What is Splitting?

Splitting in blackjack is when you are dealt a pair (two cards with the same face value) and you decide to play both cards as an individual hand. This requires you to double your initial bet for that hand, but as far as blackjack strategy goes, this can be a very lucrative opportunity.

When Can You Split in Blackjack?

Any time that you are dealt a pair with the same card value on the initial deal at the blackjack table, you can split your cards to create a second hand. This applies to card value, meaning that you can split queen and king for example, because they both have card value of 10 (which we don’t recommend).

To split, you need to be dealt a pair with your first two cards. If you get dealt a 2 and then two sixes, you can’t split the sixes anymore. As stated above, this can be a very lucrative opportunity, but it will cost you double the money.

When Should You Split in Blackjack Full Chart

Now that we know what splitting is and when you can do this, let’s get to the thick of it. In this section, we’ll go over when you should split in blackjack. Do note that we expect you’ve already read our Blackjack Guide or are familiar with the standard rules of the game. If not, familiarize yourself with the basic rules.

There are situations where you should always split your cards, situations where you should sometimes split your cards, and situations where you should never split your cards. We’ve summarized them all here, following the blackjack basic strategy, which yields you a 99.5% return to player, minimizing the house edge in blackjack. In the table below, P stands for Split.

• H: Hit
• S: Stand
• D: Double down (if not allowed, hit)
• P: Split

Here’s how you should split you pairs in the blackjack table.

* When to Split 4s in Blackjack

You almost never split fours, since four is a really bad face card. However, if you’re playing a game where doubling down is possible, and the dealer is showing a five or a six, you should do it. However, if you can’t double down, you never split 4s, not even against a 6.

Always Split

There are two situations where you should always split, and that is eights, and aces. These cards should always be split, regardless of what face card the dealer shows.

When to Split Aces in Blackjack

Aces is an obvious one. First of all, your total is 12, which is horrible. You risk going bust if you hit, and if you stand, your standing on the worst possible hand.

Second, and more importantly, aces give you a chance for a natural blackjack. By splitting aces, you get two chances of hitting the elusive 21 with just one card. Therefore, it’s a no-brainer – always split aces.

When to Split Eights in Blackjack

Eights may not be obvious, but let’s look at the situation. Your total is 16, which is a really bad total, even against dealer low cards. Hitting is a very risky move here, so you shouldn’t do that, but if you stand on 16, you generally are going to have a bad time.

On the other hand, if you split, you increase your chances of hitting 18, which is a great hand, given that the dealer will stand on 17. Therefore, we recommend that you always split eights in blackjack.

There is one small caveat. If you’re counting cards and the count is extremely high, you might stand on 16 if the dealer is showing 2,3,4,5, or 6. However, if you’re counting cards, you are most likely already aware of this and not reading a guide on splitting cards.

Never Split

In blackjack, there are two hands that you never split. These hands are tens and fives.

When to Split Tens in Blackjack

Never. There is absolutely no reason to split tens. You’re at 20, the best possible hand except for blackjack. Whatever play you make, the odds are against you here. Yes, we know that you might hit two blackjacks if you split, but that is extremely unlikely.

As experts, we can’t say how many times we’ve heard people urge other people to split tens. However, this is always the wrong thing to do, and even though you might get lucky in the short term, in the long run, splitting tens will end up hurting your bankroll.

Fives

You should never be thinking about splitting fives to begin with, since having five as one of your face cards is not usually a good thing. Furthermore, since you’ve stumbled upon a lucky 10, you should double down unless the dealer is showing 10 or an ace.

This is again just pure mathematics. Five and six are the easiest cards for the dealer to go bust, and if you happen to land on 9, 10, or 11, you will have the opportunity to capitalize on this by doubling down. Note that most games don’t let you double down after splitting, and if so, you should never split fours!

Cards That You Split Depending on Dealer Face Card

We’ve established that you always split eights, and aces. You also never split tens, fours, or fives. This leaves us with 22, 33, 66, 77, and 99. So what do you do with these five hands? Well, it depends on the dealer face card.

Twos & Threes – 2,2 and 3,3

You only split 2,2 and 3,3 against dealer 4,5,6,7. Why? Because 4 and 6 are such bad totals that if you hit 10 (the likeliest card in the game) you’re in a situation where you lose to the dealers hands unless the dealer goes bust, and if you hit another time, you’ll likely go bust.

On the other hand, if dealer is showing 8, 9, 10 you don’t split, since you’re hoping for a low card. Since there’s still a decent chance for that, you have the advantage by just hitting, since there’s a fair chance the dealer will hit a low card + 10 and go over.

6,6

You split sixes against 3, 4, 5, 6. Basically, every card that you have an advantage against. With 12, you’re already likely to go over. On the other hand, with 6 you can land on 16, which is a good hand against a dealer low card, since the dealer easily goes bust.

7,7

You split sevens against everything between 2 and 7. Again, it’s quite easy to see why, since 14 is one of the worst hands you can have. Against 8, 9, 10, and A you just have to hit and hope for a low card. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes we get dealt a 14 and we just have to live with it.

9,9

You split 9s against everything except 7, 10, and A. This may sound confusing, as 18 is already a really good hand. However, statistically it’s not as good as you think.

The dealer still has 4 hands that beat 18, so if you have a good opportunity to make your hand 19 or 20, you should absolutely take it. Even though this one point difference may not sound significant, it is very significant in the long run.