How to Play with A Dealer Upcard of 10
Few dealer upcards in blackjack are as feared as the 10. This card all but guarantees that the dealer has a strong hand, with a roughly 77% chance of a final hand sitting between 17 and 21. Also, they only have a roughly 23% chance of busting, which means that players need to be proactive in their strategies rather than simply hoping for a bust. In this article, we’ll explore proper player strategy against a dealer upcard 10 to maximise your chances of a win.
Optimal strategies based on player hard hands
You might assume that interpreting blackjack hands is as simple as counting their card values, but that’s not quite the case. Blackjack is a unique table game with multiple kinds of hands. The two most prominent are soft hands and hard hands.
Soft hands contain an ace, which can be played as either a one or an 11 depending on player needs. If you have a hand consisting of a five and an ace, for example, you have either a soft 16 or a soft six depending on how you play the ace. Hard hands offer players little in the way of flexibility. With a hard hand, what you see is what you get – an ace is always worth 11.
Soft hands are more flexible than hard hands and, as a result, are favoured over them.
Hard hand totals 5-8 vs 10 strategy
If you are dealt a hand total of five through eight in your live casino game, you should always hit. If you don’t, your chances of winning are the lowest in the game at 30%. Since you’re not going to go bust hitting one time a hand value of five, six, seven or eight, you lose nothing by doing so and seeing where things stand afterward. Your odds of winning can only go up, with even a hard 16 (largely considered the worst hand in the game) offering odds of 60%. That’s double your likelihood of winning versus standing on a five through eight. This is true whether the dealer has a 10 upcard or not.
Hard hand total 9-10 vs 10 strategy
Are you wondering how to play blackjack when the dealer has a 10 and you have a hand total of nine or 10? If so, we can help! In general, you want to hit against a 10 when you have nine or 10. This is another situation where you can’t go bust hitting one time and can only increase your chances of winning the game. On their own, hand totals of nine and 10 offer 42% and 50% odds of winning, respectively. If you can boost your hand total to 16 or higher, your odds of winning are increased.
Hard hand total 11 vs 10 strategy
What to do vs a 10 in blackjack? If your hand total is 11, you double down. You have a 50% chance of winning, so doubling down helps you capitalise on a very strong hand. If you don’t like doubling down, you can also hit – but be aware that this increases the house edge if not used.
Hard hand total 12-16 vs 10 strategy
If you have a hard hand total of 12 through 16 in blackjack, you should always hit when the dealer’s upcard is 10. It’s unlikely that the dealer will finish with anything less than a 16 with this upcard, and if you can get higher than that, your chances of winning are greatly increased. A 17, be it hard or soft, for example, has a 70% chance of winning. The higher your hand total, the more likely you are to win against a dealer’s 10.
Hard hand total 17-21 vs 10 strategy
The best blackjack strategy vs 10 if you have a hand total of 17 through 21 is to stand. You are more likely to win if you stand than if you hit, with the stats breaking down like this:
- 17 (70% odds of winning)
- 18 (77% odds of winning)
- 19 (85% odds of winning)
- 20 (92% odds of winning)
- 21 (100% odds of winning as long as the dealer doesn’t also have a blackjack)
Optimal strategies based on player soft hands
In blackjack, soft hands are hands that include an ace. They are called soft because you can play the ace as a one or as an 11 depending on your needs. Soft hands stand in direct contrast to hard hands, which always total the card values with no leeway.
Soft hand total 13-15 vs 10 strategy
Given the dealer’s likelihood of having a strong hand, you should always hit on a soft hand total of 13 through 15 against a dealer’s 10.
Soft hand total 16-18 vs 10 strategy
If your hand total is a soft 16 through 18 and the dealer’s upcard is a 10, you can either hit or double down. The latter is recommended to maximise potential returns.
Soft hand total 19-21 vs 10 strategy
If you have a soft 19 or 21, stand regardless of the dealer’s upcard. The odds of winning with a hand total of 19 through 21 range from 85% to 100%.
Splitting vs 10 strategy
If you like splitting, we have some bad news: you mostly want to avoid splitting against a dealer’s 10. A 10 upcard, as we’ve described above, indicates that the dealer’s hand is likely very strong, and you’re better off playing with your main hand than splitting into two. The exception here is if you have a pair of eights – you should split in that instance as it gives you higher chances of winning the game.
Surrendering to the 10
Surrendering in blackjack against a dealer’s 10 can be a great option in certain situations. This can help you to minimise the amount of money you lose. The best time to surrender in blackjack when the dealer has a 10 is when you have a hard 15 or 16.