Strategy for Playing Aces in Blackjack
The ace card in blackjack is the most versatile card a player can receive. This guide reviews the best strategies for making the best of your aces in blackjack.
What is an ace card?
In blackjack “what is an ace?” is a commonly asked question. An ace card in blackjack is worth either 1 or 11. A standard 52-deck card comes with four aces. Each card suit has an ace, so you have heart, diamond, spade and club aces in every deck.
While it has flexible values, an ace gives you a soft hand that improves your chances of winning. When you get an ace, its value is automatically 11, and you can pair it with any other card. This value only changes when you pair the ace with other cards that raise your hand value above 21. In this case, the ace value becomes 1.
You get a blackjack if you pair the ace with any other card with a 10 value. Pairing your ace with a jack, queen or king gives you a blackjack, and the dealer has to pay one and a half times your bet. This changes when the dealer also has a blackjack, leading to a ‘push’ where neither of you wins.
What are the odds of getting an ace when playing blackjack?
The odds of getting an ace in blackjack depend on the number of cards in the deck. Getting your first card in a single deck has a probability of 4 in 52 or 1 in 13. A 52-card deck has four aces, so the odds of getting an ace as the first card are only 7.7%. Fortunately, these odds increase by the second hand.
Depending on the number of players at the table, the odds of getting an ace on the second hand are between 8.5% and an optimistic 10%.
How to play a pair of aces
Despite the low odds of getting aces in the first hand, there is a chance you can get two aces in the same blackjack round. The blackjack rules for ace cards allow players to act differently when they have a pair of aces. Below, we look at the top approaches to playing a pair of aces.
Split the aces
The face value of a pair of aces is 22, over the required blackjack value. Thanks to the ace in blackjack rules, the 22 value of a pair of aces does not mean a bust. Instead, a pair of aces gets a starting value of 12.
By splitting the aces, you can treat both aces as two separate cards with individual values. The value of either card can be 1 or 11, bringing your total card value to 2 or 12. The dealer has to deal you one extra card for both split aces, and these extra cards can raise your weak 12 to a strong 19 or 20 card value.
Double down with split aces
Split aces allow you to make other moves, including doubling down on your existing bet. Here, you can place a fresh wager equal to your bet amount. By doubling down on your split aces, you double the value of your bet to increase your winnings. Another benefit of doubling down is being entitled to one more card after placing your extra bet.
Hit the split aces
Hitting is a common strategy when your card value is 11 or lower. Hitting is also a great move after splitting your aces. You can hit your split aces with a soft hand compared to the dealer’s 7 or higher upcards. Choosing to hit after splitting your aces could bring you an improved hand up to 18 or even 21.
The best move for a single ace
Unfortunately, there is no ultimate move for a single ace. You need to adapt your strategy to match the circumstances.
Only after considering the dealer’s upcard value and how it might affect your common hand should you make your move. The common response to a dealer’s strong hand is to stand or double down. The extra card from your double down may increase your value, but this is not a guaranteed win.
Choosing to hit is best when the dealer has a weak hand, and you have a soft hand that you can build to 18 or 21 without risking your win.