There is no big deal in soft 17. It is the most widely misplayed by blackjack players. In case you don’t know, hands which have an ace that can be counted by 11 are called soft hands. For example, a 3-ace-5 is soft 19 and ace-5 is soft 16. For ace-6, basic playing strategy is far different than it is for a 10-7. The latter is known as hard 17 as it doesn’t have ace counted as 11. Even though both hands have 17 in total, basic strategy is different as compared to hard 17 as you cannot bust soft 17 with single card draw. Here are some of the common mistakes players make in online casinos in soft 17 hand.
Sticking to Soft 17
A lot of players believe that 17 is a hand good enough to stand on. Actually, it is not because you will lose more when standing than either doubling down or hitting. When casino rules need dealers to hit soft 17 instead of standing, it is because house edge boosts. It means hitting soft 17 is better than standing for the dealer. It is good enough for dealer. No matter what game you play, it is better not to stand on soft 17.
Don’t double down on Soft 17
Players usually pass on the opportunity to double down is that they don’t know the logic to do so. You need to double down on soft 17 because you don’t want to bet more money when dealer is about to bust. The latter occurs more often when dealer shows low value of upcard, including 5 or 6.
Misplaying Multi-card Soft 17
If you are playing blackjack and you have 2 and 4 and you have seen 6 upcard. You ask dealer for hit and your card is ace. Now you have 2-4 ace or soft 17. You remember the rule that it is the time to double down on soft 17 when it is shown 6. Hold on. Casino rules restrict doubling down on hand in most traditional and online casinos once you draw third card. There are many players in this panic situation. It is unfortunate as basic playing strategy is easy to remember for soft 17. Hit your hand if you have soft 17 multi-card.
Not Checking Rules for Doubling Down
Some casinos don’t allow players to double down on soft hands as they allow only doubling hard on 9, 10, or 11.
