Blackjack Know Your Hands: Dealer Ace vs. Hard 16
If you ask a good Blackjack player, “What is the worst hand in the online game ?” they are liable to say hard 16 vs. Dealer 10. However, a professional might tell you it’s a trick question. The 16 vs. 10 and 16 vs. Ace are, in fact, the two worst hands in Blackjack. However, the order depends on whether the dealer Hits or Stands on soft 17. Here are the EV’s (for Hitting) for the first hand after a shuffle, assuming the dealer has peeked and does not have a blackjack: Dealer Hits Soft 17 Dealer Stands on Soft 17 16 vs 10 16 vs Ace 16 vs 10 16 vs Ace Single Deck -50.8% -52.7% -50.8% -50.6% Double Deck -52.4% -53.5% -52.4% -51.2% 8-Deck Shoe -53.6% -54.0% -53.6% -51.6% We only show the EV’s for hitting above because the EV’s for standing are even worse in every case. If the dealer Hits soft 17, then 16 vs. Ace is the worst hand in the game. In Las Vegas today H17 is the norm, so in my world we are talking about the worst hand in Blackjack here. First we will consider the