Blackjack School

When you are dealt a pair of 4s in blackjack you have three viable playing options:

• Hit
• Split or
• Double down

Which blackjack strategy you should invoke depends upon what the dealer’s upcard is, the number of decks of cards being used, and whether double down after pair splitting is allowed.

The basic playing strategy for a double- or multi-deck game where doubling down after pair splitting is not allowed (NDAS) is to

If there is one playing decision that seems to confound most blackjack players, it’s knowing when to split a pair (and when not to). Don’t believe me? Assume you are playing a six-deck game with the dealer standing on soft 17 (S17) and doubling down after pair splitting is allowed (DAS).

When a dealer shows a 10 upcard at online or live blackjack, she or he is in the driver’s seat because they have a 77% chance of getting to a final hand that totals 17 through 21 and only a 23% chance of busting. A ten, therefore, is a very strong dealer upcard. This means we have to be more aggressive when we are a dealt a stiff hand (hit rather than stand) and less aggressive when we are dealt a two-card soft hand (hit rather than double down).

What follows is the correct way to play any blackjack hand dealt to you when the dealer’s upcard is a 4. The strategy is not that difficult to remember since it is virtually the same regardless of the number of decks of cards being used and the mix of playing rules. In one instance, however, it also depends on the composition of the cards that comprise your hand and the number of decks of cards being used.

Once, when I was booked for a “fun casino” the other person due to work dropped out at the last minute, leaving the job a dealer short. A “fun casino” if you haven’t come across one, is a casino at a private event – usually a Christmas party – where the “customers” come to the table with fun money. No real cash changes hands, and there’s usually a bottle of bubbly for whoever wins the most chips. The casino dealers tend to be former croupiers who no longer work in casinos, although a few will be doing the job on their night off.