Hi folks.
Does anyone have any easy method to remember soft hands? Been learning the dealer hits soft 17 chart, Doing ok with the hard and pair hands, find
memorizing soft hands extremely difficult.
Thanks
Yeah, they're confusing. What I do is remember them in chunks.
A,2 & A,3 = double against 5 or 6, hit against everything else
A,4 & A,5 = double against 4, 5, or 6, hit against everything else
A,6 = double against 3, 4, 5, or 6, hit against everything else
A,7 = double against 2-6, stay against 7,8, hit vs 9,T,A
A,8 = double vs 6, stay against everything else
If you can't double down, hit until you have at least 18 (it the hand is still soft).
"Everyone wants to be rich, but nobody wants to work for it." -Ryan Howard [The Office]
RS just summed 'er up, but if this helps - when I was learning basic, I put everything to a rhyme or rhythm to hasten my absorption and jar my memory when necessary. For H17 soft hands, mine was:
"Double Ace 8 'gainst a 6
ace 2 ace 3 against 5 and a 6
Ace 4 ace 5 'gainst a 4-5-6
Ace 6 Ace 7
Ya double till 7
With special rules for each."
Say it aloud and it has a beat, and I never had to study it again or struggle to remember the table during play.
Now I just had to memorize the extras and exceptions for A6 A7, which wasn't hard once the "meat" of the hands was memorized.
I learned them in number string form. There are only 2 to 5 doubling indices for each soft hand. For my system the most is +9,+10,+7,+3,+1. for upcards 2 thru 6. You should be able to learn them all in a short time. With practice or use the individual matchups come without thinking through the string of indices. You can also learn strings for dealer upcards.
Last edited by Three; 05-29-2013 at 04:12 AM.
OK, with a H17 game you probably already know that against a 6 you DD A2 - A8. Against a 5, A2 - A7. Then after that you keep adding each dealer's card per soft hand each wee. Do not try to add one a day or anything. You could go as short as one soft hand every three days. But you have to take it slow. Slower than what you are capable of. You want to make sure it gets imprinted in your brain.
I 'm a big baseball fan so I pictured players by their numbers Martin=1 Jeter=2, Ruth =3, Gehrig=4, Joe D=5 Ted Williams =6, Mick=7 Yogi=8.
It was easier for me to visualize the players than the numbers.
You could do it with NASCAR, NBA, any sport. might even try it with months. Or Ex-wives!
Last edited by shadroch; 05-30-2013 at 10:14 AM.
Let me die in my sleep like my Grandfather.
Not screaming in agony like his passengers.
For soft totals I found it easier to memorize according to the dealer upcard instead of the other way around. This is for A2-A7. A9 is always standing, and A8 doubles against 6 otherwise stands.
Against a 5 or 6, double every soft total (A2-A7)
Against a 4, double with A4+
Against a 3, double with A6+
Against a 2, double only A7
+ the rule of soft 18, stand against a 7 or 8. A6 or below are all double/hit decisions, A8 and above are stand (with one special case of double)
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