A Brief Explanation of The Soft 17 Rule in Blackjack

When playing online Blackjack for real money, players can find many Blackjack games that have several rules for the dealer. One of the rules that players will usually come across is the soft 17 rule, which requires the dealer to hit when they have a soft 17.

The Blackjack soft 17 rule is deemed as one of the most important rules in the game, as it changes the manner the dealer plays. Also, the rule may influence the game’s house edge and your playing strategy tool.

So, to help you get started here’s an article that details everything you need to know about the soft 17 rule in Blackjack. Continue reading!

What is soft 17 in Blackjack?

In simple terms, a soft 17 is just another way of explaining a Blackjack hand that is worth 17 and includes an Ace. A great thing about soft 17 in Blackjack is that the Ace can be counted as both 1 and 11. Also, the hand cannot get bust if the player takes an additional card.

In contrast, a hard hand in Blackjack is the one that doesn’t include an Ace. Here, the player doesn’t have the chance to make choices in certain conditions, as the hand can get bust if another card is taken.

When playing blackjack at the best online casinos, soft 17 can be formed in numerous ways. For instance, a hand of Ace and 6 (Ace + 6) makes a soft 17. Also, soft 17 can be made using 3 or more cards, depending on the rulesets of the game. Examples of this include the Ace-4-3 hand and the Ace-Ace-4-2 hand.

The soft 17 rule explained

When playing Blackjack Switch or other online Blackjack games, players have the liberty to do virtually anything they like with their hand. However, things are not that great for the dealer. In every blackjack game, the dealer needs to follow a simple rule – he/she either stands on soft 17 or higher or hits soft 17, meaning they can only stand on hard 17 or more.

The soft 17 rule is usually found in US casinos, though it is not used at all Blackjack tables. In the UK, almost all of the Blackjack games are S17. This means that the dealers in UK casinos draw to 16 and stand on all Blackjack hands that are worth 17.

Note that sometimes, certain terms in Blackjack can be a bit confusing. For example, as a novice player, you might go ahead with the notion that S17 is just the shorthand for the soft 17 rule. But that’s not what it is. ‘S17’ in Blackjack means ‘dealer stands on Soft 17’ and H17 means ‘dealer hits on Soft 17’. So, you must pay close attention to the game’s rules and make use of Blackjack tips to avoid any disappointments during the gameplay.

How does hitting on soft 17 affect the dealer?

The dealer’s chances are affected in two ways if they need to hit on a soft 17 hand. At First, hitting on a soft 17-hand increases the chances of the dealer going bust. However, it also improves their odds of forming a better hand as well.

In many Blackjack games, the dealer’s chances of busting by hitting on a soft 17-hand increase slightly by 0.4%. But at the same time, their chances of forming 18 or more go up a whopping 0.80%. Therefore, the soft 17 rule turns out to be more favourable to the dealer than the player.

Effect of the soft 17 rule on the house edge

As it is evident from the above explanation, an S17 Blackjack game is favourable for Blackjack players and an H17 Blackjack game is better for the house. But how big a difference does it make by choosing to play one game over another in the long run?

Since all other rules in both the games are identical, the difference between an H17 and S17 Blackjack game to players can be over 0.2% in terms of the house edge. While this may not seem like a huge number, it is still, a meaningful amount, given that most European Blackjack tables feature a house edge of only 0.7%.

Card counting and the soft 17 rule

If you are good at card counting in Blackjack, then you can quickly get an idea of the number of remaining high and low cards in the deck. This, in turn, can allow you to alter your bet size, change your playing strategy and use the exploitable moments to your advantage.

While card counters sometimes change their playing strategy based on the count, they usually won’t diverge due to soft 17. This is because there’s not much to be gained from that. Nevertheless, the two instances when one might consider doing that are:

• If the count turns out to be positive, double down on soft 17 against the dealer’s 2 upcard
• If the count turns out to be negative, hit against dealer’s 3 through 6

A summary of the soft 17 rule

When playing online Blackjack games featuring the soft 17 rule, players not only need to understand the creation of hands, but they also need to know how to change their Blackjack strategy to succeed in the game. While the soft 17 rule may not seem like a big deal to newbies, experienced players know that it can affect their chances of winning. So, make sure to consider the soft 17 rule the next time you play an online Blackjack game.