Splitting Cards in Blackjack

2007 July 08, Charlie Black

Recently we have been looking at the various choices available to a Blackjack player at the table. Not only is it important that a Blackjack player always makes the correct decisions during play, but also you should understand why those decisions are correct. Applying basic strategy because "you were told to" is not enough. You need to educate yourself to understand the game more intimately, which will in turn make your decisions at the table much easier.

One of the more interesting decisions at the Blackjack table presents itself when the player is dealt two cards of matching rank (a pair). When this occurs the player is given the option to "split" their hand into two separate hands. You can do this on any pair by placing an additional bet that matches the size of your initial bet, splitting the pair and playing the two hands separately.

Many people are aware of this rule, but many are unsure of when to apply it, as there are many situations where you and should and shouldn't split your hand. It also requires you to place an additional bet, which can be intimidating for new players. Splitting is only ever done in situations that are favorable for the player, so you need to understand that any situation where you have an edge should be exploited as much as possible in order to maximize your profits over the long term.

The table below summarizes the correct strategy of when to split your hand.

H=Hit, S=Stand, D=Double, P=Split

As you can see you should always be splitting aces or eights, but never split tens or fives. Other hands are dependant upon the dealer's up card.

So why is this table correct? The correct strategy is based on millions of computer simulations and the pure mathematics behind the game of Blackjack.

For example splitting aces is the most profitable play because nearly a third of the deck are tens which would give you a powerful 21. A pair of eights gives us a 16 which is a terrible hand, but if we split into two eights we have a good chance of making an 18 which is a much stronger chance of winning the hand.

An interesting holding is a pair of nines against the dealer's seven. It is advisable to not split your nines in this instance. Although you'd have a good chance of making a 19, in reality a 19 is not that much stronger than the 18 you currently hold in this situation. This is because if the dealer turns over a likely ten to make a 17 then you will win with your 18 anyway. It's not worth the risk of breaking your strong hand. Similarly we should never be splitting a pair of tens. When you hold a 20 you are in a powerful position to win the hand. Why put this at risk? Even if the dealer is showing a 5 or 6, it's not worth the risk of losing two bets to break your powerful hand to try and make two strong hands. Over the long term the right play is to stand on your pair of tens and try to win with your 20.

A pair of fives is another interesting one. You should never split a pair of fives. This is because five plus five equals ten. Holding a ten puts you in a powerful position as any ten or ace will give you a monster hand. Alternatively if you split and make two 15's then you are going to have to pray for the dealer to bust. In this situation you should be looking towards opportunities to "double down" (discussed in previous article) rather than splitting.

The odds of the dealer busting increases when the dealer is showing a five or six. Therefore it is profitable over the long term to split most of your pairs against this holding, as the dealer is likely to bust.

Where splitting is good, re-splitting is even better! Some online casinos allow you to re-split and create a third or even a fourth hand! If it was profitable the first time, then it will be profitable every additional time. So whenever you have the opportunity to re-split you should always take it. There's nothing more exciting than seeing the dealer bust when you have re-split your hand four times!

Splitting is a creative and fun play that is an important weapon in any Blackjack players arsenal. If you never split your hands then you are simply splitting your winnings with the casino. Be a smart player and ensure that you understand splitting to maximize your profits.