2025-05-06

Worst Starting Hands in Blackjack

Few games are as universally popular as blackjack. Players all over the world play the game regularly, both at home with friends and in casinos with other players. The appeal is obvious. Blackjack is easy to play and understand on the surface level: get to 21 without going over. If you want to play it well, however, you’ll need to put a bit more time in. It’s a game where skill and effort can significantly increase the likelihood of winning as well as the amount won. More specifically, understanding hand strengths can make or break your round.

Understanding blackjack hands

There are three main kinds of blackjack hands to understand: hard hands, soft hands and pairs. All of them can get you a win, but you should play each of them differently. Hard hands are where all of the cards have one possible value. A two is always worth two, in other words. Soft hands contain an ace, which can be played as either a one or an 11. Pairs are hands that include a pair of cards.

Of these, soft hands are the most flexible, hard hands are the most straightforward, and pairs open up the possibility of splitting. This is true at all online casinos that use standard rules and decks.

Identifying the worst hands in blackjack

In this blog, we’re going to take a look at the blackjack hands that are most likely to lose. Our goal is to provide you with the strategy you need to improve your chances of a win, regardless of how slim. We can’t magically give you a good hand, but we can give you the knowledge you need to make the best of a bad situation.

Hard 16 (10-6, 9-7, 8-8)

A hard 16 is one of the worst starting hands you can be dealt in live casino games. It is also one of the worst hands you can end up with after hitting, splitting or doubling down. There are a few different ways that your hard 16 can come to be: a 10 plus a six, a nine plus a seven, and a pair of eights.

A hard 16 is a terrible hand because it’s too big to hit and too small to stand. Your most likely scenarios here are busting and losing outright. With that said, not every hard 16 ends in a loss. If the dealer’s upcard is small, they are more likely to bust. In this case, consider standing. If they show a seven through ace, you might want to hit.

If you can split your hard 16, this is the best option. If you can’t, use the tips we gave you about hitting/standing to improve your chances of winning.

Hard 15 (10-5, 9-6, 8-7)

A hard 15 is one of the blackjack worst hands. The difficulties this hand poses are similar to those we outlined above for hard 16s: it’s too high to hit and too low to stand. 15 is a weak hand whether it’s your starting hand (with a 10 + five, nine + six, or eight + seven) or something you got after hitting.

With a hard 15, your best chances of winning are when the dealer shows a four, five or six as they are most likely to go bust. You should stand in those situations. However, if the dealer shows a two, three or seven, you should consider hitting.

In general, your best strategy with a hard 15 is to minimise losses wherever possible.

Hard 14 (10-4, 9-5, 8-6, 7-7)

Another of the blackjack losing hands is the hard 14 (10 + four, nine + five, eight + six, or a pair of sevens). Echoing the previous hands in this blog, the problem with a hard 14 is that you can’t hit without a relatively high risk of busting, but you also can’t stand because the hand simply isn’t high enough to win in the vast majority of scenarios. Many players consider this to be one of the worst hands in the table game.

There are no real upsides to being dealt a hard 14, but there are a few tips that can help you maximise your chances of winning. First and foremost, work to minimise your losses here as the likelihood of winning is relatively low. Our recommendation here is to split if at all possible. If you can’t, you’ll need to look to the dealer’s upcard for help. If they show a two through six, stand. If they show a seven or higher, take your chances and hit.

Worst hands for splitting

Don’t rely on splitting to win because there are a few scenarios where it is very detrimental to players. In regard to splitting, specifically, bad blackjack hands include pairs of fours, fives or even 10s. In general, you never want to split a pair of 10s – 20 is one of the strongest hands in the game. Splitting fours and fives is less detrimental than splitting 10s, but it’s still not a good idea. Neither a four nor a five are strong starts to new hands, which makes splitting them a risk.

Note here that the dealer’s upcard should drive your decision to split, hit or stand. With a pair of 10s, you want to stand (and double down, if possible) on any dealer upcard except a 10 or an ace. The dealer is most likely to have a 21 with either upcard, and hitting might give you better odds than standing. In general, however, even under those circumstances, we might advise you to take your chances and stand.

Bad hands = bankroll management

Not every hand will go your way. Sometimes the best choice of action is to maintain your composure and take the loss regardless of how much it hurts. This is where good bankroll management comes into play. Keep your wagers reasonable so that when you lose, you don’t lose a big chunk of your budget. Also, avoid chasing losses, as this will burn through your available funds quite quickly.

Blackjack hand FAQs

What is the worst hand in blackjack?

The worst hand in blackjack is considered to be a hard 16. It’s too high to hit comfortably and too low to stand, so player options are limited.

What hands should you never split in blackjack?

Never split a pair of 10s. A hand total of 20 is extremely high and gives excellent odds of winning – the last thing you want to do is split this up for two weaker hands.

Why is 16 considered the worst hand in blackjack?

A 16 is considered the worst hand in blackjack because you have little leeway to improve your odds. You need something higher to stand on, but hitting is risky because anything over a five and you bust.