The Card Values, Soft Hands, Hard Hands and Pat Hands
Dealing with Blackjack is all a matter of working with the types of hands that you are dealt. There are several factors to keep in mind, such as the types of hands, and even the value of the cards. In this instance, we will be discussing card values, the Soft hand, the Hard hand, and the Pat hand.
Card values are simple – for most cards, the number on the card is the value. All “face cards” (jack, queen, king) count as 10. And the ace is either an 11, or a 1. That’s it. Simple, right?
Aces also play a part in whether a hand is considered ‘soft” or “hard” (by the way, these are really just names – to a player, a 17 is generally a 17, whether it’s soft or hard.)
First off, we’ll start with the “Soft” hand. Soft hands are great for beginner and inexperienced players to play, as you can consider it a “Get Out of Bust” hand.
Soft hands use an Ace as an 11. This means an Ace and a seven is an 18. A nice hand, and also one that can take a hit (literally!) That’s why soft hands are great for beginners – you can hit without busting.
A disadvantage, however, is that there is a limit that a soft hand can reach. For example, if a particular hand gets so high that the Ace card has to be considered a “1” and not an “11”, well, bye-bye soft hand. The soft hand has become a hard hand and has to be treated accordingly.
A “Hard” hand is simply any blackjack hand that does not include an Ace card (or uses an Ace as a 1). It’s considered a hard hand because the value is “hard” (unchanging). It’s probably also called “hard” because it’s a harder hand to play – lots of bust potential here.
A “Pat” hand is another type of hand where the total value between all cards equals “17” (or higher). Considering that it is such a high value hand, it would be a foolish move for the player to ask for a “Hit” on a Pat hand (thus the name – we’ll be “standing pat” here.).
A “Pat” hand is a great Blackjack hand. It’s not a hand that will be easily beaten, and usually leads to a win. Especially if the dealer is showing a weak hand (like a 6).
As with any type of Blackjack hand, it is important to recognize the types of hands / plays and how beneficial they can be to your winning strategies. Good luck!
