{"id":38715,"date":"2024-03-11T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=38715"},"modified":"2024-05-10T10:21:32","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T15:21:32","slug":"soft-17-in-blackjack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/soft-17-in-blackjack\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is A Soft 17 In Blackjack & How Should You Play It?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Soft 17 is a hand that totals 17 and contains an ace that can be counted as a 1 or 11. <\/strong>Crucially, you cannot bust if you take one more card. Ace-6 is a common example of a Soft 17. Learn more about this below, including how you should play it and what the dealer rules are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is A Soft Hand In Blackjack?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aces have a special role in blackjack because they can be valued at 1 or 11. A hand with an ace is known as a soft hand because of the flexible nature of aces. Let\u2019s look at an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Soft<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With Ace-8, this hand is a 19 (11 for the Ace + 8 for the Eight). While it\u2019s a strong hand, the Ace gives you flexibility; you could take a hit with absolutely no risk of busting. (Why add a card to a 19? If the dealer showed a 5, a good aggressive option is to double down.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TIP:<\/strong>  When your hand is compared to the dealer\u2019s hand at the end of the game (the showdown<\/em>) \u2013 all that matters is the numerical value of the two hands. Whether it\u2019s a soft 19 or hard 19 has no bearing on determining whether you won or lost.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at another example. In this case, the hand is Ace-2, making a Soft 13 (11 + 2). Some dealers might declare that this hand is \u201ceither 3 or 13\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Soft<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are no circumstances where you\u2019d want to stand on a Soft 13. That\u2019s true even if the dealer is showing a bust card<\/em> (2 through 6). You\u2019d always want to take a risk-free hit to try and improve your 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if this hand was a Hard 13 instead of a Soft 13, the strategy changes. If you were to take a hit on a Hard 13, you\u2019re quite likely to draw a big card and bust. Against a dealer’s 5, for example, the best play on Hard 13 would be to stand on your (very weak) 13 and hope the dealer busts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is A Soft 17 In Blackjack?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now we get to the hand in question: Soft 17. As mentioned, a Soft 17 is a soft hand that totals 17 and contains an ace that can be counted as a 1 or an 11. You cannot bust if you take one more card. <\/strong>Ace-6 is a common example of a Soft 17. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Soft 17 vs Hard 17 In Blackjack<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While a Soft 17 hand contains an ace that can be counted as either 1 or 11 to prevent you from busting, a Hard 17 has a fixed value of 17, and drawing another card comes with a high risk of exceeding 21. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Hard 17 may still contain an ace, but it would only be counted as 1. Other examples of a Hard 17 are a 10 and 7, or a 9 and 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TIP:<\/strong>  Most of the advice below is based on being dealt an Ace-6, but your hand can start as something else entirely and become<\/em> a Soft 17. For example, you could be dealt 3-3 initially, then draw an Ace on your first hit. Regardless of how many cards are in your hand, if it\u2019s a Soft 17, the playing approach explained below applies.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Blackjack Dealer Rules For Soft 17<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The dealer\u2019s hand always plays out according to a simple algorithm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n