In Blackjack When Should You Split Time
When Should You Split Eights In Blackjack
When Should You Split In Blackjack

What splitting in blackjack means is that when your hand consists of two cards with similar value, you can split them by placing additional bet, creating two hands that will be played separately. The option to split is of enormous value; if it’s used wisely of course. The basic idea behind splitting cards. When it comes to splitting 10s in the game of blackjack, the bottom line should be: Average players should never split and should always stand on 20. Card counters will sometimes split in ten-rich decks. Smart tournament players will sometimes split when they need to.

Introduction

The purpose of this page is to give exact advice to the basic-strategy player on when to surrender. When the tales show a total of 16, this refers to either a 10+6 or 9+7 total. The situation of two eights has a separate row when surrender is appropriate.

Late Surrender

Late surrender means that the player may surrender his hand and lose half his bet only after the dealer checks for blackjack. The following basic strategy tables show when to surrender (Y=yes, N=no) depending on the player's total, dealer's up card, and the number of decks. The right two columns represent a dealer ace according to whether the dealer stands (S17) or hits (H17) a soft 17.

Late Surrender — One Deck — Total Dependent

Player's Hand	Dealer's Card
Player's Hand	__9__	__10__	A (S17)	A (H17)
15	N	N	N	Y
16	N	Y	Y	Y
17	N	N	N	Y

Late Surrender — Two Decks — Total Dependent

Player's Hand	Dealer's Card
Player's Hand	__9__	__10__	A (S17)	A (H17)
15	N	Y	N	Y
16	N	Y	Y	Y
17	N	N	N	Y

Late Surrender — Four or More Decks — Total Dependent

In Blackjack When Should You Split Time

Player's Hand	Dealer's Card
Player's Hand	__9__	__10__	A (S17)	A (H17)
15	N	Y	N	Y
16	Y	Y	Y	Y
17	N	N	N	Y

The exact card composition of the player's hand can sometimes make it advantageous to deviate from the basic strategy tables above. The following tables show when exactly to surrender given the player's total, dealer's up card, and number of decks. If the dealer has an ace up then the strategy often depends on whether the dealer hits (H17) or stands (S17) on a soft 17.

One Deck — Late Surrender — Composition Dependent

When Should You Split Eights In Blackjack

Player's Hand	Dealer's Card
Player's Hand	9	10	A (S17)	A (H17)
14	Never	7+7	Never	7+7
15	Never	9+6,10+5	Never	9+6,10+5
16	Never	Always	10+6	9+7,10+6
17	Never	Never	Never	10+7

Two Decks — Composition Dependent — Late Surrender

Player's Hand	Dealer's Card
Player's Hand	9	10	A (S17)	A (H17)
15	Never	9+6, 10+5	Never	9+6, 10+5
16	Never	Always	Always	9+7,10+6
8+8	Never	Never	Never	*
17	Never	Never	Never	Always

*: In a double-deck game, when the dealer hits a soft 17, surrender 8+8 vs. A only

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