If you are playing at a blackjack table where the dealer hits soft 17, you need to slightly change the blackjack basic strategy rules for when to double down on hard and double down on soft hands. Here are the updated rules for when to double down.
3 blackjack basic strategy rules for doubling down on hard hands when dealer hits soft 17:
- Always DOUBLE on 11
- DOUBLE 10 vs. dealer 2 thru 9
- DOUBLE 9 vs. dealer 3 thru 6
5 blackjack basic strategy rules for doubling down on soft hands when dealer hits soft 17:
- DOUBLE A8 thru A2 vs. dealer 6
- DOUBLE A7 thru A2 vs. dealer 5
- DOUBLE A7 thru A4 vs. dealer 4
- DOUBLE A7 thru A6 vs. dealer 3
- DOUBLE A7 vs. dealer 2
The above are the relevant updates to the double down sections of the basic strategy card for when the dealer hits soft 17.
John Levandowski 