Blackjack Variations
Blackjack in online casino games has a number of variants and although the concept of the game does not change, the nuances of the rules sometimes do. Before entering a tournament, you need to be sure of the specific regulations in play.
One of the major differences concerns the soft 17. A soft 17 is a hand where an ace is acting as if it had a value of 11. Examples of a soft 17 include A-2-4 and A-3-3.
The nature of a soft 17 will affect the dealer’s actions as it increases the house advantage by 0.22% if the dealer hits on such a hand. It was traditional that the dealer hit all 16s and stood on all 17s but the soft 17 is often played differently.
From a player’s perspective, it is always advantageous to hit a soft 17 as long as you do not double down with it. A double down should only occur when the dealer shows a 3, 4 5 or 6. You should hit under all other circumstances.
Some tournaments have rules about soft 17s, so be sure you know what you can and cannot do in the context of your next casino game.