Blackjack Hand 10 or 11

Experienced Blackjack players understand the importance of being familiar with all the possible combinations of their own hand and the dealer’s upcard. They know that the only way to leave the casino with a profit is by playing cautiously and following a plan. Of course, many other factors play a crucial role as well, such as their bankroll, money-management discipline and practice.

Blackjack requires not only analytical skills but also solid knowledge if players aim to win in the long run. As with any other casino game, it involves money and, unless gamblers want to throw it away voluntarily, they should put in effort and time to memorise every possible situation, or at least the most common ones. They can be sure that their efforts will not be in vain, as the game really pays off in the long run.

• When the Players’ Hand is 10
• Doubling Down with Hand 10
• What to Do with a Pair of 5s
• When the Players’ Hand is 11
• Hand 11 in Multiple-Deck Blackjack
• Hand 11 vs the Dealer’s Face Cards
• Conclusion

In this chapter, we will focus on the two situations in which the players’ hands total ten or eleven. It is best to observe as many moves as possible in order to help players decide which one is the most reliable and reasonable. The moves worth mentioning are those based on the main principles of basic strategy and its variations, as they are used by many professional players and have proved to be very accurate.

When the Players’ Hand is 10

In situations where the players’ hand totals 10 or 11, they should consider whether to hit or double down, taking into account the dealer’s upcard. Standing is obviously counter-intuitive here since you would only win if the dealer busts. There are several ways to obtain a hard total of 10 on the initial deal, namely 8-2, 7-3, 5-5, and 6-4.

The following strategy plays are not affected by the composition of the cards that comprise the hard 10. Deck number, playing conditions and the dealer’s fixed standing position are also irrelevant when it comes to the correct strategy moves for hard 10.

If the dealer’s upcard is any card from 2 through 9, gamblers should double. But what is the logic behind this play? The main idea is to extract maximum profit when you have a solid total of 10 against a dealer who starts with weaker upcards, deuce through 9. A hard 10 against the dealer’s 2 through 9 inevitably puts you at an advantage. Furthermore, doubling down on your 10 yields a higher positive expected value against all these upcards when compared to hitting in the long run.

Inexperienced players often cower at the thought of increasing their stakes against the dealer’s 8 or 9. They choose to tread cautiously instead and hit, which lowers their long-term expectation. The numbers we cite below are from gambling expert and mathematician Michael Shackleford. They are intended for multiple-deck blackjack with a dealer standing on all 17s where doubling after splitting pairs is allowed.

As you can see, either play results in long-term profits for the player. However, doubling down enables you to capitalise on such beneficial situations and boost your winnings.

As can be seen, doubling on your 10 when the dealer has an 8 as their upcard earns you £28.66 for every £100 wagered, whereas hitting only produces £19.79. The difference of nearly £8.90 is anything but negligible, even more so over the course of thousands of hands.

Meanwhile, the dealer starts strong when showing anything above 9, which calls for a less aggressive approach. Doubling in this case is no longer optimal since a 10 results in negative expectation for the player against the dealer’s high cards. If the dealer’s card is a 10 or an ace, players should hit.

Doubling is not optimal here because you receive only one more card and risk getting stuck with stiff hands 12 through 16, which are long-term losers. Remember that the average winning total in blackjack is 18.5.

At the same time, the dealer is in a solid position when starting with a 10. Their likelihood of drawing to a total of 20 is very high, at around 36% in multiple-deck and double-deck blackjack. Thus, hitting gives the player more flexibility and allows them to improve their situation by drawing more cards on weak hard totals 12 through 16 (as basic strategy recommends against a dealer with a 10 or ace).

Doubling Down with Hand 10

To understand the motive behind these moves, let us look at the possible outcomes if the players decide to double down. If gamblers draw any card from 2 through 6, the chances that they will go bust are very high.

If players draw a 7, they are left with a total of 17, which is also a weak position. Should the dealer reach 18 or more, the player will lose. Drawing an 8 is seemingly not a bad result; however, bear in mind that the average winning score is 18.5, which makes 18 insufficient.

The bottom line is that players have seven reasonable cards out of the thirteen they can draw and the same number that will leave them with a bust-prone hand. This gives them less than a 50% chance of drawing a good card, which is simply too risky and should be avoided.

What gamblers need to hope for is a 9 or higher, as this will leave them with a total of 19 or more, which is a brilliant hand. This is all gamblers need to remember when they have a hand of 10, provided they find these moves reasonable enough.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the player may sometimes hold a total of 10 that contains three or more cards, like 2-3-5 or 6-2-2. Unfortunately, doubling is available only on starting two-card hands and is no longer an option with a multiple-card 10.

When this is the case, you move to the second-best option, which is to hit. The same applies to blackjack variations that allow you to double only on certain totals like 9, 10 and 11. This is marked as Dh (double, otherwise hit) in the basic strategy charts.

What to Do with a Pair of 5s

Some players are quick to split paired 5s whenever the dealer is in a weak position and exposes low-value upcards like 4, 5 or 6, which generally have the highest bust rates for the house. The fact that this is an incredibly bad decision is a no-brainer, but some people still argue they do it to extract more profit from the dealer’s disadvantageous position.

Indeed, the blackjack dealer’s bust rates are higher with these cards as follows: 39.58% with a 4, 41.84% with the 5 and 42.28% with the 6 (accurate for six-deck games under the S17 rule).

However, before you split, you should take into account the fact that you risk breaking a very solid total of 10 and ending up with two terrible stiffs like hard 15 or hard 14. Another thing to keep in mind is that the deck/shoe has already been depleted of some of the cards (5s and 6s) you can use to double successfully on one or both split 5s. This further tilts the odds against you when you separate your 5s.

By splitting, the player dismisses an excellent opportunity to double on a solid total. Splitting 5-5 in multiple-deck S17 games results in negative expectation against dealer upcards 4 and 5, as you shall see in the table below.

The expected value of this move against the 6 is positive but is nevertheless lower than that of hitting and doubling down. The figures suffice to demonstrate why doubling is the optimal play with 5s versus low dealer upcards. You should never split this pair, regardless of what card the dealer shows.

When the Players’ Hand is 11 in Single-Deck Blackjack

If players find themselves in a situation where their hand totals 11, the first thing they need to do is consider the dealer’s upcard and act accordingly. It is worth mentioning that factors such as the dealer’s rules (H17 or S17) and the number of decks affect the correct play of your 11 against certain dealer upcards.

In blackjack variations that use only one deck, players should double down on their total of 11 no matter what the dealer shows. This is an incredibly solid total to begin a hand with, and logically you want to capitalise on it.

Some novices are reluctant to increase their wagers when holding 11 versus the dealer’s ace. The truth is that the win frequency when doubling down slightly decreases in single-deck blackjack against an ace, particularly when the dealer must hit soft 17.

Nevertheless, doubling down is the best play with a total of 11 because it produces twice the profit, which, in turn, improves the player’s expectation with this hand. And here is the thing many unskilled players forget: in blackjack (and in gambling in general), what matters most is the EV you generate in terms of profit.

A player who books twenty successful double downs on 11 versus an ace with a £10 main bet earns £400 in net winnings. Conversely, a person who flat-bets £10 and wins twenty times with their 11 against the ace by hitting is only £200 up. The number of hands you have won or lost is not relevant.

Hand 11 in Double-Deck and Multiple-Deck Blackjack

The approach towards 11 versus strong face upcards and aces changes slightly in multiple-deck blackjack, as it is influenced by the drawing and standing rules the house has established for the dealer. When the dealer must stand on soft 17, the correct play with your 11 is to double down against upcards 2 through 10 and hit when the dealer shows an ace.

The odds in double-deck blackjack tilt slightly in favour of hitting rather than doubling on 11 against the ace. Players should approach the game more daringly when facing a dealer who hits soft 17.

The total-dependent strategy for double- and multiple-deck H17 blackjack dictates that players should double down on their 11 versus the dealer’s ace instead of timidly hitting. Doubling is recommended in H17 games because the dealer’s likelihood of going over 21 increases by nearly 3.5%, tipping the scales in favour of doubling.

Players looking to take their blackjack game to the next level might be interested to know that composition-dependent strategy recommends hitting 11 versus the ace, but only when the hand consists of 3-8 or 2-9.

Hitting is suggested because some of the cards that can help you double down successfully (8 and 9) are no longer in play. As for three-card totals of 11, such as 4-3-4 and 2-3-6, you should hit them since doubling is obviously no longer an option.

Hand 11 Against the Dealer’s Face Cards

When the dealer reveals a powerful upcard, it is important for players to make the best possible decision, as competing against the dealer’s card is a big challenge. Imagine the following situation – the dealer’s upcard is a jack and the players’ hand totals eleven. If gamblers draw a two, three, four or five, the hand can reach at most sixteen, which is very likely to lose.

If gamblers draw a six, they are left with a total of seventeen, which is not a good position. Drawing a seven gives a total of eighteen, which is not bad, but, once again, the average winning hand is 18.5. The best possible outcome is to draw an eight, nine, ten or any face card. This leaves the player with a brilliant hand of at least nineteen, giving a very high chance of winning.

Conclusion

To understand how Blackjack works and to gain an advantage over the casino, players need to know how to proceed in every situation. There are many strategies from which they can choose to see which one works best for them. Many gamblers start by using one of the basic strategy variations and, even though they notice it does not serve them well, they continue with it because they are afraid of change. Players should decide how they prefer to conduct their game at the table and stick to that approach.

After all, players have the power to decide how to proceed in any particular situation, but they need to bear in mind that, in Blackjack, the method of trial and error can be costly. If they want to avoid losing a significant amount of money when playing, they must ensure, before sitting at the table, that they know the rules and possess the necessary knowledge.