This means that the dealer will hit a 16 or lower and they will stay on a 17 and higher. Since every casino is different, there’ll be some blackjack tables where you’ll see the words “Dealer must draw to 16 and stand on all 17’s”. The dealer has no choice on how to play their hands.īut not every house will display those words. If the dealer has a soft 18, soft 19 or a soft 20, then the dealer must stay. If the dealer has a hard 17 or an 18 and higher than the dealer must stay. In this case, the dealer must hit a 16 or lower and they must also hit a soft 17. When a table displays the words, “Dealer must hit soft 17”, it’s notifying you of the rules of the game, rules that the dealer must follow. If they hit and get a 10, then the hand would bust with 27 and that is why it’s a Hard 17.

For example, if the player had an 8 and a 9, then they would have a Hard 17. You can practice reading soft hands with the quiz I put at the end of the video.Ī “Hard Hand” is when the player has a set of cards that would bust if the player added a 10 value card to them. Since 26 is a busted hand and the player would lose, the value of the hand automatically goes to 16, since that is more beneficial for the player. If they hit and get a 10, then they have either 16 or 26. For example, if the player has a 2, 3 and an ace then they have 6 or 16, or in other words, a soft 16. However, there are some hands where there’s only one choice. He can also decide to keep it as a 17 and stay, it’s his choice.

If the player decides that he wants his hand to be a 7 and then hits again, he can do that. For example, if the player’s two cards are a 6 and an ace, then the player can have either a 7 or 17. Since the ace can either be 1 or 11, this means that the hand containing the ace can either be one of two numbers and usually it’s the number that is most beneficial to the player. A “Soft Hand” only happens if there is an ace in the hand. Why does the table say that the dealer must hit all soft 17’s?”Ī: First, let’s go over what a soft hand is.

Blackjack dealer must hit soft 17