Splitting pairs in blackjack gives you the chance to split a pair and play two separate hands with one new card for each.
The dealer will then deal you an additional card to each hand, and you will play each hand individually. It is important to know the different splitting pair types when you play blackjack. Not every pair should be spilt.
You should ALWAYS split a pair of Aces. Just over 30% of the cards in a single deck have a value of 10, so you have a good chance of hitting two more 10 cards and to improve both your hands into a blackjack. (Although the house may not pay out 3:2 on Blackjacks that come from split Aces).
Don’t split 10s you numpty. 20 is a winning hand. If you split 10s the dealer is morally obliged to slap you with a wet fish.
You should always split 8s. A total of 16 is not good enough to stand but you are likely to bust almost two thirds of the time if you hit. With a large proportion of the pack being 10s you have a good chance of ending up with two hands with a total of 18.
For other hands the decision should be made based on the dealer’s upcard.
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Dealer’s Up Card
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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T
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A
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Pairs
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2 2
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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H
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H
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H
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H
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3 3
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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H
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H
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H
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H
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4 4
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H
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H
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H
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P
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P
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H
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H
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H
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H
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H
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5 5
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D
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D
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D
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D
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D
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D
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D
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D
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H
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H
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6 6
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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H
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H
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H
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H
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H
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7 7
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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H
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H
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H
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H
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8 8
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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9 9
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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S
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P
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P
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S
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S
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10’s
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S
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S
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S
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S
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S
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S
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S
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S
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S
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S
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A’s
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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P
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Action: H = Hit S = Stand D = Double P = Split
I would stress that like doubling up; splitting pairs can also affect the effectiveness of your betting strategy. This is especially true if you are using the Paroli or Martingale system. You should make the decisions about when you are going to split pairs and the effect it might have on your betting system and stick to them.
