Blackjack Dealer Soft 16
- A soft 16 is ANY hand where you hold an Ace and the Ace can be counted as a 1 or an 11. It is called a 'soft' hand because you can't break (aka 'bust') if you hit the hand. An example of a soft 16.
- When you are dealt soft 13 (A-2), soft 14 (A-3), soft 15 (A-4) and soft 16 (A-5) and the dealer is not in a breaking position, you should assume your Ace has a value of 1 and hit your hand until you reach a total of hard 17 or higher. Let’s take a moment to consider a concrete example where you hold A-2 against a dealer with an upcard of 3.
- Soft 16 – 18 vs. Dealer’s Low Cards In this scenario, you need to have a 5, 6, or a 7, along with an Ace, thus giving you a soft total of 16 to 18. When the dealer reveals a card from 2-6, this would be a great time to double down. However, if you have an Ace and a 2 or a 4, it’s better to hit.
How to Play a Soft Fifteen or Sixteen Total in Blackjack - Soft 15-16
Soft hands:Soft 13 - 14 - Soft 15 - 16 - Soft 17 - Soft 18 - Soft 19 to 21
Splitting pairs:Aces - 2's - 3's - 4's - 5's - 6's - 7's - 8's - 9's - 10's
In single-deck blackjack, surrender is recommended when you have hard 16 versus the dealer’s ace or 10. Provided that the dealer hits soft 17, it is also recommended to surrender hard 15 against an ace. You should forfeit paired 7s against the dealer’s 10 in single-deck S17 blackjack.
Playing a Total of Soft 15 or 16
Double down if the dealer has a 4, 5 or 6 for an upcard.
Otherwise take a hit.
Reasoning
Blackjack Dealer Soft 17
This hand is played similarly to a soft 13 or 14, and for similar reasons. You'll never stand on this total, since you cannot bust by taking a hit, and the chances of getting a good card are relatively good.
Doubling down gets more money in action, which is good to do in this situation, since the combination of a potential dealer bust combined with your potential of improving your hand make this such a good hand to play.
Blackjack Dealer Soft 16 Double
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