If you get Blackjack, the dealer pays you 3 to 2. If you and the dealer both get Blackjack, it is a push and no chips are given or taken away. If you have a higher total than the dealer (or the dealer busts), the. In blackjack, the standard rule is that if the player is dealt a pair of identically ranked initial cards, known as a pair, the player is allowed to split them into separate hands and ask for a new second card for.
In most versions of Blackjack, when you are dealt a pair (two of the same card), you have the option to split them into two new hands. You are dealt two more cards (one for each new hand) and your bet is doubled. You play each hand normally — you get two chances to beat the dealer (or lose). In addition, when you play blackjack at a land-based casino — there is a way to signal split to the dealer. You simply place the next bet close to your original wager and form the letter V with your index.
So you got a J-Q hand in front of you. The dealer shows 5 and you are thinking to yourself: yes, I know people say that splitting tens is a mistake, but he has 5 and there are good chances his hole card is 10 to 15 and bust; so I'll just split this one time. You split and get 7 and 4, so you stand. The dealer gets 2 and K to 17 and you see your money go down the drain.
So let's see how many mistakes where done in this play and how much it cost you. First, counting dealers hole card as 10 is one of the common blackjack myths. The odds that he will get a 10 value card are much lower than 50%, 31% to be exact, so making this assumption is a big mistake.
Second, there is a reason why splitting 10s is a bad move. Before we get into statistics and odds, let's see how much money it cost you in this particular situation. The answer is not 2, not 3, but 4! Times your original bet. If your bet was $10, then you lost $20 instead of winning $20. Of course that's just one extreme example to show how costly it can be.
Some Help from Steve Kerr
In a fascinating way, Steve Kerr used the Splitting 10s rule to explain Draymond Green his mistake. So we will go the opposite way. Check the video here: Draymond takes the ball and drives to the basket. The defender goes to Steph. But, instead of going for an easy dunk, Draymond passes the ball to Steph. You can see how it ended.
Draymond choose to pass on sure 2 points for possible 3. Steph is shooting 50%+ from 3 point range. That means that Draymond traded 2 points for 1.5 points.
Splitting 10s is exactly the same. Play slots online for cash. Free casino bonus no deposit needed. You trade almost certainly winning hand for a chance to get bigger payout. The only difference is that your odds of getting blackjack on your split hands is much lower than Steph hitting that 3-pointer.
Free quick hit slots. Kerr lets us know what he think of this bad decision pic.twitter.com/RV3kkI2thF
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) January 9, 2018
Splitting Tens vs. Standing Odds
As we explained in our article on Blackjack Split strategy, there are two main situations in which you should split. First one, is to avoid/improve weak hands, such as 8s. This also referred as defensive split. The second reason is to take full advantage of a strong hand, such as splitting 9s vs. dealers 4 for example. As you can see, splitting 10 value cards doesn't fall under any of the two. You will just be exchanging one winning hand to two solid hands and as they say, one bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. In this case, it's worth much more.
To make it simple: There is not a single situation in a regular blackjack game when splitting tens will give you higher return than standing with 20. Whatever the dealer has, 4, 5, 6, it doesn't matter. If you split, you will be lowering your winning odds.
Dealer's 6 is the closest situation, but even there, the expected return for splitting is 143%, while standing will get you 177%. That means that you will win $77 instead of $43 on every $100 wagered on this type of hands. On other dealer up cards the gap is even bigger.
When You Should Split Tens?
As with every rule, there are some exceptions, two to be exact:
Double Exposure Blackjack (Face Up): In this blackjack variation both dealer's cards are exposed which gives us additional information on whether we should split, double, stand and so forth. In Face up blackjack you should split tens vs. dealer's 13, 14, 15 and 16.
Card Counting: If you count cards, then you should split 10s when the deck is rich in 10s. On true count of +5 you should split vs. dealer's 5 and 6.
Bottom line: unless you are playing Double Exposure or counting cards, never split 10s. We promise that if you stick to this rule, in the end of day you will have more chips in front of you, which is pretty much the point.
- Appendices
- Miscellaneous
- External Links
Introduction
It is generally allowed to bet behind another player in blackjack. This is done by placing a bet behind that of the player with control of the hand. You see this often in crowded casinos, but it can happen anywhere. It is especially common on Macau.
When this happens, and the player in control splits, the back-player has the choice to match his original bet and play out both hands, or keep only his original wager on the table and play it out on the first of the split hands. This is a valuable option to have, as this appendix will show.
The first table below shows the number of hands the back-player should choose to play. This is based on infinite decks, and is the same regardless of whether the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17. It does assume that double after a split is allowed. It also includes obviously bad splits, which are included for the sake of completeness, rather than to imply that the player in control should split. The table also assumes that the front-player will keep resplitting, even if it is a bad play.
With a selfish player in control, splitting only when it is in his best interest, following the back-splitting strategy above will lower the house edge against the back-player by 0.08%.
The next table shall refer to an unselfish player, who will split or not split according to the benefit of the back-player. This could happen if the two players are in collusion, and the back bet is significantly larger than that of the acting player. The table shows when the acting player should split, assuming double after split is allowed and an infinite number of decks. It does not matter whether the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17.
Free quick hit slots. Kerr lets us know what he think of this bad decision pic.twitter.com/RV3kkI2thF
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) January 9, 2018
Splitting Tens vs. Standing Odds
As we explained in our article on Blackjack Split strategy, there are two main situations in which you should split. First one, is to avoid/improve weak hands, such as 8s. This also referred as defensive split. The second reason is to take full advantage of a strong hand, such as splitting 9s vs. dealers 4 for example. As you can see, splitting 10 value cards doesn't fall under any of the two. You will just be exchanging one winning hand to two solid hands and as they say, one bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. In this case, it's worth much more.
To make it simple: There is not a single situation in a regular blackjack game when splitting tens will give you higher return than standing with 20. Whatever the dealer has, 4, 5, 6, it doesn't matter. If you split, you will be lowering your winning odds.
Dealer's 6 is the closest situation, but even there, the expected return for splitting is 143%, while standing will get you 177%. That means that you will win $77 instead of $43 on every $100 wagered on this type of hands. On other dealer up cards the gap is even bigger.
When You Should Split Tens?
As with every rule, there are some exceptions, two to be exact:
Double Exposure Blackjack (Face Up): In this blackjack variation both dealer's cards are exposed which gives us additional information on whether we should split, double, stand and so forth. In Face up blackjack you should split tens vs. dealer's 13, 14, 15 and 16.
Card Counting: If you count cards, then you should split 10s when the deck is rich in 10s. On true count of +5 you should split vs. dealer's 5 and 6.
Bottom line: unless you are playing Double Exposure or counting cards, never split 10s. We promise that if you stick to this rule, in the end of day you will have more chips in front of you, which is pretty much the point.
- Appendices
- Miscellaneous
- External Links
Introduction
It is generally allowed to bet behind another player in blackjack. This is done by placing a bet behind that of the player with control of the hand. You see this often in crowded casinos, but it can happen anywhere. It is especially common on Macau.
When this happens, and the player in control splits, the back-player has the choice to match his original bet and play out both hands, or keep only his original wager on the table and play it out on the first of the split hands. This is a valuable option to have, as this appendix will show.
The first table below shows the number of hands the back-player should choose to play. This is based on infinite decks, and is the same regardless of whether the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17. It does assume that double after a split is allowed. It also includes obviously bad splits, which are included for the sake of completeness, rather than to imply that the player in control should split. The table also assumes that the front-player will keep resplitting, even if it is a bad play.
With a selfish player in control, splitting only when it is in his best interest, following the back-splitting strategy above will lower the house edge against the back-player by 0.08%.
The next table shall refer to an unselfish player, who will split or not split according to the benefit of the back-player. This could happen if the two players are in collusion, and the back bet is significantly larger than that of the acting player. The table shows when the acting player should split, assuming double after split is allowed and an infinite number of decks. It does not matter whether the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17.
Following this strategy the house edge of the back-player is reduced by 0.20%. Combining the benefit of both players, some kind of hybrid splitting strategy would be in order, according to the ratio of the back back to the front bet. This is an area for future addition to this page.
This topic is also addressed in chapter 6 of Basic Blackjack by Stanford Wong.
Internal Links
Split In Blackjack Rules
Written by: Michael Shackleford