A lot of players, even the ones who have been enjoying Blackjack for years, make the common mistake to sit on the table without the needed preparation. They stick to the old unwritten rules and don’t take into account the fact that throughout the years many professional gamblers have observed the patterns of the game thoroughly and managed to develop and improve the basic strategy significantly.

The statement that players should always split when they have a pair of 8s is well-known. It has been used by many of them all over the world. However, more and more arguments are appearing against some of the cases of this pair which suggest that splitting is the best move. There are exceptions to every rule, as you shall see later, albeit very few where splitting 8s is concerned.

It is just one of those tricky situations that always provokes heated discussions and second thoughts during the game. Nonetheless, basic strategy is perfectly clear about how players should approach this card holding if they engage in blackjack recreationally, even more so if they are looking to increase their win rates and cut their long-term losses.

It is really important for players to know what is the best way to proceed in advance, especially in such tricky situations in order to reduce the amount of their money loss to the minimum.

• Basic blackjack strategy says 8s are a safe and wise split. It’s hard to go wrong with splitting 8s. The math says this works out well in the long run. So, there you are with a pair of 8s and you split, and the dealer hits you with a 5.
• Splitting 8/8 is far more optimal than surrendering, hitting, or standing, which is why casual basic strategy players should always split this pair, regardless of the dealer’s upcard. While this is still a negative-EV move, it ultimately helps you to lose less money than you would by choosing any of the other playing decisions.
• According to this basic strategy table, you should always split 8’s. The one exception is if dealer hits soft 17 and the casino offers surrender, in which case you surrender your 8’s against an ace.

As already mentioned, having a pair of 8s is a challenging position to be in. Therefore, it is best to have a look at the reasons why a particular move is suggested to be the most reasonable one. Of course, even though blackjack is a game of skill, it is still played in a casino and chance is involved. There can never be a 100% guarantee of winning.

When it comes to blackjack split rules, though, eights should largely be recognised as an instant split, just like Aces. When you think about it, a pair of eights leaves you with an uncomfortable hand worth 16. When we split 8s against a dealer's 6, that's just what we're doing. If we don't split the pair, we have two options. We can stand, and hope the dealer busts. But the dealer busts when showing a 6 only about 42% of the time.

Reasons to Split a Pair of 8s

Basic strategy suggests to always split a pair of 8s regardless of the dealer’s upcard. In most cases, this is players’ best move as having a total of hard 16 is a breaking hand. This places them in a very unfavourable position as they can easily go bust. Any card above 5 will cause them to lose the hand if they decide to risk by hitting .

The odds in such cases are not favourable for the players as they have more than 50% chance of surpassing 21. All playing decisions (hitting, standing, doubling), bar splitting, result in negative expectation for the recreational blackjack player. Meanwhile, splitting your 8s yields a positive expected value for basic strategists against lower dealer upcards deuce through 7.

As for splitting the 8s versus higher upcards 8 through ace, the expectation is negative but it is still better than that for hitting as some gambling authors would suggest. Both moves lead to long-term losses for the basic strategy players, but splitting helps you reduce the damages to your bankroll over the long haul. The chances that when this pair is split against high upcards the result will be any different aren’t too promising, either. However, splitting is the lesser of the two evils.

The bottom line is that this move gives players the opportunity to avoid going bust with one more hit and to have at least one decent hand. Whenever players find themselves in a breaking position, what they should do is split the losing hand into two, hopefully good, ones.

Hard 16 (which a pair of 8s essentially is) is notorious for being the worst possible total in the entire game of blackjack. This is true no matter how you play it. Yet, starting two separate hands, with a total of 8 each, offers better prospects than playing a single one with a total of 16.

You will still lose less money by splitting, compared to hitting, despite the fact you need to post an extra wager to cover the second hand. Of course, splitting does not always work in favour of players, which is why they need to get familiar with the possible outcomes of every hand.

One of the golden rules of basic strategists is to always split paired 8s in all blackjack variations where the dealer is bound to draw to 16 and stand on all 17s. This applies no matter whether the respective S17 game plays with one, two, four, six, or eight decks.

Alternative Move

As already mentioned, some gambling authors would suggest that players should refrain from splitting their 8s and choose to hit instead, particularly when the dealer exposes a solid card like an ace or a ten. The argument of such authors is that there is no point in pouring more money into splitting against such powerful dealer upcards. They would even argue the odds of hitting and splitting are pretty much the same.

However, both basic strategy and established blackjack experts would beg to differ on this subject. Indeed, exceptions are made to the “Always split your 8s” rule but they do not involve hitting. Forfeiting the pair is recommended in some cases, depending on the dealer’s fixed standing position and the value of their upcard. Hitting hard 16 results in long-term losses against all possible upcards of the dealer. Tens and aces are no exception.

Smart players, who insist on accuracy, choose to stick to the basic strategy and split against strong upcards in S17 games due to the fact this move dents their losses the most. Hitting this pair versus tens and aces costs you around £0.54 and £0.52 per every pound you bet, respectively. By comparison, if you split the pair of 8s, your negative expectation drops to £0.48 against the ten and £0.37 against the ace. You can work out on your own which of the two plays is the best one.

Re-splitting

Even though the cases where players can get a second pair of 8s are rare, as previously indicated, they should be prepared for every hand. In such situations, it is worth remembering that the same strategy applies every time they get a pair of cards of the same rank.

If players happen to get another pair of 8s after the split, it is best to resplit them if allowed. Bear in mind that as the rules of the casinos differ, some places may have restrictions regarding this move. The fact that sometimes there are restrictions on resplitting shows that this move can be very favourable to players as long as they know how and when to take advantage of it.

It is crucial to get familiar with the casino rules for blackjack before you play since this way, you will avoid changing your strategy and making less optimal plays. For instance, if players get a second pair of 8s and they want to resplit it but this move is not allowed, the chances that they will misplay this hand are very high.

If resplitting is impossible, they should opt for the second-best move, which is either hitting or standing, depending on the strength of the dealer’s face-up card. The best blackjack variants normally enable you to resplit your 8s three times to up to four individual hands.

The Option To Surrender

Another very reasonable move players can make is to surrender, provided that this option is allowed. The reason why is that having a total of 16 is a breaking hand, which will almost certainly cause them to go bust.

It is a wise move to withdraw if players have a pair of 8s as their hand’s total in most cases will lead to losing the hand. By surrendering, they will at least be able to get half of their money back in such a disadvantageous situation. However, players should take into account that many casinos don’t allow this move due to the benefits it offers them.

If possible, surrendering your 8s is advisable against the ace in double-deck and multiple-deck blackjack games where the dealer must draw to soft 17. Paired 8s against an ace are always a split in single-deck games regardless of the dealer’s standing position.

Conclusion

Sometimes, it can be really difficult to determine which move is the best in a particular situation. Even more seasoned gamblers struggle to say for sure and have second thoughts on some of them. However, this is why gambling is gambling and what makes Blackjack such an interesting and challenging game.

The only way to win in the long term and manage to make a profit is if players strive to improve every time they play. With the appropriate knowledge of the basic rules, a reliable strategy, and good money management skills, they can gain an advantage over the casino and achieve the desired result.

It is important to focus on winning the majority of the hands, not all of them. When there are tough situations, such as having a pair of 8s, players should try and reduce the amount of money they lose to the minimum rather than attempting to necessarily win the hand.

The aces are easy—you will have two chances to get 21!

With 8s, mathematical analysis shows that splitting them loses less often over the long run than any other move you could make. Still a tough hand though.

In most versions of Blackjack, when you are dealt a pair (two of the same card), you have the option to split them into two new hands. When you split, you must match your bet on the new hand, effectively doubling the amount wagered.

You now have two chances to beat the dealer—or two chances to lose.

After the split, you are dealt two more cards, one for each hand. Play then proceeds, with you playing both hands.

Why split two Aces?

Should you receive two aces, the split is an easy move because an Ace is the most powerful card in Blackjack. Any card drawn next that is valued at 10 gives you 21.

The deck has more 10-value cards than any other single value—10s, Jacks, Queens, and Kings all count as 10. So, you combine an Ace with the higher probability of drawing a 10-value card, thus increasing your chances of beating the dealer and winning.

What are your other options?

An ace can count as either a 1 or an 11, so you could play either of those values. Or, you could add the 1 and the 11 to total twelve. If you draw a ten-value card against that 12, you will bust immediately at twenty-two!

Splitting Aces offers two chances for the strongest hand in the game. Draw a 10 after splitting, and you’ve got 21. Draw a 10 on the other Ace, and you’ve got two 21s.

Note: After splitting those Aces, any draw of a 10-card isn’t considered a Blackjack hand, so you’ll be paid at even money.

But splitting Aces every time is mathematically the best move possible, against any possible dealer up-card.

Why split two 8s?

The hard fact is that the dealer is favored to win when you hold a pair of 8s.

Together, your cards total 16–the weakest, most dangerous hand in Blackjack. The most likely single card to draw in any situation is a 10 card, as mentioned, because each deck has more 10-cards than any other value.

Draw a 10 against your two 8s, combining for 16, and you bust. As a matter of fact, any card over 5 will bust you.

What are the possibilities? If the dealer shows 6, 5, 4 or another ‘bust’ card, you are playing against the weakest ‘up’ cards possible. Splitting 8s makes sense here, because you have increased your odds of drawing a better hand.

Should You Split 9s In Blackjack

If the dealer shows a 7 or an 8—your spilt 8 could easily draw a pair of 10s and beat a potential dealer 17 with both hands, or tie a dealer 18.

But what if the dealer is showing a 10 card? Why would you want to split two 8s against a dealer’s 10 and possibly create two losing hands instead of one?

In this situation, the dealer may already have 19 or 20.

Do You Always Split 8's In Blackjack

Simply put, the math says that over the long-term, you have the best chance of minimizing your losing hands by splitting the 8s.

Should You Always Split 8's In Blackjack

The dealer has the upper hand when you combine your pair of 8s against her 9 or 10. With a dealer presenting 10, computer analysis shows her hand will hit a total of 17-21 about 77% of the time, busting only about 23% of the time.

Let’s quantify the benefit of splitting 8s. If you bet $1.00 each time you combined two 8s against a dealer 10, you’d win 23 times, or $23.00, and lose 77 times, or $77.00, for a net loss of $54.00 after 100 hands.

But split those 8s, and you change the math.

Computer analysis* shows that each time you play an 8 against a dealer 10, you will win the hand about 38 times out of 100 –better than the 23% you would win by combining the 8s. You will still lose more than you will win, but your expected loss will be lower by splitting, even though you are playing two hands with twice the bet as before.

Money you don’t lose is money saved. Put another way, you’re better off to play an 8 against a 10 two times, with twice the bet, than to play a 16 against a 10 once with one bet.

*Analysis assumes the following game rules: 6-deck game, dealer stands on 17, double after splitting is allowed, and resplitting is allowed up to four hands.