What is an ace worth in blackjack?
When playing blackjack, it’s all about beating the dealer. This simply isn’t possible unless you understand the value of the cards that you’re holding. Of course, you may well recognize the face value of a card, but do you know what they’re really worth and the impact that they can have on your game? In this article we will look into this, and focus on the ace value in Blackjack.
Those who win on a more consistent basis in blackjack are the players who have perfected basic strategy and those who have gone on to master card counting. While both of these are well worth exploring and getting a grasp of they both have the same starting point: understanding what a card is worth.
When you’ve been dealt your hand, you need to know exactly what you’re holding. Is the hand a strong one? Should you be adjusting your wager? If you have no understanding of the value of your cards, you have no way of knowing what action you should be taking next. How do you know whether you should hit or stand if you have no idea what your cards are worth?
In this article, we’re going to be exploring the value of an ace in blackjack. You probably already know that the ace is viewed as the most valuable card in blackjack, but why is that? Let’s take a look.
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The real value of an ace
When playing blackjack, the value of your hand is arrived at by adding up all of the cards that you hold. The total of these cards is then compared to what the dealer holds. The winner of the hand is the one who gets closest to a total of 21. Players shouldn’t be concerned with what other players hold: they are only trying to beat the dealer. If anyone’s hand goes over 21, even by just one, then they go bust and are out of the game.
When you’re dealt your hand, seeing an ace is good news. This card is unique in that it’s the only one in the deck that can actually have two different values. If you find one in your hand, you have a choice: you can use it as a one or you can decide that it’s worth 11.
The value that you assign to an ace will, of course, depend upon the other cards that you’re holding. This is where an understanding of basic and advanced blackjack strategy comes in, though here you can settle for the basic. By using an ace, you can create a favorable hand and you’ll know just what your next action should be.
Why you want an ace in blackjack
The game of blackjack is about using your cards to their full potential. The game is played with decks that are made up of 52 cards and each deck will contain four aces. The number of decks being used in a game will depend on the variant that’s being played, but it’s extremely common for eight to be used. There are three main reasons why you want to see at least one of these aces coming your way:
- When you’re dealt an ace, you have the chance of making a natural blackjack. A natural blackjack is when you make 21 out of two cards. This means that, with the card being used as an 11, an ace paired with any card worth 10 will give you a natural blackjack. The payout for this will be 3:2 or 6:5, depending on the particular blackjack rules of your table. Either way, this is a higher payout than you’d get for winning any other way.
- Having an ace means that you have something that’s known as a soft hand. This is when the value of your cards is less than 21 but you still have an ace. When this is the case, you have the option to double down. This is almost always a good idea when you have an ace as your first card. That’s because it allows you to double your original bet and receive just one more card. The chance of going bust when you have a soft hand is practically zero.
- An ace is also useful when it comes to side bets. An example here is the insurance bet. This is a bet on whether the dealer’s hidden card is a 10 after you’ve seen that the upcard is an ace. There are other side bets to consider but you should always be wary of the house edge: side bets are never usually great in this respect
Being dealt two aces
We’ve looked at the ace value in Blackjack, when dealt one ace, but what happens if you’re dealt two? This gives you potential hands of two, 13 and 22. Of course, using both aces as 11 and making 22 would just be stupid but the option exists! None of these hands is great and so the best advice with two aces is to split them.
By splitting aces, you then know for sure that you’re going to be playing with two soft hands. As we’ve already seen, soft hands allow you to hit and increase the value of your hand with minimal risk of going bust. On top of this, there is also the chance of forming a natural blackjack. At a push, you could even form two.
This makes aces very different from a pair of 10s. These should never be split as the result is that you’re playing with two hard hands. The chances of winning are slim and the chances of a natural blackjack are even slimmer.
Final thoughts on ace value in Blackjack
You now hopefully have a better idea about why an ace is such a powerful card in blackjack. Having an ace means that you have a soft hand and that you can hit without fear of going bust. There is also the chance of forming a natural blackjack and this gives you a higher payout than you can otherwise get. Holding two aces is great as this gives you the option to split and play two soft hands.
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