Blackjack Strategies

Splitting 8's

When I talk to someone about the advantage of splitting in Blackjack, the person usually informs me: "I know the rule about always splitting Aces and 8's."

And, like the legendary Deadman's Hand in poker, this same combination can also be fatal to a Blackjack player's winning plans.

Please, please let me bury forever the myth of always splitting 8's. Like the idea of always splitting Aces, this one concerning a pair of 8's is also the stuff of which gasohol but very little else can be made: Garbage!

Refer to the Basic Strategy chart and you'll see it says to split 8's across the board. Yet, it could say hit against 10's and Aces and not be wrong. In my classes, I teach that it's up to the student whether 8's are split or hit against a dealer's 10 or Ace. From a percentage standpoint, the move is very close. So, I'll let you examine both sides and judge for yourself.

According to Julian Braun, if you hit two 8's (16) against the dealer's ten count card, you will lose about 76% of the time.

If you split 8's against a ten count card, you have two hands rather than one each one made up of an 8 playing against a 10. Braun concludes you will lose 62% of these confrontations. And don't forget you'll wager twice as much as when you hit the two 8's.

Which move has the edge? In 100 hands, hitting sixteen against a 10 will cost you 52 unit bets (76 losses minus 24 wins). Splitting the hands turns 100 hands into 200 because you are playing two hands instead of one every time. Losing 62 out of 100 hands means you'll lose 124 and win 76 out of 200, for a net lost of 48 units. Not a big spread, 52 versus 48. But, to a card counter, the difference can be greater depending on the "richness" or "poorness" of the shoe.

Until you learn card counting, the choice is yours. I have chosen to split 8's against 10's and Aces. For me to say that my way in this case is the only way to play is to tell you only part of the story.

How often will you get two 8's? An average of once every 169 hands. How often will the dealer also get a ten count card showing at the same time you have two 8's? Once every 550 hands. A typical rate of play is 35 to 45 hands per hour. It should take you roughly 13,750 hands (or 300+ hours) to record a difference, regardless of what you decide.

It really is up to you. I seldom let you make your own decisions. Have fun with this one.

Basic Blackjack strategy when you have two 8'S

DEALER'S UP CARD	YOU SHOULD
Any Card	SPLIT