Blackjack Articles

When To Split

One of the most common mistakes that I see beginners make in blackjack is when it comes to splitting their paired starting cards. Some, knowing very little about the rules, never split at all. Others, knowing a little too much for their own good, always split a pair and take their chances.

The correct play is somewhere in between. You need to know when to split in order to maximize your profits. More importantly, you need to know when NOT to split, avoiding greed in order to keep your profits. Today, we’ll cover these two subjects.

There are certain hard and fast rules when you consider splitting cards:

Never Split Tens or Face Cards: A made 20 is a near-perfect hand. There might be a temptation to split against a weak dealer card (like a 4, 5, or 6), but believe me, this is a long term losing strategy. Keep your made hand, and collect your chips.
Never Split 5’s: Two 5’s is a ten, right? So play it like a ten! You’ll want to double down with these boys, unless the dealer is showing an ace or a 10, in which case, hit it like a standard hand.
Always Split 8’s: 16 is a bad hand. So bad, that ANY other hand is preferable. There’s nothing sweeter than turning your awful 8,8 into two 18’s, and watching the dealer get a 17 or push!
Always Split Aces: Without a doubt, the strongest split you can make. It’s so strong, that many casinos will not let you hit on your split aces; you take what you get and stand. Even then, splitting aces is the right move.
Split Any Other Pair Against a Dealer 5 or 6: You certainly want to get money on the table when the dealer is VERY weak. This is your chance. Even lowly 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s have a good shot against these dealer hands.

Now some general guidelines rooted in basic blackjack strategy. When you have any pair that isn’t covered above, you’ll tend to split against their weaker up cards (2 through 6), and just hit against their strong hands (8 through A). The only special situations are with 4’s and 9’s, or when facing a dealer 7.

When you could easily make an 18, it’s often worth going for the 18. So hit those 4’s unless you see a dealer 5 or 6 up. This is going to sound crazy, but you actually want to split your 9’s unless the dealer is showing a 7, ten, or ace. Why? Because you’ll probably beat the 7, you don’t want to mess with the premium dealer hands when you have an 18, and math shows us that the rest of the splits are the best move in the average game.

A dealer 7 is the toughest hand to play against. Follow the guidelines above, hit with 4’s and 6’s, and split anything else. Again, this is a tough split, right on the borderline. But long-term play shows the split to be optimal against the dealer 7 for 2’s, 3’s, 7’s, and 8’s.

Now that you know the basic rules of splitting, see if you can remember them without constantly looking at a basic strategy chart or flash cards. But don’t be afraid to look back at your basic strategy table if you forget!

Bill Ricardi
Blackjack Expert