When to Split and Double Down in Online Blackjack?

For us, the fun of online blackjack lies in the fact in its strategy. Calculating the odds in your head, playing it just right, and barely squeezing by to beat the dealer! These are the most memorable rounds of blackjack, but they’re not the only ones. There will be times when you seem to have the perfect hand. When that happens, you’ll want to take advantage of using the Split and Double Down bets.

We plan to go over the best times to use this bet, following this online blackjack strategy. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive guide on how to play, we suggest checking it out. However, if you just want the best times to split and double down, this article will cover all the important details. This guide also assumes you’re playing regular blackjack; the math may be different for variants.

When to Double Down

In general, double down is a risky bet. As a result, we only play double downs when we’re confident we cannot bust by drawing another card. We factor in both our and the dealer’s hand when making the decision.

The first safe double down is a hard nine. A hard hand means you don’t have an Ace; as such, you need a 2-7, 3-6 or 4-5 combination. With an Ace, your combination can quickly go over if you draw a big card, which is why we avoid it. The dealer must also have a low-value first card; anything below seven will do.

Your second choice is doubling a soft sixteen, seventeen or eighteen against the dealer’s low-value first card. A soft hand must include an ace. Therefore, to reach the numbers we need, we have to draw an ace, and then a five, six or seven. If you draw a low-value card alongside your ace, you’re betting off hitting instead of doubling.

Finally, you want to double down if you have a hard ten or eleven. Without an Ace, this gives you an incredibly strong hand with low risk of going over 21. You should double down if the dealer has a lower total than you – that is, nine or less.

When to Split

Splitting can only occur when you have a pair of cards. While some casinos will restrict when you can split, most allow it to play out uninterrupted. Of course, it does raise the question of when we should split, and when we should hold off.

The safest splits are a pair of aces and a pair of eights. You should split these every time you come across them. When drawing a second hand to complete the newly split pair, they have a next to no chance of going over 21. At the same time, they can easily get close to 21, and even get blackjack if you’re really lucky!

Next up are pairs of twos, threes and sevens. You only split these cards when the dealer is showing anywhere between a two and a seven. This gives you a very small start, allowing you to hit to increase the sum of your hands.

A pair of sixes works in a similar fashion. Keep in mind that you should only split if the dealer has a low-value hand; between two and six. Anything more gives the dealer too much of an advantage.

Here, we get into more murky waters. You can split fours, but only if you can double after splitting and if the dealer has a five or a six in hand. Nines are also a risky split, but you’re usually safe if you split when the dealer has anywhere between a two and a six, an eight, or a nine.

You never split a pair of tens. The odds of getting anything better are incredibly low; you’d just be sabotaging yourself. You also shouldn’t split a pair of fives. That gives you a hard ten, which you should double down on instead.

Closing Thoughts

If you follow what we outlined above, you’ll quickly master the art of doubling and splitting in blackjack. It’s something we at Indian Casino Club had to learn the hard way! That’s why we made it easy for our loyal readers. Just have the article open, and double-check if your combination is the right one!