Tips for Playing Soft Blackjack Hands

Did you know that some of the most misplayed hands in blackjack are those that are “soft?” As a reminder, a “soft” hand is any starting hand that has an ace in it. Let’s look at how to play these hands.

The first thing to remember about a soft starting hand is that you can’t bust. If you have an ace and any other card it can always be counted as a one. What that means is that there is no reason to stand on a soft hand unless it totals 19, 20 or 21. Sometimes you should stand on a soft 18 but not all the time.

When you have a soft 17 hand or lower your decision is whether to hit or double. You never stand. When the dealer is showing a 7 or higher then the decision is easy as you always hit the soft 13, 14, 15, 16 or 17. The decision is also easy whenever the dealer’s up card is a 5 or 6. You always double down on soft 13 through soft 17.

When the dealer’s up card is the 3 or the 4 then you want to double down on soft 15, 16 and 17. If the dealer’s up card is a 3 then you want to double down on a soft 17.

The tough hand is the soft 18 as most players will stand but mathematically the best choice is to hit the soft 18 when the dealer’s up card is a 9, 10 or ace. You stand on that hand when the dealer has a 2, 7 or 8 but you double down against a 3, 4, 5 or 6.

Keep these tips in mind then next time you are playing blackjack at the online casino.