 of a percent. You want to beat BJ? Well you can. Want to know how? 5 things, get a rewards card, follow perfect basic strategy, set a limit that you can stick to, be willing to bet heavy when you're up, and if you make a big score the next trip, go back to the same limit you had before. Say you're comfortable losing 1000 on a given trip to the casino. You play and lose 1000, stop, go home, do not chase. Say next time, after a couple shoes you're up 3000. Lock up a win, it doesnt really matter what the win is that you lock up, whatever you're comfortable with 500-1000-1500 all fine. Take the remaining money and shoot for the moon. If you lose it, walk away. If you win, lock up some more and continue shooting for the moon. Say you had a great night and won 6-7k. The next time you play you go back to that same 1k limit..if you lose, you stop...Just because you won the last time, you can't change your limit, blackjack is in the casinos favor but if you have tremendous dicipline and you're willing to walk away and willing to lock up wins and really go for it when you're up. Blackjack is beatable. Also with a player's card you can earn points redeemable for gift cards, free clothes, free anything really. Another thing you should do is when no one is looking and you're winning, slip some chips into your pocket, the less the casino knows about how much you're winning or if you're losing they think you're losing more, the better for you. My father had a 2k limit and over a 10 year period was up about 100k forget the 100s of rooms and gigantic dinners that he paid for with all his points. My dad just followed what I said. DISCIPLINE ... You can beat BJ without counting cards with discipline, locking up wins, and being super aggressive when you're up on a given session. Sadly, it's MUCH harder than what I just said. It takes a very special person to be able to do what I just said night in and night out. BUT it's possible.. good luck to everyone.

Soft Aces ,and especially soft18 are often not doubled on dealer4-5-6 up card

Dave Ramsey wouldn't be too happy with this mess of a system. Baby steps work. People have a spending problem not a math problem.

Outside of being lucky whatever strategy you have you need to stick with it and have a large bankroll to ride out a bad streak. Of course, the best method is card counting, but you can still get wiped out in quickness if you don't have the bankroll to back you up. It's all about the bankroll. Minimum ten thousand dollars if you're serious. I've seen card counters get wiped out quickly. Sometimes the cards don't fall in your favor. But, over time, if you have the bankroll, and stick to a sound strategy you will prevail. Of course, there are exceptions. Some people have no clue, but are lucky as can be.

Here is thought always to keep in mind. whenever you are playing, "Casinos are not built on winners"

Im confused. He says if uou sureendsd uou lose 50% of your bet but if you hit and bust you would lose slightly more than 50%. Not a math guy buy wouldnt you lose 100% of your bet? or was he just talking about over the course of your playing career? if you did the exact same thing every time?

how about when the dealers up card is 10 80 out of 100 hands

If the player and the Dealer trade places , would the odds still be in the dealers favor? I guess my question is , why is the Dealer so much Better at winning lol if you just do what the dealer does , wouldn't you win more than half the time?

What most people do not know is that the "book" was written by the casino.

about standing on 16 with more than 2 cards, is that still a thing? I understand the mathematics of it but my casino uses 8 decks it seems like that one card can't make much of a difference to justify standing

That first one is easy. You must, because of the 4/13 of every deck being 10-value, assume until shown otherwise that the hole is a 10. 18 is just begging a lose, because, pretty much only a bust will win it. You're not in very good shape in the first place, and splitting the 9's might get you some back. The second one is counterintuitive, and sometimes I fall prey to this, because I am feeling I'm begging for a 10 when I hit on that, feeling that 10 could be better served on a 9 or 10 hole card on the house with that 3. Third one: Yeah, you're pretty much screwed on that one -- if you even get to the decision, 7 of the 12 cards are immediate losers to begin with. And only 5 of the 13 will help you. Surrender, if offered, is the correct play. He is correct in the other cases, which is kinda the opposite of what I often see if I know I'm not going to get a big number, but there's no choice there to begin with. Fourth: 18 is actually quite WEAK, since the dealer either must attain 17 or higher, or bust in the attempt. You ONLY win at 17, and, factually, you're better off tossing the 18 with a 9-up and you might get 2 cards which might improve you or, luckily, one! Fifth: Ouch. That's a wallet-emptier there. Because even the best play is a gutshot situation, you might end up with a pair of 18s, eat a 20, and what the guy says you fear comes to pass!

When he says you'll win this or that amount of hands, 8 hands out of 20, hit you'll win 9 out of 20. Consider these suggestions. Please don't think you can beat this game, it will take everything. Keep it small, 50 bucks "run it up" have fun, get a free drink, go out to eat.

why would i double my bet to give myself a 38 percent chance to win? odds improve from 23 percent, but still terrible odds. i'd rather surrender to a dealer's 10 and only lose 50% vs. 38%

What about 12 vs 12

single deck or ?

Is this single deck advice?

I disagree with the rationale on splitting the 8’s against the dealer 10 if the success rate improves fro 23% to 38% then it seems that simply surrendering the two 8’s is basically a 50% success rate

If you don’t study the game you’re playing, you’re just having fun. I’m going to start taking the 6-deck basic chart cards with me. Sell ‘em to other players. Since the damn Seminole hard rock doesn’t carry them.

Any suggestions for how to play next to a guy who splits 10’s

Watching that "dealer" was painful. Would it have been so hard to get an actual casino dealer for this?

7:50 gets a 21....don't mess up the stay sign.......you have to show it! LOL

Don’t agree with some of this advice. As an avid player I can see how some of these tips are accurate, but I can also clearly see they are not. Do that against a 7 deck shoe! Single deck is much more manageable

ill admit sometimes when I have a hard 12 against a 2 i will double down

What is you see lots of many high has passed

having a 16 with several small cards is almost meaningless if playing against an 8 deck shoe.

This guy knows what he is talking about

Fe place in Vegas will let you surrender. I have only seen one so far.