Splitting a Pair of 8’s

A lot of players, even those who have been enjoying Blackjack for years, make the common mistake of sitting at the table without the necessary preparation. They stick to the old, unwritten rules and do not take into account the fact that, over the years, many professional gamblers have studied the game’s patterns thoroughly and have managed to develop and improve the basic strategy significantly.

The statement that players should always split when they have a pair of 8s is well known. It has been followed by many of them all over the world. However, more and more arguments are emerging which suggest that, in certain situations, splitting may not be the best move. There are exceptions to every rule, as you will see later, albeit very few when splitting 8s is concerned.

• Reasons to Split a Pair of 8’s
• Alternative Move
• Re-splitting
• The Option To Surrender
• Conclusion

It is one of those tricky situations that always provoke heated discussions and second thoughts during the game. Nonetheless, basic strategy is perfectly clear about how players should approach this hand if they engage in blackjack recreationally, even more so if they are looking to increase their win rates and cut their long-term losses.

It is really important for players to know the best way to proceed in advance, especially in such tricky situations, in order to reduce their monetary losses to a minimum.

As already mentioned, having a pair of 8s is a challenging position to be in. Therefore, it is best to examine the reasons why a particular move is considered the most reasonable. Of course, even though blackjack is a game of skill, it is still played in a casino and chance is involved. There can never be a 100% guarantee of winning.

Reasons to Split a Pair of 8s

Basic strategy suggests always splitting a pair of 8s, regardless of the dealer’s upcard. In most cases, this is the players’ best move, as a hard 16 is a breaking hand. This places them in a very unfavourable position, as they can easily go bust. Any card higher than a 5 will cause them to lose the hand if they decide to hit.

The odds in such cases are not favourable for the players, as they have more than a 50% chance of surpassing 21. All playing decisions (hitting, standing, doubling), except splitting, result in a negative expectation for the recreational blackjack player. Meanwhile, splitting your 8s yields a positive expected value for basic strategists against the lower dealer upcards, deuce through 7.

When splitting the 8s against higher upcards, 8 through ace, the expectation is negative, but it is still better than that for hitting, contrary to what some gambling authors suggest. Both moves lead to long-term losses for basic-strategy players, but splitting helps you reduce the damage to your bankroll over the long haul. The chances of a different outcome when the pair is split against high upcards are not too promising, either. However, splitting is the lesser of the two evils.

The bottom line is that this move gives players the opportunity to avoid going bust with one more hit and to end up with at least one decent hand. Whenever players find themselves in a breaking position, they should split the losing hand into two, hopefully good, ones.

Hard 16 (which a pair of 8s essentially is) is notorious for being the worst possible total in the entire game of blackjack. This holds true no matter how you play it. Yet, starting two separate hands, with a total of 8 each, offers better prospects than playing a single one with a total of 16.

You will still lose less money by splitting, compared with hitting, even though you need to place an extra wager to cover the second hand. Of course, splitting does not always work in the players’ favour, which is why they need to familiarise themselves with the possible outcomes of every hand.

One of the golden rules for basic strategists is to always split paired 8s in all blackjack variations where the dealer is bound to draw to 16 and stand on all 17s. This applies no matter whether the respective S17 game uses one, two, four, six, or eight decks.

Alternative Move

As already mentioned, some gambling authors suggest that players should refrain from splitting their 8s and choose to hit instead, particularly when the dealer exposes a strong card like an ace or a ten. The argument of such authors is that there is no point in pouring more money into splitting against such powerful dealer upcards. They would even argue that the odds of hitting and splitting are pretty much the same.

However, both basic strategy and established blackjack experts beg to differ on this subject. Indeed, exceptions are made to the “Always split your 8s” rule, but they do not involve hitting. Forfeiting the pair is recommended in some cases, depending on the dealer’s fixed standing position and the value of their upcard. Hitting hard 16 results in long-term losses against all possible upcards of the dealer. Tens and aces are no exception.

Smart players who insist on accuracy choose to stick to the basic strategy and split against strong upcards in S17 games because this move minimises their losses. Hitting this pair against tens and aces costs you around £0.54 and £0.52 for every pound you bet, respectively. By comparison, if you split the pair of 8s, your negative expectation drops to £0.48 against the ten and £0.37 against the ace. You can work out for yourself which of the two plays is the better one.

Re-splitting

Even though the instances where players can receive a second pair of 8s are rare, as previously indicated, they should be prepared for every hand. In such situations, it is worth remembering that the same strategy applies every time they get a pair of cards of the same rank.

If players happen to get another pair of 8s after the split, it is best to resplit them if allowed. Bear in mind that, as casino rules differ, some venues may have restrictions regarding this move. The fact that restrictions on resplitting sometimes exist shows that this move can be very favourable for players, as long as they know how and when to take advantage of it.

It is crucial to familiarise yourself with the casino rules for blackjack before you play; this way, you will avoid having to alter your strategy and making less-optimal plays. For instance, if players receive a second pair of 8s and wish to resplit but this move is not allowed, the chances of misplaying the hand are very high.

If resplitting is impossible, they should opt for the second-best move, which is either hitting or standing, depending on the strength of the dealer’s face-up card. The best blackjack variants normally enable you to resplit your 8s up to three times, for a total of four individual hands.

The Option To Surrender

Another sensible move players can make is to surrender, provided that this option is allowed. The reason is that having a total of 16 is a breaking hand, which will almost certainly cause them to go bust.

It is a wise move to withdraw if players have a pair of 8s as their hand’s total in most cases will lead to losing the hand. By surrendering, they will at least be able to get half of their money back in such a disadvantageous situation. However, players should take into account that many casinos do not allow this move because of the advantage it gives to the players.

If possible, surrendering your 8s is advisable against an ace in double-deck and multi-deck blackjack games where the dealer must draw to a soft 17. Paired 8s against an ace are always a split in single-deck games, regardless of the dealer’s standing position.

Conclusion

Sometimes, it can be very difficult to determine which move is the best in a particular situation. Even seasoned gamblers sometimes struggle to decide for sure and have second thoughts about certain moves. However, this is what makes gambling gambling and why blackjack is such an interesting and challenging game.

The only way to win in the long term and turn a profit is for players to strive to improve every time they play. With the appropriate knowledge of the basic rules, a reliable strategy, and good money management skills, they can gain an advantage over the casino and achieve the desired result.

It is important to focus on winning the majority of hands, not all of them. When tough situations arise, such as being dealt a pair of 8s, players should try to minimise the amount of money they lose rather than focusing solely on winning the hand.