When Should You Split in Blackjack?

In Blackjack, a split occurs when a player receives two cards of the same value in their initial hand. Once the cards are separated into two different hands, the player is expected to place an additional bet of equal value to the original bet made. Furthermore, they are expected to take an additional card for both hands from the dealer.

When to split in blackjack? There are some situations where it is favorable for you to split your hand, and these include:

Aces: In Blackjack, when a player has two aces, one is given a face value of 11 while the other is given a face value of 1. Therefore, only a card value of 9 can take you to 21 on your next draw. It is, therefore, advantageous to split the hand into two to improve your odds.
Eights: Receiving two 8s on your initial draw is considered to be a bad hand in blackjack, and splitting is highly encouraged. Playing a pair of 8s as a single hand limits your choices, which is why you must split the hand to improve your chances against the dealer.
Dealer 4, 5, 6: When the dealer has a 4, 5, or 6, you are encouraged to split your hand. These numbers are referred to as bust numbers in blackjack because they increase the dealer’s chances of going bust.

When splitting hands is concerned, players want to know the optimal blackjack strategy on what cards they can split. The answer to this is simple, you can split your initial hand as long as you receive the same card value.