Split Decisions: A Blackjack Conundrum

Knowing when to hold ‘em or fold ‘em is one thing.

But knowing when to split ‘em when it’s time to hit ‘em is an enigma of a different kind.

Being dealt a twin pair during the steady monotony of a blackjack session can certainly jar you from a hypnotic trance.

There becomes an opportunity on the table (literally) for you to double your winnings in one epic shot. Splitting your cards into two separate hands breaks from the norm and therefore injects a level of excitement to otherwise endless repetition.

However, the flipside is also a stark reality, as you can double your trouble if splitting cards at the wrong time and/or under improper conditions.

Let’s take a closer look at when you should opt for the two-fer.

Splitting Aces:

Here is the no-brainer of the bunch. Few moments in blackjack surpass being served up a pair of Aces in the initial deal.

Every knucklehead from Venice to Vegas knows to split Aces, regardless of the dealer’s showing. The upside is the prospect of being dealt a pair of face cards and notching a double-whammy of twenty-one.

The downside? There isn’t one.

Refusing to split Aces leaves you with a dismal showing of two or twelve, and a horrid case of opportunities wasted.

Just remember that capping blackjack on the split pays out one a 1:1 ratio as opposed to a 3:2 ratio for the standalone win.

When to Split: Always

Splitting Tens (or face cards):

Perhaps the second greatest no-brainer of the argument comes with whether or not to split 10s or face cards. It’s the same as asking if a Top Gun fighter pilot should consider leaving his wingman.

The short answer: No. The long answer: Never.

Splitting 10s is pure lobotomy, even if the dealer is bearing an Ace card. Risking a twenty, the game’s second strongest hand, makes as much sense as calculus.

When to Split: Never

Splitting Nines:

One of the trickier decisions of the splitting debate, the 9s fall somewhere in between yay and nay, begging and beware-ing you in equal measures.

Squandering an eighteen, a fairly positive tally, seems a risky endeavor.

Yet, in several scenarios, it also seems a sensible move.

Splitting 9s off a dealer 10 or Ace card seems like sure-fire suicide, as the possibility looms for a double defeat from one, perhaps two, twenties or twenty-ones.

Going for broke on a dealer 7 card also seems a tad ludicrous, as the safe play is securing your likely eighteen-win against the House’s assumed seventeen.

The most questionable call is on the dealer 8 card, which is an assumed push. Most experts will tetter both ways, but aggressive play says split ‘em and hope for the win-win on a pair of nineteens.

When to Split: On dealer’s showing of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 8

Splitting Eights:

Another ideal scenario for splitting twins is on the 8s, where logic points to improving your sixteen standing on the initial deal.

Splitting 8s provides you with a bid at eighteens – or perhaps better. Escaping the black hole of blackjack – the sixteen – is ample reason for doubling your hands.

Along with twin Aces, the pair of 8s is always solid green light for the split option.

When to Split: Always

Splitting Sevens:

A dealer serving of Seven & Seven isn’t quite the delight of the alcoholic version, but with the right ingredients of luck and timing, it can no doubt turn into a spirited affair.

The nod toward splitting them helps you escape the wrath of a dreaded fourteen but is still ill-advised if the dealer is showing a high card of 8 or above.

On the other hand, splitting 7s under a dealer upcard of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 can lead to a one-two punchout of the House.

When to Split: On dealer’s showing of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7

Splitting Sixes:

Like the 7-split scenario, splitting 6s under a weak dealer showing of 2 through 6 can often pay dividends.

The 6-split avails a fresh start with two new hands and the potential for a far more favorable outcome.

Otherwise, your fate rides on a lowly twelve, where a face card could drive you over the limit.

When to Split: On dealer’s showing of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6

Splitting Fives:

Sammy Hagar says you can’t drive fifty-five (a double-5) and we are in full agreement. Put in park any ideas of wrecking a potential twenty.

However, the wise play is to double down and yearn for that face card (or Ace) to vault you to a win that’s twice as nice.

Under no scenario shall a player split 5s, regardless of the dealer’s upcard.

When to Split: Never

Splitting Fours:

Conventional wisdom says to split 4s only under the scenario in which the dealer is revealing a 5 or 6.

But the 4-split is one of the rare cases in which the margin between right and wrong seems razor thin.

Your total of eight is also a solid case for doubling down with the potential of landing an eighteen, whereas splitting fours leaves the dealer with perhaps a highly beatable fifteen or sixteen total.

When to Split: On dealer’s showing of 5 or 6 (tentatively)

Splitting Threes:

Being dealt a Larry Bird, the thirty-three, is an unsavory plunge into oblivion if the dealer is showing a formidable upcard (8 through Ace).

Laying your hopes on a dreaded sixteen is like launching a buzzer beater from half-court with a palm in your face.

However, splitting 3s against a feeble 2 through 7 is like getting second wind and a fresh shot clock.

Generating a triumphant hand with at least one 3-start propels the likelihood for at least a split of a different kind (one win, one loss).

When to Split: On dealer’s showing of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7

Splitting Twos:

The same rules apply for the Emmitt Smith, the twenty-two, with a slightly lesser incentive for running the split route, as the prospect of a fourteen isn’t quite as harrowing as the sixteen.

Nonetheless, splitting 2s on a dealer dud card of 2 through 7 provides a reason to push at least one hand into the proverbial endzone.

When to Split: On dealer’s showing of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7