Every winning blackjack strategy assumes that a player is already familiar with the difference between a soft and a hard hand. But what’s a soft hand in blackjack? And what’s a hard hand?
Knowing the difference between the two is essential to understanding blackjack hand values. Nothing feels worse than misplaying an advantageous soft hand, so take the time to learn how to play these hands strategically.
Definition of a Soft Hand
A soft hand is any combination of cards that includes at least one ace. Because an ace counts as either one or eleven, players can switch between either value. Online casino games often swap between the two automatically depending on the total hand value, which makes it impossible to bust on a soft hand.
Imagine a player has a total of 16, made up of an ace (counted as 11) and a 5. If they choose to hit and draw a high card with another hand worth 11, they would bust. But with an ace and a 5, they could instead count the ace as a one and recalculate their hand total. This makes soft hands more appropriate for risky plays where the player can hit on a higher than usual total.
Examples of Soft Hands
Here is a list of every possible soft hand. Ace and 10, or ace and a face card, aren’t considered soft hands since the player would instantly win:
- 12 (double aces)
- 13 (ace and 2)
- 14 (ace and 3)
- 15 (ace and 4)
- 16 (ace and 5)
- 17 (ace and 6)
- 18 (ace and 7)
- 19 (ace and 8)
- 20 (ace and 9)
Definition and Examples of Hard Hands
A hard hand is any combination of cards without an ace. This means the player must play their hand at face value, with no opportunity to dodge a bust. Hard hand blackjack deals are far more common than soft hands, as there’s only a 7.7% chance of a hand containing an ace.
Examples of Hard Hands
There are hundreds of card combinations that qualify as hard hands, but here are a few examples that show the potential range:
- 20 (face and face)
- 18 (face and 8; 10 and 8; 9 and 9)
- 14 (2, 3, 4, and 5)
Soft Hand, Hard Hands, and Strategy
Despite the many types of blackjack games, all variants offer an advantage to soft hands since more strategic doors are opened when going bust isn’t possible.
Blackjack charts are available for classic rules and for many variants. These charts explain when to hit, stand, double, or split depending on the current hand total and the dealer’s hole card. Because most blackjack charts differ greatly between soft hands and hard hands, a player should double-check the chart referred to.
Rules Variants
The most important goal in choosing a blackjack variant is to find an enjoyable game, no matter the rules. In any rules variant, hard vs soft hand blackjack strategies will be consistent, but new side bets or multi-hand play can add new possibilities to consider in parallel. Players should seek out interesting rules variants and, when luck strikes and a soft hand is dealt, take advantage of the literal ace-in-the-hole to lean into the new rules and enhance the experience.
Examples of Blackjack Variants
When players are deciding whether to play blackjack online, there are hundreds of different variants to choose from. Here are several examples of blackjack variants where players can experience the difference between soft and hard hands in action:
- All Bets Blackjack
- Blazing Blackjack 7’s
- Canada Blackjack
- One Blackjack
