Learn the reason behind the move
Hard hands, soft hands and aces
The same total can require a different decision. Learn how an ace changes a hand and why soft 17 is a rule worth checking.
An ace can change value
A hand is soft when an ace is currently counted as 11 without busting. A,6 is soft 17. Add a ten-value card and the ace must count as 1, making hard 17. The hand has not gained a permanent label; evaluate its current cards.
Soft 18 is not always a stand
In the default S17 reference, A,7 doubles against 3–6 if permitted, stands against 2,7,8 and hits against 9,10,A. If doubling is unavailable, the double cells fall back to stand. The card selector and chart show the same decision.
Independent S17 decision chart ↗Player soft 17 and dealer soft 17
A player’s choice on A,6 is a strategy decision. The dealer’s instruction to hit or stand on soft 17 is a house rule. Changing the dealer rule can affect other rows too. The rule control changes the lookup; it does not tell the dealer to follow the player’s action.
A pair needs its own check
Two aces initially form a pair. In the supplied conventional peek-game strategy, splitting is the pair action. Do not simply treat A,A as an ordinary soft 12 before checking whether splitting is available. Pairs have their own chart panel.
