Playing a Total of 8 against a Total of 6 in a Blackjack Game

What is the correct course of play when you hold a total of 8 against a dealer's upcard of 6? Let's consider the circumstances. You hold a five and a three in your hand. The blackjack game features multiple decks of cards and the ability to double down after splitting your hand. So what options are there for you to play this hand to the best of your ability?

Firstly, standing on your hand can be ruled out. With a total of just 8 in your hand, the dealer is likely to beat you every time unless he goes bust – and the chances of him doing so are minimal. This leaves you with two options. You either need to hit the hand or double down.

Most experienced blackjack players would opt to hit rather than double. The reason for this is that doubling will only give you a total of 16. This is not a bad hand but compare it to the average value of the dealer's hand over 100 games. When you see that this works out to be 18.23, you can see that the doubling option is likely to leave you trailing your opponent.

When you double on this hand, your odds of winning are not so much greater than your odds of losing. The difference is just four percent. Factor into this the odds of the dealer only going bust approximately 43 percent of the time and you'll see that doubling doesn't offer you many advantages.

On the other hand, hitting on a total of 8 in this situation can improve your chances. Over 100 hands, you will make nine more hands than losing hands when you hit. So to give yourself a fair chance of minimizing your losses over time, you should always hit on a total of 8 against a 6 instead of doubling.