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Introduction
Why You Should Never Split 10’s in Blackjack. When you are playing blackjack games in a land based casino or online via a multiplayer or live dealer gaming platform, you are going to end up sitting next to players who are both experienced and inexperienced, and their level of experience will soon become apparent when you take a look at how they are playing off each hand dealt out to them.
The purpose of this page is to give exact advice to the basic-strategy player on when to surrender. When the tales show a total of 16, this refers to either a 10+6 or 9+7 total. The situation of two eights has a separate row when surrender is appropriate.
Late Surrender
Late surrender means that the player may surrender his hand and lose half his bet only after the dealer checks for blackjack. The following basic strategy tables show when to surrender (Y=yes, N=no) depending on the player's total, dealer's up card, and the number of decks. The right two columns represent a dealer ace according to whether the dealer stands (S17) or hits (H17) a soft 17.
Late Surrender — One Deck — Total Dependent
Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
__9__ | __10__ | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
15 | N | N | N | Y |
16 | N | Y | Y | Y |
17 | N | N | N | Y |
Late Surrender — Two Decks — Total Dependent
Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
__9__ | __10__ | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
15 | N | Y | N | Y |
16 | N | Y | Y | Y |
17 | N | N | N | Y |
Late Surrender — Four or More Decks — Total Dependent
Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
__9__ | __10__ | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
15 | N | Y | N | Y |
16 | Y | Y | Y | Y |
17 | N | N | N | Y |
Moonlight monsters slot game. The exact card composition of the player's hand can sometimes make it advantageous to deviate from the basic strategy tables above. The following tables show when exactly to surrender given the player's total, dealer's up card, and number of decks. If the dealer has an ace up then the strategy often depends on whether the dealer hits (H17) or stands (S17) on a soft 17.
One Deck — Late Surrender — Composition Dependent
Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
9 | 10 | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
14 | Never | 7+7 | Never | 7+7 |
15 | Never | 9+6,10+5 | Never | 9+6,10+5 |
16 | Never | Always | 10+6 | 9+7,10+6 |
17 | Never | Never | Never | 10+7 |
Two Decks — Composition Dependent — Late Surrender
Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
9 | 10 | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
15 | Never | 9+6, 10+5 | Never | 9+6, 10+5 |
16 | Never | Always | Always | 9+7,10+6 |
8+8 | Never | Never | Never | * |
17 | Never | Never | Never | Always |
*: In a double-deck game, when the dealer hits a soft 17, surrender 8+8 vs. Todo sobre el poker online. A only if double after a split is not allowed.
Four or Six Decks — Composition Dependent — Late Surrender
Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
9 | 10 | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
15 | Never | 9+6, 10+5 | Never | Always |
16 | Always | Always | Always | Always |
8+8 | No | No | No | Yes |
17 | Never | Never | Never | Always |
The composition-dependent eight-deck strategy is the same as the total-dependent strategy. In other words, the composition of the hand never matters, for purposes of surrender.
Early Surrender
Early surrender is a seldom found rule in which the player may forfeit his hand and half his bet before the dealer checks for blackjack. The strategy is different from late surrender only when the dealer has a ten or ace showing. Following is a list for when to take early surrender against a dealer 10 or ace, regardless of the rules, except as noted.
- Dealer ace Vs. hard 5-7
- Dealer ace Vs. hard 12-17
- Dealer ace Vs. pair of 3's, 6's, 7's, or 8's.
- Dealer 10 Vs. hard 14-16
- Dealer 10 Vs. pair of 7's or 8's.
- Do not surrender 10 Vs. 4+10 or 5+9 in single deck
- Do not surrender 10 Vs. 4+10 in double deck
- Surrender dealer ace against pair of 2's if dealer hits soft 17.
- Do not surrender 8,8 vs 10 in single deck when double after split is allowed.
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Written by: Michael Shackleford
QUESTION: I am aware that you never — ever — split 10s against a dealer's 5 or 6. However, I have been tempted to do so when no one else is at the blackjack table. My question is: What are the percentage odds of winning (or losing) by doing so? — Herb C.
In Blackjack When Should You Split Screen
ANSWER: Surprisingly, Herb, there was a gaming writer named John Scarne ('Scarne on Cards') who did recommend splitting 10s when playing the standard version of blackjack. However, Scarne's book was published in 1949, well before computers could analyze the game of blackjack with millions of hand simulations.
Then in 1962, along came Edward Thorp, the first blackjack specialist who used an IBM 704 computer and published the results in his book 'Beat the Dealer.' Since then, I can't think of any blackjack authors who have recommended splitting 10s.
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Years ago, I ran a 20-million-hand simulation analysis using a Macintosh software program called BJ Trainer. My results clearly favored leaving those 10s unaided versus splitting them, even against a 5 or a 6. I favor taking computer results over advice written in 1949 every time.
With all that said, Herb, there are moments in which splitting 10s can be a good strategy.
In Face-up Blackjack, where all the cards dealt are exposed, including both dealer's cards, the correct strategy is to split 10s against the dealer's 13, 14, 15 or 16.
For card counters, a situation that favors splitting 10s would be one in which there's a high proportion of high cards left in the deck (for instance a high-low true count of plus 6 or more with the dealer showing a 6).
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There is one other scenario in which splitting 10s can be the better play than standing. It arises during the last hand of a round during a blackjack tournament. I had it happen to me once like this: While observing the leader's chip count, I calculated that by holding on to a probable winner of 20, I still wouldn't win enough money to overtake him. As a result, I split them, and a $20 payout difference got me to the next round.
As for the arithmetic, the statistical data on how often you will win when you split a pair of 10s against a dealer showing a 6 is 64% of the time. Your profit expectations for every $100 you bet while splitting those 10s will be, on average, a $56 profit.
However, let's look at your other option: standing pat on your 20. By standing, you will win around 85% of the time and make about $14 more per $100 wagered than if you split.
My recommendation is to stand on your 20. Your fair share of being dealt a 20 is approximately 9.2% of the time. I don't want you putting that stellar hand in unwarranted jeopardy save for the few exceptions described above.
Mark Pilarski is a contributing editor for numerous gambling publications. Closest slot machines to san jose ca. E-mail questions to pilarski@markpilarski.com.