In general, hard 12 through hard 16 are some of the lousiest hands you can get stuck with. The position of a player who holds a hard 12 is not enviable, either. This is why you stand on your hard 12 versus small upcards 4 through 6, keeping your fingers crossed for a dealer bust, and hit versus the other upcards as they improve the dealer’s situation. The dealer probabilities of busting with a 5 and a 6 are even higher at 0.418406 (41.8%) and 0.422842 (42.3%). Assuming the dealer has peeked under their hole card and does not have a blackjack, their probability of busting with a 4 in a standard six-deck S17 game stands at 0.395805, or roughly 39.6% of the time. Small cards 4 through 6 are the worst for the dealer as they bring the highest bust percentages. This puts the dealer in a volatile position, increasing their probability of a bust. Unlike players who can decline additional cards on any total they deem fit, the dealer must hit until they reach their standing position of 17 or greater. The logic behind standing when the dealer shows 4 through 6 is that these upcards result in very high bust rates for the dealer. If the dealer has any other card, gamblers should hit. If the dealer’s upcard is 4, 5, or 6, gamblers should stand. The correct moves coincide across all blackjack variations, including European games that lack hole cards. any hand that does not contain two cards of the same value) is not influenced by playing conditions and deck number. The good news for blackjack rookies is that the optimal playing strategy for unpaired hard 12 (i.e. Doubling is out of the equation because it is anything but a good move with hard 12. With hard 12, you have a choice from splitting when you hold 6-6 and A-A, and hitting and standing with the other card combinations that lead to this hard total. The stronger the upcard, the more aggressive approach players should adopt and vice versa. How they are played depends on the strength of the dealer’s exposed card.

In order to find out what is the best possible choice they can make, let’s consider the case where gamblers have a hand 12 against every possible upcard of the dealer.īoth hard 12 and hard 13 are losing hands for the player. Players can form such a hand with the following combinations: 2-10, 3-9, 2-8, 5-7, A-A, and 6-6. Regardless of the strategy players use, they always need to take into account their hand’s total value and the dealer’s upcard.

Basic strategy blackjack 6 deck 65 odds