All About Blackjack Hands

Part of learning how to play Blackjack online involves knowing what to do with the various Blackjack hands you could be dealt. Everyone wants to land that much sought-after Blackjack hand and really stick it to the dealer, but you’re actually much more likely to land other hands. The trick is learning what to do with those hands.

Plenty of Blackjack charts cover what to do with specific combinations of Blackjack hands and the dealer’s up card, but what they don’t cover can be equally fascinating. In this blog post I’m going to take you on an interesting tour of the various Blackjack hands. We’ll see how many Blackjack hand combinations there actually are, which are the most and least common, which are the best and the worst, and how to deal with those tricky ones we all get more often than we’d like!

Possible Blackjack Hands

There are 34 different Blackjack hand combinations based on card values (eg. 10, J, Q and K are all worth 10, not counted individually). This total is made up of 15 hard hands of 5 to 19, nine soft hands of A2 to A10, and 10 pairs from AA to TT (ie. 10 value cards).

Note that to keep things simple, I’m only going to be talking about single hand gameplay rather than multiple hands.

Most Common Hands

The drawing of cards in Blackjack is of course a random affair (although card counting enthusiasts will argue you can still get an edge!), but there are some Blackjack hands you’re more likely to land than others. Why? Mainly because there are more 10 value cards in the game than any other card value.

At the top end of the scale, beautifully illustrating the point, is the TT – that is, any pair of 10-value cards. This hand appears more often than any other at just over 9% of the time.

Following right after that with a frequency of just over 8% of the time are those pesky hand totals of 12 and 13. 14 and 15 appear just over 7% of the time, while 16 and 17 show up just under 6% of the time.

Joining 18 and 19 hand totals at a frequency of just under 5% is the revered Blackjack hand itself.

Least Common Hands

On the other end of the scale, some Blackjack hands rarely show up. The pairs are the least likely Blackjack hands, landing just over 0.5% of the time.

Six Deck v Single Deck?

The frequencies above apply to six-deck shoes, but what about single deck Blackjack games? Generally, there is a difference in the frequency of Blackjack hands between the two variants. This difference is not so great when you consider the soft hands and the 5 and 6 hand totals.

However, you’re far less likely to land a pair of 10-value cards, and less likely to land pairs in a single deck game due to the fact that there are simply fewer cards to make up these hands.

You’re way more likely to land those 12 to 19 hand total stiffs (ie. hands more likely to bust on a single additional card), but on the plus side, the likelihood of landing a Blackjack hand is more common in the single deck game too.

Best Blackjack Hands

Ok, let’s move onto the juicy stuff, those Blackjack best hands! Of course, we all know the best hand to land in the game of Blackjack is the Blackjack hand: A-T. That said, there are a few other Blackjack winning hands that are great to land as your hole cards:

• A pair of tens: Whether you’ve got 10-10, K-K or any combination in between, the hand total of 20 is the next best hand after Blackjack as there’s only one hand that can beat it. Even better, this is the most common hand in Blackjack as we’ve seen above. (Note: Our Blackjack strategy guide says do not split them as it’s almost never worth it!)
• A total of 11: This is the entryway to 21 and the next best hand to land. Hitting with this hand total cannot bust you, but you could land a 10 (the most commonly dealt card in the game at just over 30% of the time). The optimal approach here is to double down. Remember that this involves doubling your bet, so to keep responsible gaming in mind, use the double down bet sparingly.
• A pair of Aces: This hand might not come up very often, but it represents the most flexibility out of all Blackjack hands as you can hit, double down and split this one. Splitting is a great move for a pair of Aces as it gives you a shot at landing two Blackjack hands!

Worst Blackjack Hands

In terms of the stats, the worst Blackjack hand is a total of 16. This is because hitting on 16 is more likely to bust you than not (think of all those 10-value cards waiting in the shoe!), but it’s also not a very strong hand if you’re planning to beat the dealer.

Measure your 16 against a dealer up card of 10 and things look even bleaker due to the same likelihood of landing a 10! Similarly, if the dealer holds 8, 9 or A, you’re less likely to win. Surrendering would be a good move here if that option is available to you.

The next worst hands to land are those stiffs, particularly 13 to 15, as they are most likely to bust on an additional card.

Learning how to deal with the worst Blackjack hands is just part of the game. Check out our Blackjack tips to win for more ways to get the most out of your Blackjack experience.

Tricky Blackjack Hands

Sometimes you’ll land a Blackjack hand and it’s not immediately obvious what the best course of action is. I’m going to refer to these hands as tricky and group them into soft, hard and specific hands. Let’s check them out for the best approach to each.

Soft Blackjack Hands

A soft Blackjack hand is basically any hand involving an A, which can be counted as a 1 or 11. There is a special rule regarding soft cards called the Soft 17 that describes how the dealer must play the soft 17 hand. For the player, however, what makes these hands tricky is the fact that you can’t bust if you choose to hit, but that isn’t always the best course of action.

Here’s a look at a few soft hands and what you should do if you land them:

• Ace and 2 or 3: Hitting here is the best option, but you’re better to double down if the dealer holds a weak up card of 5 or 6.
• Ace and 7: As it stands, you’re looking at an 8 or an 18. The most likely next card is a 10, which would still be an 18, so generally you’re better off sticking with what you’ve got. The only exception is if the dealer has a 9, 10 or A, in which case the odds are against you and the best move is to try for better.
• Ace and 8: You might see 9 and think hit, but you’re very unlikely to end up with a better hand than 19, so best to just stand with this one.

Hard Blackjack Hands

Hard hands in Blackjack have less variability, but some of those hand totals can be problematic all the same.

The easier hand totals to deal with are those less than 8, which you should always hit, and those at 17 or more, on which you should always stand.

But what about the ones in the middle? Here’s a look at the slightly trickier hard hands in Blackjack and how to play them:

• 9, 10 or 11: While you’re free to hit on these cards, the better option is to double down due to the increased likelihood of landing a 10 to make a strong hand
• 12 to 16: These troublesome hand totals can be dealt with quite easily when you know how. Simply go for a better hand in all cases, unless the dealer is holding a 4, 5 or 6. Why? The dealer will most likely hit a 10, with the resulting hand total requiring them to hit again, which will likely bust them. Standing on such a miserable hand might be against your instincts, but in this situation it’s the better play.

Your 6-5 v dealer’s 10

Your 6-5 means you’re just a 10 away from 21, so doubling down is the obvious choice, right? Absolutely. However, what if the dealer has a 10? Many players worry that the dealer could have a 20 and they could land something other than a 10 and lose.

If you find yourself in this situation, consider that there’s only a 33% chance of the dealer holding another 10 to make 20. Compare that to your joint chances of getting a 20 (8%) or 21 (30%) and you can see why doubling down is still the better option even here.

Your 8-8 v dealer’s 10

Your 8-8 makes a 16, which is statistically the worst hand in Blackjack. Pitted against the dealer’s 10 up card, it will lose a miserable 77% of the time.

However, you can beat those odds by splitting the 8s. Remember, the most commonly dealt card is a 10-value card. By splitting you’ve got two shots to land a higher total than the 16 you had.

Your 9-9 v dealer’s 9

Your 9-9 hand gives you a total of 18, which is a pretty strong hand on its own. However, the dealer’s 9 up card plus the most commonly drawn 10-value card is the most likely outcome, which would beat you.

The best move here is to split. There’s only a marginal increase in the likelihood of you beating the dealer, but Blackjack is all about the edge. Your chances are improved more still if your game allows resplitting and doubling down on splits, as you can then go for the 21.

Your 10-2 v dealer’s 3

In most cases, it’s a good idea to hit with a hand total of 12 and stand if the dealer has a 4, 5 or 6, as mentioned above. But what if the dealer holds a 3? That one less point on the hand total can make all the difference for the dealer, meaning they are less likely to bust. It’s not a great hand to have to deal with, but statistically, you’re marginally better off hitting on the 12 in this situation.

Play Better Blackjack Hands

And that’s your whistle-stop tour of Blackjack hands! While we all want to land the coveted Blackjack hand, the likelihood is you’ll get something else most of the time. Now that you’ve got a better idea of your chances of landing other pretty good hands, plus what to do with those notoriously troublesome hands, now’s a great opportunity to play Blackjack for real money while the knowledge is still fresh. Enjoy!

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