How Soft 17 Rules Change Blackjack Strategy

The standard rule for blackjack is that the dealer stands on a soft 17. However, it’s actually to the dealer’s advantage to hit on a soft 17 under a lot of rule sets. Sometimes this rule will be changed depending on which type of tables you’re playing, and you’ll need to adjust your strategies to compensate for these changes. We’re going to show you the main adjustments you’ll need to make for this.

For playing hard hands, there are two major changes you’ll need to make. The first has to do with playing an 11 against a dealer ace. Normally you would just hit, but you can actually double with an 11 against an ace when the dealer is going to hit on a soft 17. The times that you can surrender expands with hard hands as well, and you can surrender with a 15 against a ten or ace, a 16 against a nine or higher or a 17 if you’re up against an ace.

In the realm of soft hands, you’ll need to add two more doubling situations. The first is when you have a soft 18 facing a two, and the second is when you have a soft 19 facing a six. Each of these are very borderline plays when the dealer stands on a soft 17, but with the hitting on soft 17 rule, you can change it up. The only other change you will need to make to your strategy is when you have a pair of eights against an ace. Normally you would split, but when the dealer hits on a soft 17, you can actually surrender if you have the option to.

As far as blackjack strategy goes, you have to be able to adjust your specific plays according to the specific rules that are being used in the game you are playing. When the dealer hits on a soft 17, we have covered the changes to your game that you have to make if you want to play as well as you can. Overall, these changes aren’t particularly difficult to learn, and they will help to boost your overall payout rate.