Blackjack is a card game that requires skill, strategy, and luck. Aces are the most powerful cards in the deck and give players a much better chance of reaching 21 than a hand without them. But, how exactly are aces used in the game of blackjack? This article will explore the various ways aces can be played and how players can maximize their chances of winning.
In Blackjack, all cards have a specific value. The value of cards two through ten is their pip value and face cards (Jack, Queen and King) are worth ten points each. An ace can be counted as either one or eleven, depending on what type of hand is being formed. The combination of an ace with another card other than a ten-card is called a soft hand and can be busted by drawing a ten-card. In contrast, a hard hand is a hand in which the ace is counted as 11 and cannot be busted by drawing a ten-card.
One of the most common questions that blackjack players have is, “What do I do if I have two aces?” The general consensus among blackjack strategists is to split the aces. The reason is that splitting a pair of aces creates two hands with a value of 11 each, which gives players significantly improved odds of hitting a blackjack. It’s important to remember that splitting aces does require an additional bet, so players should only do it when the situation calls for it.
The only case in which it is not advisable to split a pair of aces is when the dealer has an ace or a ten-card. In this instance, it would be wise to stick with a single-card blackjack strategy. The aces themselves do not make a good blackjack hand, so the player should focus on improving their other cards to get to 21.
There is a specific form of shuffle tracking called ace sequencing, which involves keeping track of certain areas in the deck or decks of cards prior to and through the shuffling process in order to determine where an ace may be located after the cards are reshuffled. This is a difficult advantage play technique that only a small number of people have been able to master and is considered by many blackjack experts to be an unethical and illegal practice.
Most casinos will not allow players to resplit aces after they have been split. However, some casinos do allow players to split pairs of eights or sevens if the dealer has two through nine in his/her hand. Players should always split aces and eights as they offer better opportunities for hitting a blackjack than a single hand with a value of 12 or 14.