You are much better off at any ordinary 3-2 game, which are easy to find elsewhere. Update: After this question, the Las Vegas Club changed their rules to pay 6 to 5 on a blackjack in their so-called 'World's Most Liberal Blackjack Rules.' The 6 to 5 does not even make it a legitimate blackjack game. Don't feel badly about falling for their marquee, I fell for it myself in my younger days before I knew the effects of rule variations. It is the six decks at the Las Vegas Club which work against the player. Based on a two-deck game, where you can not double after splitting, the expected value of splitting 8,s against a 10 is -0.480673, better than the -0.5 by surrendering.Ĭontrary to their claim of having the 'World's Most Liberal Blackjack Rules' there are better single-deck games right across the street at the Horseshoe or the Golden Gate. Even if you can't double after a split you should still decline to surrender. Yes, you still want to split eights, even if late surrender is offered.

A blackjack hand valued between 12 and 16.Thanks for the kind words, Jim.

In addition to that, card counting can help players make more informed betting decisions, especially in single-deck blackjack. The best way to handle a stiff hand is to follow basic strategy, which it was developed to ensure the maximum possible success rate in blackjack. How to Cope With a Stiff Hand in Blackjack? At 16, the chance of busting is a whopping 62%.īeing situated between 12 and 16, a stiff hand can only win if the dealer busts, since the house is required to draw cards until at least 17. As the player nears 16, the chance of busting only increases.

What Makes a Stiff Hand Bad?Īs there are four ranks of cards with a value of 10 in blackjack, the player has an approximately 30% chance of busting if they were to hit on a score of 12. Having a stiff hand is highly undesirable as it is likely to bust if the player hits and, at the same time, it is unlikely to win if the player chooses to stand. In the context of blackjack, a stiff hand is a hand valued between 12 and 16.

What is a stiff hand blackjack