Blackjack Strategy - Double Down or Split

My strategy article got sidetracked yesterday because we were putting together the promotions for The Bachelor Season Finale $1000 Contest and working out the details for our amazing Oscar Night Promotion.

We’ll have all the details up on the blog shortly, so if you’ve been unable to sleep without this strategy tip I’m sorry!

This is the first thing I wrote this morning and it’s a keeper. Splitting and Doubling Down, when and why?

The key to winning at Blackjack consistently is to minimize your losses when the odds are against you and maximize your odds (and winnings) when the odds are in your favor.

Doubling Down and Splitting are two ways that you can maximize your chances of winning when the cards are in your favor and against the house.

As with any casino strategy there are a lot of different situations that might come up and trust me it’s making quick decisions that will make or break you at the table.

The key to any Blackjack strategy and any new way of playing is to practice. You might want to start out using Fun Money or Play for Free before actually trying it out on your bankroll.

Here are the quick hits for Doubling Down during a game of Online Blackjack

1. Always double when you have an Ace (when playing the soft ace rules).
2. Double when you have 10′s and the dealer is showing a 9 or less.
3. Double with 9′s.
4. Double with 13, 14, 15, 16 or 17 when the dealer is holding a 4, 5 or 6.

Those are the quickies for doubling down but there are alot of time when you can Split. Splitting will give the chance to win

Splitting Pairs

Splitting pairs will allow you to double your bet by playing two good hands at once, instead of just one. But be careful: only split pairs when it is your advantage to do so other wise you could lose twice as much money!

You want to be careful to avoid splitting a pair of 5′s, 10′s or face cards (Jacks, Queens, Kings). The odds of you hitting good hands on both will be minimal and put you into a losing position, we definitely don’t want that.

So when do you split? Here’s the quick list:

1. You should always split Aces. Split 7′s or 8′s if the dealer is showing a card equal to or lesser than your card, but never when he’s holding a 9, 10, face card or Ace.
2. Splits 2s and 3s, but only when the dealer is showing 4, 5 or 6.

I know that sounds complicated, but after a little bit of practice you’ll be making quick decisions at the table that could make a huge difference in your bankroll.

Knowing when to double down and splitting pairs is one of the best strategies any blackjack player even if you’re new to online blackjack or stepping up to the table in a Vegas casino for the first time.

I’m really excited to hear how the practice sessions go for you, so drop me an email or a comment here and let me know how it goes for you.

I’d also be interested to hear about any other cool and unique Blackjack strategies you might use. I’ll drop $25 in free chips into your account if I use your strategy tip in an article. If you missed my first blackjack strategy tip you might want to jump over and have a a look at a great Hit or Stand Blackjack Strategy

If you’re looking for some good authority sources for Blackjack Strategy then I would suggest checking out the Wikipedia they are an authority source and always updated:

Blackjack Overview and Rules

Counting Cards in Blackjack

Have a great day and good luck in the casino!

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