Should You Hit On A Soft 17 In Blackjack

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Play Ona Table Where the Dealer HitsSoft 17's

Should You Hit On A Soft 17 In Blackjack Games


NOTE: This information is no longertrue... Yahoo! changed their code! I'll go ahead and leave thisup here but then be sure to read my update at the bottomof the page.

A 'soft 17' is a hand totaling 17 points, which includes at least one Ace, which can be valued at 1 or 11 points. Examples would be Ace, 6 or Ace, 4, 2 or Ace, 3, 3, 3, etc. The following hands are not soft 17's since, if the Ace is counted as 11, the hand exceeds 21: Ace, 5, 6 or Ace, 3, 9 etc.

Now, normally the opposite would be true. It is a slight advantage (.2% according to Million Dollar Blackjack by Ken Uston) to the player to play at a table in which the dealer stands on a soft 17.

The people at Yahoo! however, are either not up to speed on what a soft 17 is, or more likely, simply did not do enough error checking while testing their code. As I write these words (May of 1998) if you create a table in which the dealer must hit on a soft 17, the dealer will hit on a hard 17 if it contains an Ace !!!

Here's a screen capture I made, proving this:

Lastly, as indicated on the basic blackjack strategy chart, if you are unable to double down due to the blackjack variation you are playing, you should hit except for 4 scenarios where its highly recommended to rather stand. This includes when you display a soft 18 and the dealer displays a 6, 5, 4, or 3.

  • Its soft because you cannot break under any cricumstances since if you draw cards to exceed 21, the ace can begin to be counted as only 1 reducing the new total by ten points.You should always.
  • In the world of blackjack some casinos require dealers to stand when their hand is a soft 17 (designated as s17), whereas others require dealers to hit soft 17 (i.e. They have implemented the soft 17 rule or h17). You can always tell whether a casino has the soft 17 rule or not by reading the wording on the table layout.
I was dealt a Jack and a 5, for a total of 15, against the dealer's upcard of a 6. Basic Strategy calls for one to stand here, which I did. The dealer promptly flipped over an Ace giving him a soft 17. Because I specifically choose the option for the dealer to hit soft 17's the dealer then took a hit and received a 6 for a total of 13. He then took another hit and received a 4 for what is now a hard 17! The programming logic should have stood at this point... and I would have lost! As you can see, the dealer took another hit and busted with 26!

Should You Hit On A Soft 17 In Blackjack Card Game

Hit

Should You Hit On A Soft 17 In Blackjack Machine

Because of this error (or flaw or bug or whatever you want to call it) it is now beneficial to play at a table where the dealer hits soft 17's.

Just this week alone I have already benefited from this numerous times. Since a 10 is a common card, it actually happens quite frequently! Many times the dealer has had a soft 17 of some type, taken the required hit and received a 10! And then on almost every occasion, when the dealer hits that hard 17, he proceeds to bust.

Note the dealer doesn't actually have to ever have a soft 17 for this to happen. Earlier today, I noticed the dealer held a 10 as an upcard, flipped over a 6, took a hit and received an Ace for 17 and then took another hit! At no time did the dealer ever have a soft 17!

The dealer hitting on all hard 17's which include Aces, is a HUGE advantage for the player!

Should You Hit On A Soft 17 In Blackjack Terms

UPDATE! I was just informed from another player Yahoo! changed their code. The dealer no longer hits on a hard 17 which contains Aces. To confirm this, I decided to come back out of 'retirement' and play for just a short while. He was right -- the dealer is now correctly standing when he should be. So all of the above is now incorrect. It is now beneficial...

..to play at a table where the dealer STANDS on soft 17's !!!

Got it?? Good. Now explain it to me! <grin>