Wager Mage
Photo by Monstera Pexels Logo Photo: Monstera

Should you split 7s against a 2?

You may find the following five rules an easy way to remember how to play your 7s: In multi-deck games, always split 7s against a dealer's 2 through 7, otherwise hit. In double-deck games, split 7s against dealer's 2-8 if DAS or 2-7 if NDAS; otherwise hit.

Is college football easy to bet on?
Is college football easy to bet on?

With so many games each week, it's much harder for betting sites and oddsmakers to accurately handicap every college game. If you're willing to...

Read More »
How do I stop gambling losing money?
How do I stop gambling losing money?

Set limits and stick to a budget – decide how much money you want to spend (that means 'risk losing') on gambling each week. Think of it as...

Read More »

When you are dealt a pair of 7s in blackjack you have four viable playing options:

Hit

Split

Surrender

Stand

How to play blackjack with this hand and which strategy you should invoke depends upon what the dealer’s upcard is, the number of decks of cards being used, whether double down after pair splitting is allowed, and whether surrender is offered.

MULTI-DECK PLAYING STRATEGY

The basic playing strategy for multi-deck games is to split 7s against a dealer’s upcard of 2 through 7; otherwise hit.

Note: The following abbreviations are used in the following color-coded charts.

P = Split

H = Hit

Sus = Surrender if allowed, otherwise Stand

Suh = Surrender if allowed, otherwise Hit

Multi-Deck Playing Strategy

Dealer's Upcard 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A P P P P P P H H H H

DOUBLE-DECK PLAYING STRATEGY

If the playing rules allow doubling down after pair splitting (DAS):

You should split against a dealer upcard of 2-8

Hit against a dealer upcard of 9, 10, and Ace

Double-Deck Games with DAS

Dealer's Upcard 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A P P P P P P P H H H

Double-Deck Games with NDAS

Dealer's Upcard 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A P P P P P P H H H H

SINGLE-DECK PLAYING STRATEGY

The playing strategy for a pair of 7s in a single-deck game is slightly more complicated because in some cases, you will be standing or surrendering if the latter is allowed. (Although, as a general rule, surrender in a single-deck game is rarely offered in land-based and online casinos, if it is, you need to know when to surrender a pair of 7s.)

If the playing rules are DAS and S17 then:

You should split against a dealer’s upcard of 2-8

Hit against a dealer 9 and Ace upcard

Surrender against a dealer 10 if allowed, otherwise stand

Single-Deck Games with S17 & DAS

Dealer's Upcard 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A P P P P P P P H Sus H

If the playing rules are S17 and NDAS then:

You should split against a dealer’s upcard of 2-7

Hit against a live blackjack dealer 8, 9, and Ace upcard

Surrender against a dealer 10 if allowed, otherwise stand

How much does a fully upgraded arena car cost?
How much does a fully upgraded arena car cost?

The cheapest workshop, with a basic office, single mechanic and color/graphics package will cost $995,000. A fully-loaded Arena workshop with the...

Read More »
What is America's highest GPA?
What is America's highest GPA?

When you study at a US university, your GPA is on a scale from 0.0 to 4.0, with 4.0 being the highest your GPA can be. GPA is very important in US...

Read More »

How much money should I bring to blackjack?

A decent rule of thumb is to bring at least 100 betting units (for a 4 hour session). So if your betting unit is $100, then I'd bring $10K.

The Honest Answer

Well, it depends. I’ll give you a neat, clean, mathy answer about it in a minute, but honestly it’s complicated. And while many professional card counters are quick to say, “I wouldn’t bother getting into card counting with less than $20,000,” I cannot give you that same answer. Why? Because that’s not our story. I started with $2,000. though I don’t think I ever bought in past my first $1,000 stake. Ben started with $800. Did we start with a perfect game? Doubtful. But we worked our tails off to get perfect at blackjack. Were we patient? Absolutely. I estimate that I was generating about $5/hr to 7/hr for the first couple months, but we were growing something so it didn’t matter! Were we lucky? Probably. Our risk of ruin (the odds of losing our entire blackjack bankroll) would give most card counters (not including Ben) severe hypertension. Were we aggressive? Insanely. We weren’t worried about backoffs, and would play a 1-20 bet spread or higher, always playing the table minimum below a true 1 and leaving the table at a true -1. While a $20,000 initial stake would be great, that’s not our story, nor is it realistic for many people. But, you’ll have to be patient, aggressive, have a perfect game, and you may need to be willing to take on a little more risk. But then again, never starting your card counting career is also a risk.

What is the formula of round robin?
What is the formula of round robin?

To determine the number of games for a single round robin tournament, as seen above, use the following formula, N x (N-1)/2. With a tournament of 6...

Read More »
What are 3 ways to withdraw money?
What are 3 ways to withdraw money?

Rest assured, you have many simple options to choose from. Use an ATM. If you have an ATM (Automated Teller Machine) card or debit card linked to...

Read More »
What does +105 mean on a bet?
What does +105 mean on a bet?

When you see a plus sign in front of a number (like +150 for example) it tells you which team is the underdog. You get a higher payout betting on...

Read More »
Are high or low odds better?
Are high or low odds better?

Odds is the payout of a winning bet The lower the odds for a participant are, the less money you will win. The higher the odds for a participant...

Read More »