Splitting means separating a starting pair into two hands and placing a second bet, equal to the first, on the new hand. Each hand is then played on its own against the dealer. Most charts give the same short verdict: always split aces and eights, never split tens or fives, and decide the rest by the dealer's upcard. The details follow, written for adult players.
How a split works at the table
- Your first two cards share a rank, such as two sevens. Many tables also let any two ten-value cards count as a pair, so a king and a jack may be split; others insist on identical ranks.
- You signal the split by placing a matching stake beside the original bet. At a live table you do not touch the cards; online there is a split button.
- The dealer separates the pair and deals a second card to the first hand.
- You play that hand to completion, then the dealer moves on to the second one.
- Both hands are settled against the dealer's final total, independently. One can win while the other loses.
Rules that vary between tables
The basic move is universal, but the surrounding conditions are not. These are the ones to look for in the rules panel:
| Rule | What it means | Effect for the player |
|---|---|---|
| Resplitting | If a split hand receives another card of the same rank, you may split again, often up to four hands in total | Helpful, mainly with eights |
| Split aces get one card | Each ace receives a single card and the hand ends | Standard nearly everywhere |
| Resplitting aces | A third ace may be split again | Helpful, but uncommon |
| Double after split (DAS) | You may double down on a hand created by splitting | Helpful; makes splitting low pairs more attractive |
| 21 after splitting aces | An ace plus a ten-value card counts as 21, not a blackjack | Pays even money instead of the bonus payout |
That last row surprises many people. A natural blackjack only exists on the first two cards of an unsplit hand, so ace-king after a split is simply a strong 21.
Pair by pair: the usual choices
The guide below reflects a typical multi-deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17 and doubling after a split is allowed. Without that doubling rule, the low pairs are split against fewer upcards.
- Aces: always split. Two hands each starting at 11 are worth far more than one soft 12.
- Tens: never split. Twenty is already one of the best totals in the game.
- Nines: split against 2 to 6, 8 and 9; stand against 7, 10 and ace. Against a 7, your 18 is likely ahead already.
- Eights: always split. Sixteen is the weakest total you can hold, while each eight on its own gives a workable start.
- Sevens: split against 2 to 7, otherwise hit.
- Sixes: split against 2 to 6, otherwise hit.
- Fives: never split. Play them as a hard 10, which is a strong hand for doubling down against 2 to 9.
- Fours: split only against 5 or 6, and only when doubling after a split is allowed; otherwise hit.
- Threes and twos: split against 2 to 7, otherwise hit.
These choices come from the same arithmetic as the rest of blackjack basic strategy: each option is the one that loses least, or wins most, on average across a very large number of hands.
Why eights split and tens do not
The two pairs that seem to break intuition explain the whole idea. A pair of eights makes 16, a hand that loses more often than not whether you hit or stand. Splitting puts more money on the table, but it swaps one poor hand for two hands that each begin at 8, and over time that loses less. Tens make 20. Splitting them would break up a hand that wins most of the time to start two hands that would each need a fresh card to reach the same strength. More money on the table is only sensible when the hands it creates are better than the one you gave up.
Questions that come up often
Should you ever split tens?
Not in ordinary play. You will sometimes see it done at a table, but under standard rules it gives up a strong hand for two uncertain ones.
What happens if the dealer has blackjack after I split?
Where the dealer peeks for blackjack before you act, as at most American-style tables, you will never split into a dealer blackjack. At tables without a hole card, common in Europe, the outcome depends on the house rule: some return the extra stake, others collect it, which is one reason charts there are slightly more cautious.
Can I split three or four times?
Often up to four hands in total, though some games stop at two. The limit is listed with the other table rules explained in how to play blackjack.
Splits and doubles raise the money on the table quickly, so include them in your session budget instead of topping it up halfway through. Blackjack is for adults only, and the law on real-money card games differs from place to place, so check what applies to you.
