One of the more frustrating hands in blackjack is being dealt a 12 when the dealer shows a 2 upcard. You hate to hit your 12 because you are afraid the dealer is going to give you a picture card and you’ll bust.
- Blackjack Should You Hit On 12
- Blackjack Hit Or Stand Game
- Blackjack When To Hit
- Blackjack Never Hit On 12
- One of the most common mistakes made by blackjack players occurs when they are dealt an initial hand of 12 dealer’s upcard is a 2. The reasons most players blunder on this hand is because they are afraid to draw any 10 and bust. In this article, I’ll show you how to play blackjack with your 12 perfectly every time.
- Sep 28, 2015 Blackjack is a game that is heavily reliant on luck. Yet, it's also one which incorporates a vast amount of strategy too. That said, with the right strategy in mind, you'll be able to go far in.
Blackjack is an extremely popular casino game, and one that offers lots of strategies and tips to help the player overcome the house edge; as much as possible anyway. Below, we've documented the Top 10 Blackjack Tips to help you improve your game.
Blackjack Tips #1: When To Hit
Use the following rules to determine when to Hit, according to your hand and the dealer's face up card.
-If the dealer's face up card is 7, 8, 9, 10 or Ace, and your hand totals 8 or 12 through 16, Hit.
-If the dealer's face up card is Ace, and your hand totals 11, do not Double, Hit.
-If the dealer's face up card is 10, and your hand totals 10, do not Double, Hit.
-If the dealer's face up card is 7, 8 or 9, and your hand totals 9, do not Double, Hit.
Blackjack Tips #2: When To Stand
Use the following rules to determine when to Stand, according to your hand and the dealer's face up card.
-When your hand totals 17 or above, no matter what, Stand. (Some strategies will tell you to hit 17 if the dealer has an Ace.)
-If the dealer's face up card is 6 or below, and your hand totals 13 or above, Stand.
-If you have a splitable pair of 10s or Face Cards, do not Split them, Stand.
Blackjack Tips #3: When To Split
Use the following rules to determine when to Split your hand, according to value of your pair and the dealer's face up card.
-Only Split 2s and 3s if the dealer's card is 4-7
-Never Split 5s; either Double Down, or Hit if the dealer is showing a 10 or Ace.
-Split 6s and 7s if the dealers card is 6 or below.
-Always split 8s, no matter what.
-Always Split Aces if allowed.
Blackjack Tips #4: When To Double
Doubling is a strategy often used when the player's hand equal 9, 10 or 11, giving the player a good chance of hitting 19-20 with a 10 or Face card. Use the following rules to determine when to Double your hand, according to your total and the dealer's face up card.
-Always double a total of 10 unless the dealer has 10 or Ace.
-Always double an 11 unless the dealer has an Ace.
-9 should only be doubled when the dealer has 3, 4, 5 or 6 showing.
Blackjack Tips #5: When in Doubt, Use a Strategy Chart
Blackjack Strategy Charts are designed to tell a player exactly how to act in every possible situation. Some players do not like blackjack Strategy Charts because they remove the element of decision making, but consider this... Casinos get the upper hand because the dealer cannot make decisions. The dealer must follow strict rules based on probabilities when playing their hand. If the player uses the same strategy, he is effectively decreasing the house edge to a minimum.
Blackjack Tips #6: Game Selection, Know The Rules
There are many more variations of Blackjack than the classic version we all know and love. Each has a slight difference in the rules, and some even have optional side bets and progressive jackpots. When choosing to play a new variation of blackjack, such as Perfect Pairs, Super 21 or Progressive Blackjack, be sure to know all of the rules and payouts involved.
Blackjack Tips #7: Card Counting
Blackjack Card Counting is an age-old strategy used by many professional blackjack players. It is not that hard to learn, and can be very effective in minimizing losses and maximizing profits. It is recommended to get a good deal of practice in card counting before applying the strategy at a live casino so that the extensive security staff does not discover you are doing it. Card counting is not illegal by any means, but it may get you promptly, if not permanently, removed from the casino if caught. Note that card counting is not a viable online casino blackjack strategy. Online casino software re-shuffles the deck with each new hand.
Blackjack Tips #8: Play Online, It's Cheaper
Aside from the omission of card counting, playing online blackjack has many benefits. For one, you can put all of the money you intended to spend towards your bankroll. You won't have to gas up the car, purchase airline tickets or book a hotel (if no local casino). When you win, you won't have the obligatory 'tipping the dealer' to reduce your profits. All in all, it just makes sense to stay home, eat your own food, drink your own drinks and spend a lot less money by playing blackjack online.
Blackjack Tips #9: Play Online for Bonuses
Blackjack Should You Hit On 12
Playing online isn't just about convenience. You can actually double or triple your bankroll when you sign up at an online casino. They all offer welcome bonuses, most matching your first deposit 100% to 200% or more, up to a certain amount. Instead of starting with $100 bankroll, made up of your own hard earned cash, why not play online and claim a welcome bonus that could give you're a lot more bankroll for your buck by way of free casino chips?
Blackjack Tips #10: Bet Sizes That Match Your Bankroll
Lastly, we'll go ahead state the obvious. Don't play a blackjack table where the limits do not correspond with your bankroll. If you have $200, don't sit at a blackjack table with a minimum $100 bet. No matter how many blackjack tips and strategies you apply, you'll want to have plenty of opportunities to play hands, with splitting and doubling available, in order to make a sizeable profit. Make sure you will be able to place a minimum of 40 bets with your bankroll before choosing a table.
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by Henry Tamburin
Blackjack Hit Or Stand Game
One of the more frustrating hands in blackjack is being dealt a 12 when the dealer shows a 2 upcard. You hate to hit your 12 because you are afraid the dealer is going to give you a picture card and you’ll bust. There’s a lot of misconception on what’s the correct way to play this hand and I aim to sort it all out so it will no longer be a “dilemma” for you.
First off, let’s look at some facts about this hand.
- Many players don’t hit 12 because they believe the dealer has a ten in the hole and, therefore, they won’t risk busting when the dealer has a weak upcard. However, when you hold a 12, only four cards will bust you ... any 10, Jack, Queen, and King, meaning you have a 65% chance of surviving a hit. Five cards ... any 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 ... will give you a 17 through 21 hand.
- With a 2 upcard, the dealer has a 35% chance of busting and 65% chance of making a 17 though 21.
- If you stand, you’ll win 35% of the time and lose 65% of the time.
- If you hit, you’ll win 37% of the time and lose 63% of the time.
Blackjack When To Hit
So what does all of the above mean? First, when the dealer has a 2 upcard, she’s not as venerable to busting as she would with, say, a 4, 5, or 6 upcard. Secondly, your chance of busting isn’t as great as you think. Therefore, it appears that hitting the 12 would be the better play than standing and this is corroborated by facts # 3 and #4. Let’s look at this in a little more detail.
Fact # 3 says you will win 35% of the time standing on 12 against a dealer 2 and lose 65% of the time. This means if you bet a dollar a hand, you would be down $30 after 100 hands on average. That certainly isn’t a good outcome but that’s a fact: standing on 12 when the dealer shows a 2 is not a profitable play and you will lose more money than you win in the long run. However, let’s look at the second option, namely hitting 12. Fact #4 says you will win 2% more times compared to standing. In dollars and cents, this means you will lose $26 after 100 hands on average. That’s also a loser but here’s the question you must ask yourself: is it better to lose $26 or $30? I hope that I’ve convinced you that even though hitting 12 against a 2 is a loser, you will lose less money in the long run compared to standing. In other word, this is classic hand where the best playing option allows you to minimize your losses.
What if your 12 consists of a pair of 6s? Now you’ve got another option and that’s to split the 6s and play two hands against the dealer’s 2 upcard. It turns out that when you split and play a 6 against a dealer 2, you will win roughly 43% of the time. In other words, you’ve increased your chances of winning when you split the 6’s against a dealer 2 compared to hitting. To say it differently, starting with a 6 is a whole lot better than starting with a 12 when you are facing a dealer’s 2 upcard. Therefore, the correct strategy is to always split a pair of 6s against a dealer 2 upcard (with one exception: if you’re playing a four-, six-, or eight-deck game where you can’t double down after pair splitting, you should hit 6’s against a 2).
You could also be dealt a soft 12, which happens to be Ace-Ace. This hand should be a no brainer. You should always split a pair of aces regardless of what the dealer’s upcard is.
Is there ever a situation when you wouldn’t hit a non-pair 12 hand against a dealer’s 2? Actually two cases come to mind. The first is when the remaining cards contain an abundance of high-value vs. small-value cards (thus increasing your chance of busting if you hit 12). In fact, card counters will sometimes stand on 12 whenever their count gets moderately positive (indicating more high cards than small cards remain in the unplayed deck of cards). So, the next time you see a fellow player standing on 12 against a dealer 2, think twice about calling him a nerd because he might just be a skilled card counter making the correct play.
The second situation which justifies deviating from hitting 12 against a dealer 2 comes about in tournament play. If the tournament rules specify that the double-down card is dealt face down, instead of hitting your 12 you could double down for just one chip (i.e., doubling for less). This move, although it involves some risk of busting, allows you to disguise the outcome of your hand from your opponents who must play their hands after you. This is a powerful strategy especially when it’s used on the last few hands of a closely contested tournament.
So now you know how to play a 12 against a dealer’s 2 under all types of situations; therefore, this hand should no longer be a dilemma for you, right?