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Hard Hands vs. Soft Hands:
- Hard Hand: A hand without an Ace or where the Ace counts as 1 (e.g., 10-6).
- Soft Hand: A hand with an Ace counted as 11 (e.g., Ace-7).
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Dealer's Upcard: The card that the dealer shows. This is crucial for making decisions.
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Player's Total: The sum of the player's cards.
Here are the general rules for making decisions based on your hand and the dealer's upcard:
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Hard Totals:
- 8 or less: Always hit.
- 9: Hit if the dealer shows 2-6; otherwise, hit.
- 10: Double if the dealer shows 2-9; otherwise, hit.
- 11: Double if the dealer shows 2-10; hit against an Ace.
- 12: Stand if the dealer shows 4-6; otherwise, hit.
- 13-16: Stand if the dealer shows 2-6; otherwise, hit.
- 17 or more: Always stand.
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Soft Totals:
- Ace-2 or Ace-3: Hit if the dealer shows 4-6; otherwise, hit.
- Ace-4 or Ace-5: Double if the dealer shows 4-6; otherwise, hit.
- Ace-6: Double if the dealer shows 3-6; otherwise, hit.
- Ace-7: Stand if the dealer shows 2, 7, or 8; double if the dealer shows 3-6; otherwise, hit.
- Ace-8 or Ace-9: Always stand.
- Double down when you have:
- 10 against a dealer's 2-9.
- 11 against a dealer's 2-10.
- 9 against a dealer's 3-6.
- Always split:
- Aces and 8s.
- Never split:
- 10s or 5s.
- Split:
- 2s and 3s against a dealer's 2-7.
- 4s against a dealer's 5-6.
- 6s against a dealer's 2-6.
- 7s against a dealer's 2-7.