Hard Hand Review

What is Hard Hand?

A hard hand refers to a hand in Blackjack that contains cards that a player can use at a fixed value. All hands in Blackjack are hard hands apart from those that contain an Ace, because the player can choose to play it either as a 1 or an 11, depending on their other cards.

Hard Hand Explained

A hard hand isn’t ideal for a player since this increases the danger of going bust and limits the players chances. In the case that a player has a hard hand of 18, for example a 10 and 8, the only thing he should do is to stick. If, on the other hand, he has a soft hand of 18, an Ace and 7, for instance, he has more options, as he could either stick, double down or twist.
A player can’t control the cards given to him by the dealer therefore he should figure out how to play a hard hand, especially as his chances of getting a hard hand are far greater.

The best way is to remember a hard hand system outline or strategy chart that gives recommendations on what to play for every hard hand; such as a hard hand method graph. This will indicate what play the player should make depending on the face-up card of the dealer. For instance, if the player has a hard hand of 11 and the dealer has a face-up of the value of 2 to 10, at that point the player is encouraged to either double down or hit.
Following such methods does not ensure that a player will win, as there are different elements to consider. Some experienced players use the method of card-counting which means they monitor the number of low cards as well as high cards in a play and then bet accordingly.

It is important to understand the difference between a hard hand and a soft hand. In Blackjack, the difference between the two is one single card; the Ace. In the case that you are dealt an Ace, you have a soft hand. In Blackjack, a hard hand means that you do not have an Ace and therefore, you are stuck with a fixed hand that cannot be changed.