When to Split Your Pair of Nine's

During the time when you sit at a blackjack table, in a casino or on the Internet, it is important to be prepared for the possibility of being dealt a pair of nine’s. A lot of different blackjack players have a lot of different advice to give when you are dealt a pair of nine’s. A lot of blackjack players base their advice on math, gut instinct, luck or even sometimes card counting. The card counters will most likely play a pair of nine’s differently each time, depending on the count at the time, so taking their advice is only advised when you think they will be there, every time you play and get that pair of nine’s. Otherwise, I suggest to play a pair of nine’s the same way each and every time you encounter specific scenarios of having a pair of nine’s, consistency is the secret to playing and not going home mad at yourself for deviating from your plan. A great way to play consistent is to follow basic blackjack strategy, basic blackjack strategy is created from calculated odds, not luck or by someone randomly guessing. Basic blackjack strategy cards, which are the size of a credit card, can be found and purchased in a lot of casino gift shops or even on the Internet, a few dollar investment, sure goes a very long way. Each basic blackjack strategy card is specifically tailored to be accurate for blackjack tables that they are designed for. For example, the basic blackjack strategy card that I use is for blackjack tables where the blackjack dealer stays on all seventeens, as opposed to hitting on soft seventeen. If the casino you play in hits soft seventeen, my card would not be as accurate for all hands on that blackjack table and I would suggest finding a basic blackjack strategy card that applies to the house rules of the casino you plan to play in.

When dealt a pair of nine’s and the blackjack dealer stays on all seventeens, my basic blackjack strategy card dictates that you split your pair of nine’s if the blackjack dealer is showing an up card of a two, three, four, five or six. The goal is that if you are dealt a pair of nine’s and the blackjack dealer is showing a two, three, four, five or six that you should place a second wager out there, equal in the amount of your original bet and inform the blackjack dealer that you would like to split your pair of nine’s. If the house you are playing in allows you to split more than once, it would be great to get a third nine, and again you would put a third bet out there and split the pair again. Once you have split as many nines as you are dealt and allowed to split, hopefully you will get a two on some of those nine’s, which would make an eleven, which is an awesome opportunity to double down and get even more money out there. Even if you split your pair of nines and double down on an eleven and get a small card, you are still hoping for the blackjack dealer to break and pay your ugly twelve. Against the blackjack dealer’s seven as an up card, my basic blackjack strategy says you should not split your pair of nines, and you should simply stay on your eighteen hand and hope the blackjack dealer has a ten valued card under his or her seven, giving you the win. If the blackjack dealer is showing an eight or nine as an up card, my basic blackjack strategy card advises you to split your pair of nines, hoping to avoid a “push” or tie when the blackjack dealer has an eight and hoping to turn a losing eighteen against the blackjack dealer’s nine by splitting and getting two hard nineteens of your own and getting a push. Against the blackjack dealer’s ten valued card or ace, I’m instructed by my basic blackjack strategy card to not split my pair of nine’s, instead I am suppose to stay on my hard eighteen.

A lot of blackjack players around you might start to growl when you split your pair of nine’s against the blackjack dealer’s two, three, four, five or six. They might accuse you of splitting a winning hand and taking away the blackjack dealer’s bust card. Those blackjack player’s may not be following basic blackjack strategy, or at least not following it every single time. It’s also good to remember well that just because you follow basic blackjack strategy every single time, does not mean you will win every single time, not even every single time you have a big bet out there, but hopefully basic blackjack strategy will win you more hands than it loses for you on specific hand combinations.