Splittingaces and eights is part of blackjackbasic strategy. Rules vary across gambling establishments regarding resplitting, doubling, multiple card draws, and the payout for blackjack, and there are conditional strategic responses that depend upon the number of decks used, the frequency of shuffling and dealer's cards. However, regardless of the various situations, the common strategic wisdom in the blackjack community is to 'Always split aces and eights' when dealt either pair as initial cards.[1] This is generally the first rule of any splitting strategy.[2]
- 1Splitting
Dec 26, 2008 Why should you always split 8's in blackjack? Since I've been old enough to gamble the most popular piece of advice for blackjack I get is 'always split aces and eights' but nobody ever explains why. I think I get the reasoning behind the aces, but I'm wondering about the eights.
Splitting[edit]
The object of blackjack is for a player to defeat the dealer by obtaining a total as close to 21 as possible without accumulating a total that exceeds this number.[3] 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 each while placing a full initial bet identical to the original wager with each. After placing the wager for the split hands the dealer gives the player an additional card for each split card. The two hands created by splitting are considered independently in competition against the dealer.[4][5] Splitting allows the gambler to turn a bad hand into one or two hands with a good possibility of winning. It also allows the player to double the bet when the dealer busts.[2] Some rules even allow for resplitting until the player has as many as four hands[4] or allow doubling the bet after a split so that each hand has a bet double the original.[6][7] The standard rules are that when a bet is doubled on a hand, the player is only allowed to draw one more card for that hand.[8][9]
Aces[edit]
A pair of aces gives the blackjack player a starting hand value of either a 2 or a soft 12 which is a problematic starting hand in either case.[2][10] Splitting aces gives a player two chances to hit 21.[11] Splitting aces is so favorable to the player that most gambling establishments have rules limiting the player's rights to do so.[2][10] In most casinos the player is only allowed to draw one card on each split ace.[8][10] As a general rule, a ten on a split ace (or vice versa) is not considered a natural blackjack and does not get any bonus.[6] Prohibiting resplitting and redoubling is also common.[2] Regardless of the payout for blackjack, the rules for resplitting, the rules for doubling, the rules for multiple card draws and the dealer's cards, one should always split aces.[10][12][13]
Eights[edit]
If a player is dealt a pair of eights, the total of 16 is considered a troublesome hand. In fact, the value 16 is said to be the worst hand one can have in blackjack.[10] Since sixteen of the other fifty cards have a value of 10 and four have a value of 11, there is a strong chance of getting at least an 18 with either or both split cards. A hand totaling 18 or 19 is much stronger than having a 16.[6] Splitting eights limits one's losses and improves one's hand.[10][11][12] Probabilistic research of expected value scenarios shows that by splitting eights one can convert a hand that presents an expected loss to two hands that may present an expected profit or a reduced loss, depending on what the dealer is showing.[14] A split pair of eights is expected to win against dealer upcards of 2 through 7 and to lose less against dealer upcards of 8 through ace.[15] If a player hits on a pair of eights, he is expected to lose $52 for a $100 bet. If the player splits the eights, he is expected to lose only $43 for a $100 bet.[16]
History[edit]
Blackjack's 'Four Horsemen' (Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James McDermott), using adding machines, determined that splitting eights was less costly than playing the pair of eights as a 16.[17] They were part of a 1950s group that discovered that strategy could reduce the house edge to almost zero in blackjack.[18] Now a typical strategy involves the following sequence of playing decisions: one decides whether to surrender, whether to split, whether to double down, and whether to hit or stand.[19]
One of the earliest proponents of the strategy of splitting eights is Ed Thorp, who developed the strategy on an IBM 704 as part of an overall blackjack strategic theory published in Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One in 1962.[18][20][21] Thorp was the originator of the card counting system for blackjack.[18]
Notes[edit]
- ^Gros, p. 60
- ^ abcdeOrtiz, p. 56
- ^Gros, p. 48
- ^ abGros, p. 51
- ^Jensen, pp. 22–23
- ^ abcSchneider, p. 47
- ^Gros, p. 52
- ^ abSchneider, p. 49
- ^Gros, p. 50
- ^ abcdefJensen, p. 53
- ^ abJensen, p. 56
- ^ abHagen and Wiess, pp. 68
- ^Schneider, p. 48
- ^Hagen and Wiess, pp. 66–67
- ^Scoblete, Frank. 'Why Splitting Eights At Blackjack Is An Iron Clad Rule'. Golden Touch Craps. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
- ^Tamburin, Henry (25 October 1999). 'Splitting Aces and Eights'. Casino city Times. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
- ^Snyder, Arnold (2005). 'Blackjack Basic Strategy: Aces and Eights'. Player Magazine (republished).
- ^ abcGros, p. 44
- ^Jensen, p. 51
- ^Thorpe, Beat the Dealer as cited in Snyder, Arnold citation below
- ^Levinger, Jeff (10 February 1961). 'Thorpe, 704 Beat Blackjack'(PDF). The Tech. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
Blackjack Split Aces
References[edit]
- Dunki-Jacobs, Frits. Betting on Blackjack: A non-counter’s Breakthrough Guide to Making Profits at the Tables. Adams Media. pp. 28–34. ISBN1-58062-951-2.
- Gros, Roger. The Winner's Guide To Casino Gambling. Carlton Books Limited. pp. 44–69. ISBN1-85868-899-X.
- Hagen, Tom & Sonia Weiss (2005). The Everything Blackjack Strategy Book: Surefire ways to beat the house every time. Adams Media. pp. 66–68. ISBN1-59337-306-6.
- Jensen, Marten (2003). Beat Multiple Deck Blackjack. Cardoza Publishing. pp. 22–23, 51–56. ISBN1-58042-069-9.
- Ortiz, Darwin. Casino Gambling For The Clueless. Carol Publishing Group. pp. 55–59. ISBN0-8184-0609-7.
- Schneider, Meg Elaine. The Everything Casino Gambling Book (2nd ed.). Adams Media. pp. 47–49. ISBN1-59337-125-X.
- Thorp, Ed (1966). Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One. Vintage. ISBN0-394-70310-3.
Why You Split a Pair of Aces or Eights
By Arnold Snyder(First published in Player Magazine)
© 2005 Arnold Snyder
Aces and eights.
Poker players know this as the 'Dead Man's Hand.' Legend tells us that these are the cards Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot down at a poker table in Deadwood, South Dakota, back in 1876.
To basic strategy blackjack players aces and eights have entirely different meanings. The common wisdom spouted by experienced players, dealers and pit bosses, is: 'Always split aces and eights.'
Virtually all players would agree that splitting aces makes sense as blackjack basic strategy. Who wouldn't trade one hand starting with a total of 12, for two hands starting with 11 each? Only a moron would keep the 12.
But eights?
Sure, it makes sense to split those eights in two when the dealer is showing a potential bust card. Who wants a blackjack hand totaling 16? No one. Ever. So if the dealer's got a five up, or a deuce, or any other pitiful low card, I'd rather take my chances with two hands starting with 8, than one lousy, rotten 16.
But that's as far as the 'common wisdom' may seem to make sense. When the dealer's got a scare card showing-any nine, ten, or ace-why on earth would I want to split my 8s? Sure, I know a 16 still looks like a loser. But two hands starting with 8 each against these scare cards just looks like two losers.
Or, so it seems…
In Beat the Dealer, Ed Thorp says that one of the hands that convinced the pit bosses that he was a complete fool back when he first hit Las Vegas as a blackjack card counter back in 1960 was a pair of eights. As per his computer analysis, he always split them. Before computers came along, it was not common wisdom to always split 8s. Is there an understandable logic behind this basic strategy play?
As a matter of fact, there is.
What if, instead of splitting 8s, casinos allowed us to 'toss' one eight whenever we were dealt a pair, and take our chances instead with whatever card the dealer dealt us to replace it?
That's a no-brainer. A total of 8 isn't nearly so bad a start on a blackjack hand as a total of 16. With the 8, you have a pretty decent chance of drawing a ten for an 18 total. And although I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of pitting my 18 against the dealer's ten up I sure do like it better than a 16! And I might even draw an ace, 2, or 3 on my 8, giving me a chance at a much stronger hand than 16.
It's not hard to see that a hand of 8 is a whole lot better than a 16 against a dealer ten. The 8 still looks like a loser, but nowhere near as bad of a loser. If I could toss one 8, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But casinos don't give me the toss option.
The option they do give me--splitting--seems bad because I've got to put more money on the table on a loser. Whether or not two hands of 8 each is better than one hand of 16 is really a question of which option loses the least. And I can only answer that if I know exactly how much more a 16 total costs me--over time--than an 8 total. How do I figure that out?
In Blackjack Always Split Aces And Eights One
In 1956, a small group of mathematicians (Baldwin, Cantey, Maisel, and McDermott--memorialized by blackjack pros ever since as 'The Four Horsemen') used old-fashioned adding machines to calculate the answer to this and every other blackjack basic strategy question by tediously running through the math of every possible outcome. Their conclusion: Split the 8s. Even with twice the money on the table, they found, you'll fare better than you would taking your chances with that lousy 16.
For example, if the player has a sixteen versus a ten, with a $10 bet on the table, in the long run he will lose, on average, 40 cents on the hand. If he has a pair of 8s and he splits the 8s, so that he has two $10 hands starting with a total of 8, on average he will lose 16 cents on each of these hands, for a total loss of 32 cents. If you play the 16 against a ten instead of splitting the 8s, the long run cost is 8 cents for every ten dollars starting bet.
Splitting 8s versus dealer high cards is a classic defensive play. We know we will lose money on the play, but less than we would otherwise have lost.
In Blackjack Always Split Aces And Eights Band
Unfortunately, few players of that time believed the The Four Horsemen. Then, in 1962, Ed Thorp ran the same hand through his IBM computer and, in a fraction of the time it took those mathematicians, confirmed their answer. That 16 total is so bad, that when you see two 8s, you should throw the extra bet out there to split them with only one thought in your head: Thank heavens that sixteen isn't composed of a 9 and a 7, or a ten and a 6! With two 8s, you still have a fighting chance.
So, painful as it is, you should always split those is. But if you ever find a casino that offers the 'toss' option, don't split, toss! You heard it here first. ♠