Hit or Stand
| Updated: Hit and Stand – Important Blackjack Moves
Although blackjack is a fun game that you can play by simply trusting your gut, relying on luck is not the most beneficial way to play in the long run. Blackjack games often offer some of the lowest house edges, but this is true only when players use the basic blackjack strategy. It allows them to make the optimal decision about whether to hit or stand in many scenarios where their gut feeling might not be their most trusted advisor.
To be able to decrease the house edge and give yourself better winning chances in the long run, it is crucial to know when to hit and when to stand. Before you start learning any strategy, however, we would like to familiarise you with these two essential moves in blackjack so that you can understand the card game of 21 better.
The Moves Hit and Stand
One of the choices you will inevitably face in every blackjack game, after you have placed your bet and received your first two cards, is whether to hit or stand. In blackjack, hitting simply means drawing another card to add to your two-card hand.
If you play blackjack at an online casino, you do not need to learn any gestures. However, if you are a fan of the traditional casino experience, you have to know the different hand gestures used in blackjack. Before we continue, we should mention that the hand gestures depend on whether you play a shoe or a hand-held blackjack variation. In shoe blackjack variations, players’ cards are dealt face up from a shoe, while in hand-held games, players’ cards are dealt face down and the dealer holds the deck.
If you play a shoe blackjack variation, you can indicate that you want to hit by tapping the table with a finger. Hand-held blackjack variations use different etiquette — they require players who want to hit to gently scratch their cards across the felt. Players usually perform this move when their hand is weak in an attempt to improve its total and beat the dealer.
The second option you have when playing blackjack is to stand, or in other words, to end your turn without drawing a card. If you opt for this move, the total value of your hand remains the same and the game continues accordingly. In order to indicate it, you have to move your hand horizontally above the table. In most cases, players choose to stand when the total value of their hand is satisfactory or when their chances of busting are high.
To indicate you want to stand in shoe blackjack variations, you have to move your hand horizontally above your cards. In hand-held games, you simply slide your cards under your bet to indicate the same move.
These two basic moves play a crucial role in every game, as you are usually required to choose one of them and that choice will determine whether the outcome of your hand is positive or negative. In contrast to other moves such as splitting and doubling down, hitting and standing are two options that are always available, regardless of the variation and the casino.
When to Hit
As already mentioned, the main reason why you should hit is to try to improve the total in your hand. It is important to keep in mind that your objective is to reach twenty-one, or a total as close to this number as possible, without surpassing it, as doing so instantly results in a loss. Another thing worth noting is that the average winning hand in blackjack is 18.5, meaning that you do not always need precisely twenty-one points to win.
In order to decide when it is best to hit, it is also very important to take into account your odds of busting. For instance, if you choose to take a hit and you have a hand whose total is seventeen, your chances of busting are 69%, but if your hand totals eleven or less, the odds are 0%. The reason is that no card in the deck will cause you to go over twenty-one, and therefore you cannot lose immediately.
By drawing another card, you can improve your hand and increase your chances of beating the dealer, as at the end of every round the winner is the person who has the highest total. In general, hitting is the most frequently used move in blackjack because it gives players the opportunity to form a higher total by getting an additional card. However, there are some situations in which this move is not beneficial, and it is best to avoid it.
When to Stand
In general, you should stand when you think that the total in your hand is enough to make you a winner. Your decisions should always be based on your total as well as the dealer’s up card. If the dealer has a high-value card and you believe that their chances of busting are high, then it is also a good idea to stand. Many players forget that this is another way to win the game and often undertake unnecessary risks by drawing another card in an attempt to improve their hand, but in most cases they achieve exactly the opposite effect.
According to the basic strategy, there are some situations in which it is better to stand, regardless of the dealer’s up card. If you have an ace and an eight or an ace and a nine, then you should always stand. These combinations are among the best you can get in blackjack and it is almost impossible to improve such hands.
In such situations, you should stand and remain in this beneficial position in order to make the most of your hand. It is very important to know how to act in these two particular cases and to never misplay these hands, as they give you great chances of winning. Any other move, including doubling down, will most likely place you in a weaker position or will cause you to lose.
Another situation in which it is best to stand is if you have a total of twelve and the dealer’s up card is a four, a five, or a six. It is also recommended to choose this move if your hand totals thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen and the dealer’s up card is from two to six.
In all other cases mentioned above, your best choice will be to hit. There are two more situations in which the basic strategy calls for standing. The first one is when you have a soft 18 and the dealer’s up card is a two, a seven, or an eight. The second one is when you have a pair of 9s and the dealer’s up card is a seven, a ten, or an ace.
Soft 17 Rule
In blackjack, you are able to decide whether to hit or stand by taking into account the total of your hand, the dealer’s up card, and the number of decks in the game. When it comes to the dealer, this is not the case, as they must act according to the established rules. Their play is automatic, meaning that the moves they must make are already determined by the rules of the game.
The soft 17 rule dictates how the dealer must act when they have at least a soft 17 (a hand containing an ace and totaling 17). This rule can differ from one casino to another. However, it is very easy to figure out whether the dealer stands or hits on this card combination, as it is usually displayed on the table along with the payout for a blackjack.
The reason why it is so important to know in advance whether the dealer is required to hit or stand on soft 17 is that this rule has a significant impact on the house edge. In most cases, the dealer stands on soft 17 or more and hits on 16 or less, which works in players’ favour, as the dealer cannot improve their hand.
However, some blackjack variations require the dealer to hit on soft 17 instead. This rule increases the dealer’s chances of winning. Having this in mind, blackjack fans are advised to select blackjack variations in which the dealer stands on soft 17.
Conclusion
If you know when to hit and when to stand, you can significantly improve your game and increase your chances of winning. Blackjack is a casino game with an already fairly low house edge. If you apply a basic strategy correctly, you can influence the outcome of every hand to a huge extent and win consistently. To be able to make the best move, it is not enough to know the rules of the game and to take into account the total of your hand. You should also consider your odds of winning in a particular situation and the dealer’s up card, as they play a crucial role in the outcome of the round.