There is a hand in blackjack that frightens players, it is the hand with a total of 16. Almost all the players try not to hit when holding such a hand because there is very high possibility to bust. Many players are so afraid that they do not pay any attention to the dealer’s up card and stand at once. Others prefer to surrender if this option is available they’d rather lose half a bet than all of it. In fact there are different 16-value hands. They may be made up of a pair of 8’s or with a soft Ace So what to do if you have a 16?

First, let’s consider a hard 16 hand, the hand that has no Ace or an Ace worth 1, such as, 4-6-6, 7-9 or 9-6-Ace.

Following the basic blackjack strategy it advises the player with a hard 16 to stand if the dealer’s up card is 2 – 6 and hit if the dealer is showing 7 - 10, or Ace. The basic strategy does not assert that you will win all the time but you will be certain to lose less in the long run. Let’s consider an example.

You have a 9-7 and the dealer has a 6. If hitting you will lose somewhere 70% of hands on average and correspondingly win 30%. If standing you will lose 74% of the time and hit 26% on average. It is indisputable that the dealer is the favorite. But your chances to win are 4% higher if hitting than if standing. Therefore you’d better hit in spite of the fact that your chances of winning are only 4% better, but in the long run every percentage do count.

What to do if your 16-valued hand consists of 3 or more cards like 4-5-7? The basic strategy advises you nothing in this case. So, if your hand has 3 or even more cards, you’d better stand when the dealer’s up card is 10 since you are having some small cards and your chances to draw more small-valued card are low. Therefore the odds are to the advantage of standing.

Holding a soft 16 (Ace-5) you should double if the dealer is showing a 4, 5 or 6. If not, you’d better hit.

Holding a pair of 8’s, you should split without taking into account the dealer’s up card. Even though you lose on both 8’s, the losses will be less in the long run than if you choose to play the one 16-value hand.

Without a doubt a 16-value hand is a vile hand. And unfortunately it is one of the oftenest hands that you can be dealt in blackjack. But, try to follow abovementioned advice and your chances of winning are sure to grow in the long run.