In blackjack, as with any card game, there are both good and bad hands. The best hands are those that lead to a natural 21 or close to it. A natural is a hand that includes an ace and one of the cards that count as 10 (namely a 10, Jack, Queen, or King). Other cards that can make a winning hand include the 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12 and the suited ten of hearts. In a casino or online, you can get these cards in different ways. The best starting hands in blackjack are the ones that can give you a strong chance of beating the dealer. These hands can be either soft or hard and they can vary in value.
The worst starting hands in blackjack are those that leave you with a poor chance of winning. These are hands that will probably require a high number of additional cards in order to reach a strong total. They also come with a higher risk of busting, which will result in you losing your bet. Generally speaking, the worst starting hand in blackjack is a pair of 8s against the dealer’s up card of 10.
A pair of 8s is considered to be one of the worst hands to start with because it has a value of 16. This is a low value that can only be improved by drawing another card which will lead to an unfavorable total. In addition to this, there are also high odds that you will lose the round against the dealer if you choose to hit or stand.
Another worst hand is a total of 15 which is also a poor starting hand. This hand is usually considered a weak one and can easily be beaten by the dealer. This is because there are 16 cards that can count as a 10 in a standard deck of 52.
Lastly, a 17 is regarded as another unfavorable hand. Although this is a very solid hand, it still isn’t the best one because there is a higher chance of busting than a dealer having a low up card. As such, it is always better to split this hand in order to improve its chances of being a strong one. This is especially true if you have a high number such as 14 or 15.