Three Instructive Doubling Scenarios in Multi-Deck Blackjack

Being able to double properly is one of the key skills that you absolutely cannot get by without when it comes to playing blackjack well. Doubling in the right spots makes up such a critical portion of your overall payout rate that failing to do so will drastically hurt your chances of coming out on top during a session. We want to look at three very instructive scenarios for doubling in multi-deck blackjack that will help you to understand exactly when you should and should not be doubling.

The first place to look at is when you should double with a hard nine. This is a situation that’s difficult to work with sometimes because your hand isn’t quite as strong as a ten or eleven, but you still have a good enough chance to turn out with a strong hand that you might want to look into the option to double. If you do have a hard nine, then you have to double against only the weakest four cards that a dealer can have: six, five, four and three. If you do this, you’ll always double correctly with a hard nine with no mistakes.

Another scenario that you really need to look at hard is when you have a soft 18. This is a difficult scenario that a lot of players consistently mess up because they over-value the strength of their hand and under-value the power of doubling. If you have a soft 18 and you have the option to double, you should double against the same cards that you double against with a hard nine: six, five, four and three. However, if you do not have the option to double, then do not hit. Instead, just stand. This is kind of confusing to understand for some people, but standing is actually better here than hitting even though doubling is better than hitting or standing.

Finally think about situations with other soft hands. There’s a trick you can use to decide if you should double or not, though note you’ll never double with a soft hand against a seven or higher. Double the dealer’s up card and add it to your starting total. If that value is 23 or higher, then you will double. If it’s less than 23, then you don’t. It’s that easy to do, and it will have you playing perfectly every single time.