By Henry Tamburin
No other hand makes blackjack players feel queasy than the dreaded 16. Players hate to hit the hand because they are afraid to bust. So many chicken out and stand no matter what the dealer shows. Others opt for the surrender option if it’s available figuring losing half a bet is better then losing it all. If your 16 comes as a pair of 8’s most players are reluctant to split if the dealer shows a 9, 10, or ace because they are afraid of losing two bets instead of one. Then there is the 16 made up with an Ace counted as 11 (i.e., soft 16). So what’s a player to do when he gets a 16?

Hit or Stay Blackjack. Hit or stay blackjack games can get rather intense, which is why it’s worth brushing up on some of the more common scenarios and tight spots before you play. Do You Hit a 16 When the Dealer Shows 10? If a dealer draws a high hand of 10 or more, you stand.

First, let’s focus on a hard 16. That’s a hand that does not contain an Ace or if it does the Ace counts as one. Some examples of a hard 16 would be 10-6 or 5-7-4 or 7-8-Ace.

The correct basic playing strategy for hard 16 is to stand when the dealer shows a small card (2 through 6) and hit when the dealer shows a high card (7, 8, 9, 10, or Ace). Following this playing strategy will not guarantee that you will win every time but that you are more likely to lose less in the long run.. Let me explain.

Suppose you are dealt a 10-6 and the dealer shows a 7 upcard.

If you hit you win on average 30% of the time and lose 70%.

If you stand you will on average win 26% and lose 74%.

Note that you improve your chances of winning the hand by 4% if you hit rather than stand. But the dealer is still an overwhelming favorite to beat you because he will win 70% of the hands to your 30%. But is it better to win 26% of the time by standing or 30% of the time by hitting? You should hit because it will increase your chance of winning by 4%, not much, but every percentage will help you in the long run when you play blackjack.

So the bottom line with a hard 16 is this. Even by following the basic strategy you will lose more hands than you win but in the long run you will loss less than following a seat-of-the-pants strategy. Losing less on hands where you are the underdog is just as important as winning more when you are the favorite.

What if your 16 consists of three or more cards like 5-7-4? Normally the basic strategy ignores the composition of the hand. However, if you have a hard 16 hand consisting of three or more cards, then you should stand when the dealer has a 10 showing. The reason is that you have consumed a few of the small cards that you need if you were to draw. This tips the odds in favor of standing.

Some casinos allow players to surrender. This means you give up the opportunity to play out your hand and automatically lose half your bet. Even when surrender is offered, most players don’t like “giving up” without a fight. So they rarely surrender. That’s unfortunate because surrendering a hard 16 when the dealer shows a 9, 10, or Ace will save you more money in the long run than hitting. In fact surrender is always the best option when your chance of winning a hand is less than 25%. Take the hand of hard 16 against a 10. If we hit our chance of winning is 23.4%. This means the dealer’s chance of beating us is 76.6%. If we played a hundred hard 16’s against the dealer 10 with those probabilities, we would end up winning about $23 and losing $77 for a net loss of $54 on average. By surrendering on every hand our net loss would be $50. Get the point? You are better off losing $50 then $54 which is why surrendering a hard 16 against a 10 is the better play because you will save $4.

If you happen to be dealt a soft 16 (like Ace-5), you should never surrender and you should never stand. Your first option is to double but only if the dealer shows a weak 4, 5 or 6 upcard. If not, then hit.

Finally, we have the pair of 8’s. The correct basic strategy play is to always split the 8’s no matter what the dealer shows. Even though you will lose money on both 8’s when you split, the combined loss in the long run will be less than the amount you will lose by playing the one hand as a 16. Splitting 8’s against a dealer 10 by the way is also a slightly better play then surrendering.

No question that 16 is a lousy blackjack hand. Unfortunately, it’s one of the most frequent hands you are going to be dealt in blackjack. But, by following the above playing strategy you will be optimizing your chances of winning more, and losing less, in the long run. It’s the smart way to play blackjack.

Henry Tamburin has been a respected casino gambling writer for the past 50 years. He is the author of the Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide and was editor of the Blackjack Insider newsletter. You can read his latest articles on blackjack, video poker, and his personal playing experiences at https://www.888casino.com/blog/writers/henry-tamburin

If you are new to Blackjack or consider yourself a beginner, we recommend reading our How to Play Blackjack article first!

Using our free Blackjack Trainer is simple and straightforward. You can press deal to begin immediately, or customize the options to mimic the version of blackjack that you would like to practice. The blackjack chart under “Help” will update depending on the options and rules of the game.

There are seven variables to tweak the Blackjack Trainer. To adjust these settings click the Options button:

1) Whether the Dealer hits or stands on soft 17:

• Dealer hits on soft 17 – worse for the player
• Dealer stands on soft 17 – better for the player

2) Are you allowed to double-down after splitting?

• Double allow after splitting – this is VERY important for the player and is typically the default for Vegas casinos.
• Double as first option only – you may only double down as your first play, not after splitting.

3) Is surrender allowed?

This is a rule that allows you to fold your hand immediately, prior to seeing the Dealer’s hole card, and sacrifice your hand to save half your bet.

• Allow surrender – surrender is typically allowed in 6 and 8 deck shoe games in Vegas. This is an excellent rule for players.
• No surrender – surrender is rarely allowed in single deck and double deck games.

4) How many decks are you playing?

• 8 decks – Vegas shoes are typically made up of 8 decks these days.
• 6 decks
• 4 decks
• 2 decks

5) How much does Blackjack pay?

Blackjack in a 6 deck or 8 deck shoe in Vegas typically pays 3:2, but there is a recent and disturbing trend for the big casinos to have blackjack tables that only pay 6:5 on tables with a shoe. The casinos are targeting casual players that are not aware of this difference. Be sure to find the tables that pay 3:2!

• Blackjack pays 3:2
• Blackjack pays 6:5 – this is typical for a double deck or single deck blackjack game.

6) Can you re-split your hands and if so, how many times?

You are always allowed to split your cards the first time, but if you are then dealt the same card again, can you split your cards again? In a shoe game, you are typically allowed to re-split up to 3 times.

• Re-split allowed (3)
• Re-split allowed (2)
• Re-split allowed (1)
• Re-split not allowed

7) Type of game you would like to practice.

• Hard mode – provides more difficult scenarios to test you.
• Splits only – play just splitting hands.
• Soft hands only – play just soft hands (hands with an ace).
• Random mode – purely random shuffle.

Once you’ve set up the table to your linking, the Blackjack Chart will update itself to show the optimum blackjack strategy to play. To view the chart, click the Help button. This will overlay the chart and show you the correct move for your last play.

Now click the Deal button to get started!

The point of this trainer is to play perfect blackjack strategy. You start with $1,000 of play money, but what’s more important is your playing accuracy. You’ll see that your moves will be tracked for your session providing you an accuracy rating. Your goal is to make the perfect strategic decision each time. You can start by consulting the blackjack chart to help you make the right decisions. But after a while, you should play without looking at the chart.

In the screen shot below, you can see that this player has made 24 correct moves and 1 incorrect move for an accuracy of 96%.

When using our Blackjack Trainer, pay close attention to this score, this is more important than your dollar balance. Random luck can sway your balance around, but as long as you are playing perfect blackjack strategy, you will give yourself the best chance of winning money long term!

To start learning optimal blackjack strategy, you should strictly follow the plays outlined in our blackjack charts. Based on the specific rules and options you set up, our blackjack charts adjust and prescribe the best strategic moves to make when playing blackjack.

Our blackjack charts tell you how to play your hand based on the rules and options of the game and the Dealer’s up card.

Looking at our blackjack chart, the number listed horizontally across the top corresponds to the Dealer’s up card. Find your hand (the player’s hand) along the left column of the chart and cross-reference your hand with the Dealer’s card to determine the play you should make.

Chart choices change the charts. For example, one chart is used when the dealer stands on soft 17 and another is used when the dealer hits on soft 17.

Other choices are used for things like re-splits. The chart doesn’t change here but decisions need to be checked. For example, if the player has re-splits turned on and he gets a third eight against a six after splitting the first two eights then the trainer will check to make sure he makes the right decision which is to split again. If re-splitting is turned off here then the trainer will check to make sure the player makes the right decision which is to stand.

There are a couple of notes to make when reading our blackjack charts. First, the X symbol – Surrender/Hit – this means that if the table allows Surrender, then you should surrender your hand. Otherwise, take a hit.

Similarly, the U symbol – Surrender/Stand – if the table allows for Surrender, then you should use it and surrender your hand. Otherwise, just stand with your hand.

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Thank you for visiting Blackjack-Trainer.net. We hope enjoy learning to play perfect Blackjack strategy by using our trainer! If you have any questions, issues, or suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Recommended Resources:

When To Hit Or Stay In Blackjack

Find more free casino training tools at CasinoTrainer.org. You can try out their Blackjack Trainer at https://casinotrainer.org/blackjack-trainer/.

Consult the Blackjack charts at Blackjack-Chart.com for the type of Blackjack game you tend to play.

Blackjack Hit Or Stay On 16

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