The terms ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ in blackjack refer to whether or not a hand features a flexible Ace. If it doesn’t, the hand is hard; if it does, the hand is soft. New players might not see the significance of such a distinction. An 18 is an 18 and should be played the same way regardless of the specific cards involved, right?

Blackjack Soft 17 Rule
Soft 17 Meaning
What Does Soft 17 Mean In Blackjack Terms
What Does Soft 17 Mean In Blackjack Play

Wrong. Whether a total is soft or hard can have a big impact on correct blackjack strategy, especially when playing with liberal rules for doubling down. Furthermore, the dealer’s treatment of flexible scores is pivotal when it comes to calculating the house edge.

A soft 17 includes an Ace being counted as 11. Ace-6 is a soft 17, as are Ace-2-4, Ace-3-3, Ace-Ace-5 and others. When the dealer hits soft 17, the house edge against a basic strategy player is about two-tenths of a percent higher than if he stands. That brought a question from a reader, who wondered why. SOFT 17 In the game of Blackjack, the term soft 17 means a hand that totals 17 points - but one that also uses an ace within it that is being counted as 11 points instead of 1 point. The term 'soft 17' is mostly heard in regard to blackjack dealers.

Hard totals in Australian blackjack

A hard total is one with no Ace, or where the Ace can only count as one point without busting (e.g. A 6 8 = hard 15). There are 18 possible hard values in a standard blackjack game, starting at four points and finishing at 21.

With the exception of splittable pairs, the basic strategy for hard hands in Australian casino blackjack is rather straightforward:

Dealer card
Player hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
5-8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13-16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
17-21	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Green (H) = Hit
Red (S) = Stand
Orange (D) = Double down (if not allowed, hit)

How to play soft hands in 21

A soft total features an Ace (or Aces) that can count as either one point or 11. For example: an Ace and an Eight is called a soft 19 because it can be either 19 points or nine. There are nine valid soft scores in blackjack, the lowest of which is 13 (A 2).

The proper play for soft hands can vary significantly depending on certain rules. Most Australian blackjack games don’t allow players to double down on soft totals, for instance, while US casinos tend to allow doubling on any two cards. As shown below, according to an eight-deck game where the dealer always stands on 17, the Aussie restrictions make for a much simpler strategy while Vegas rules allow players to be quite aggressive with a soft 17 or lower.

Double down on hard nine, 10, or 11 only:

Dealer card
Player hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
13-17	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
18	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H
19-21	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Double down on any two cards:

Dealer card
Player hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
13-14	H	H	H	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
15-16	H	H	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
17	H	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
18	S	Ds	Ds	Ds	Ds	S	S	H	H	H
19-21	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Green (H) = Hit
Red (S) = Stand
Orange (Dh) = Double down (if not allowed, hit)
Pink (Ds) = Double down (if not allowed, stand)

Dealer hits soft 17 rule

There once was a time when the house always stood pat with 17, regardless of whether or not the hand featured a two-way Ace. Nowadays, however, many land-based casinos instruct their blackjack dealers to hit on soft 17, which has a considerable impact on the odds.

Blackjack Soft 17 Rule

In a regular shoe game with six to eight decks in play, the dealer hitting on 17 adds about 0.22% to the house edge. That’s greater than the overall margin on some online blackjack games, such as Microgaming’s Classic Blackjack Gold Series (0.13% with basic strategy).

In Vegas-style 21, this rule also affects the ideal strategy for doubling down. For example: when the dealer stands on soft 17, most experts would advise against doubling on 11 when the house shows an Ace; but when the dealer hits on soft 17, such a move would be encouraged.

Some players avoid blackjack because they don’t quite understand the ‘dealer must hit on soft 17’ rule on a blackjack table, but this rule can be quite favourable to a player provided they know how to play their hand.

Additionally, players who have played blackjack with the soft 17 rule, may have been tricked into thinking the basic strategy chart is universal and there is only one applicable to every set of rules. This is incorrect. S

o for players who either avoid the game because they can’t understand the rule, or for those have have been using the wrong strategy chart, we offer some information on the rule which may come in handy, the different basic strategy charts involved, as well as the best variations that offer the rule to help players play 21 at their optimum.

What is a soft 17 in blackjack?

A soft 17 not only affects the dealer, but it also effects the player. A soft hand occurs with an Ace, while a hard hand can occur with an Ace but it has to equal one, not 11. A soft hand is when the Ace exists as 11. So when we are talking about whether a 17 is hard or soft, the Ace is integral to the hand.

Basically, a hard 17 is when an Ace, seven, and nine occurs, with the Ace existing as one, as if the Ace was an 11 it would bust as it is amounts over 21.

A soft 17 however, exists as a six and an Ace, so the Ace counts as an 11.

The rule soft 17 means the dealers have to hit when they land a soft 17 hand. Players can figure out whether or not the soft 17 rule is in effect for the dealer by finding the rule written on the virtual table online, or by asking a croupier at land-based venues. Closest casino to manteca ca.

Why would a dealer hit on a soft 17?

Soft 17 Meaning

Since it is soft, once dealers draw their third card, they can change the Ace amount from 11 to one. For example, say the dealer got a soft 17, so an Ace and a six, then drew a nine. It would appear they had 26 meaning they busted, but since the Ace can turn into a one, the amount actually totals 16.

So why is this a favourable rule for players?

What Does Soft 17 Mean In Blackjack