One of the most important things you need to understand about blackjack is the difference between hard and soft hands. This is often a point of confusion for new players, who may not realize the significance of the distinction. It can have a huge impact on your strategy in different situations, particularly with dealer cards that are low or high in value.
A hand is considered a soft one in blackjack when it has an Ace that can be counted as either 1 or 11. The presence of this card makes your hand flexible, which means you can improve it by adding another card without the fear of busting the hand. In contrast, a hard hand is one that does not contain an Ace.
The dealer will speak of your hand as being “hard” or “soft” when he announces your total before you act. This is his way of reminding you that the choice to hit or stand depends on whether your hand has a flexible Ace or not.
In addition to the fact that a soft hand cannot be busted by one additional card, it also has the benefit of giving you more choices than a hard hand. The most significant of these is the ability to double down a soft hand. Doubling down is a powerful and profitable strategy that professional blackjack players love to use.
Another major advantage of a soft hand is the ability to split your cards. This allows you to make two separate, stronger hands out of your original hand, which will give you a much better chance of winning. In a hard hand, you can only split your cards once, which limits your opportunities for making strong hands.
There are certain types of soft hands that should be hit against the dealer, while others can be defended by hitting. These include a hand with an ace that can be counted as 11, such as an ace-6 or a 3-ace hand. These hands should be hit against all dealer cards except for 5, 6, and 7.
It is not uncommon to see players misplay a soft hand by treating it like a hard hand. This is because they are not sure how to treat the ace in their hand. In the case of a deuce-ace hand, for example, the player may play it as a soft three rather than a soft 13 because they want to keep the hand as small as possible. This is a mistake because the ace can always be counted as 11 and this will save the hand from going bust. Therefore, the player should play this hand as a soft 13. The same is true for all other soft hands. This will prevent the player from committing a critical mistake that could cost them their entire bankroll. This is why it is important to fully understand what a soft and hard hand in blackjack is before you start betting real money.