Split your eights and aces?

When do you split your eights and aces? the answer is, always split your eights and aces, no matter what card the dealer is showing. These two particular cards have a special place in blackjack and should always be split. Without splitting a pair of eights the player is left with a total of sixteen which is the worst total a player can obtain in blackjack. Splitting the eights gives the player a chance to hit two tens or gain two picture cards or perhaps an ace. There’s also a chance a player might be dealt a lower card such as a two on one of the split cards allowing the player to double down for a shot at getting blackjack.

Being dealt a pair of aces would give the player a total of twelve, basic online blackjack strategy will always suggest splitting the aces to gain a higher total, maybe even two blackjack hands paying three to two.

The higher the skill level of the blackjack player the more predictable the cards become, professional online blackjack players will sometimes decide not to split aces or eights and favor sticking. The only way breaking basic strategy in favor of sticking on a pair of aces or eights is if you’re an experienced card counter.

The online blackjack player who is an experienced card counter uses a simple system whereby each the numerical value of the cards are broken down. Low cards are given a negative number and high cards are given a positive number, if the running count is a negative number, the experienced player might opt to not receive another card based on his estimation that he/she will receive a low numbered card which will give the house the edge.

Card counting is a difficult task not in the sense that it’s a complicated system if just difficult to keep up the concentration for the entire game, distraction on one hand would mean your entire count up till then would be useless.

So it’s always better to split eights and aces for standard online blackjack players.

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