When You Should Split Your Pair of Four's

In the process of playing Blackjack, on line or in a live casino, you will find yourself being dealt a pair of four’s at some point in the game. A lot of blackjack players will strongly suggest to split those four’s, while some will advise strongly against splitting the four’s. It can be rather confusing at times to know exactly when it is a good idea to split them and when you should just hit the eight. I suggest following basic blackjack strategy to decide on when to split your pair of four’s. Basic blackjack strategy is based on odds and a card with a basic blackjack strategy chart can be often found in a casino’s gift shop, or even on the Internet as well. The basic strategy card is usually the size of a credit card and is well worth investing a few dollars in to, before playing the game of blackjack.

Before following any strong advice you find in this article, it is best to know that these suggestions are based on the casino you are playing in, stays on all seventeens. Whenever a casino hits their soft seventeens, the basic strategy changes a little, so you should make sure you are using the correct basic strategy for the policies of the game you are playing.

The basic blackjack strategy card that I am following only suggests splitting a pair of four’s in only two specific situations. It does not suggest splitting a pair of four’s when you are facing the blackjack dealer’s up card of a two, three or a four, basic blackjack strategy advises only to hit on the eight, as opposed to splitting the pair of four’s in this scenario. When the blackjack dealer is showing an up card of a five or a six, the basic blackjack strategy card urges you to split your pair of four’s.

The ideal and desirable situation would be if you got a pair of four’s against the blackjack dealer’s up card of a five or a six, you split your pair of four’s, get a third four and hopefully you are playing at a blackjack table where multiple splitting is allowed, you split them again, and get a six or a seven on that four, double down on that ten or eleven and score a large ten valued card. Even if you catch an ace on your four, totaling a soft fifteen, it is still a good double down, because if the blackjack dealer breaks, all hands remaining on the blackjack table get paid, regardless of how close to twenty one you are, you could also double down if you catch a five on your four, a nine is not at all a bad hand to double down on.

It is also advised that you do not split your pair of four’s against any blackjack dealer up card of a seven, eight, nine, ten valued card or ace, in those scenarios, it is best to simply hit your eight, not split the pair of four’s.

Of course, always playing by the book will not ensure that you will win every single time, and if you never follow the basic blackjack strategy, that does not mean you will always lose while playing the game of blackjack, it is all based on odds and who knows when the odds will even themselves out. You could just as very easily lose a big bet while playing by the book and win on a small wagered hand when not following the odds. Hopefully, if you do play by basic blackjack strategy, you will do better than if you didn’t.