A soft 17 is a blackjack hand worth 17 points. It can be made with any combination of three or more cards. The basic strategy is to play the hand with your best card against the dealer’s upcard.
While a soft 17 isn’t a bad hand, it’s not the best choice. Hard hands offer a better chance of winning, but also a higher risk of busting. Since doubling down isn’t possible in most variations, players should opt for the safer route and double.
While the soft 17 is the most common blackjack hand, there are a few other variants of the classic. This article will discuss the soft and hard rules. We will also look at some of the common missteps made by players in the land-based and online casinos.
Generally speaking, the soft and hard rules are not that different. The main difference is whether or not the dealer hits on the soft 17. Regardless of which of the two is the rule of thumb, the soft 17 is the more reliable hand.
There are a few more things to consider, however. The main one is the rule’s effect on the casino’s edge. The soft 17 rule decreases the player’s net expectation by 0.20%. That’s about half as much as the 0.35% edge a basic strategy player gets on a two-deck game, but it still provides an advantage. When the player does hit, the dealer has to take a hit.
On the other hand, the most important thing to remember about the soft 17 is that the ace can be counted as either a 1 or an 11 depending on which way you look at it. So if you’re playing a blackjack table, you may want to check the dealer’s upcard first before deciding on a hand.
The basic strategy in blackjack consists of the best move when the dealer shows anything. Depending on your total, this may mean hitting, doubling, or a combination of the three. In general, hitting is the correct move when the dealer’s upcard is a 10 or a 9, but doubling is the correct move when the dealer’s card is a jack or a queen.
Another blackjack fact is that the best strategy for hitting a soft 17 is to double. It’s not as obvious as it sounds, but it’s a smart move. If you double down on a soft 17, you will reduce the house edge by a hefty 0.10%. As a side benefit, you’ll have a much higher chance of improving your hand, since it’s harder for the dealer to bust a soft hand.
One of the other most important facts about the soft 17 is that it’s not actually a bad hand. It can be improved, but the chances of doing so are small. With a few extra cards, you can turn it into a winner. But you’ll need to be very patient with your strategy in this game, as the casino has an edge over you, so don’t rush it.
