1. Winning at blackjack requires taking advantage of every opportunity the game offers, and one of the most favorable situations for the player is the double down. When you double down, you get to double your original wager in exchange for a single card.
2. Blackjack Strategy – Ultimate Basic Strategy Guide with Charts, Tips, Rules. Blackjack is a game where the player’s decision directly impacts the result. Or do you stand? Or should you double down? Is the hand you have the right one to split? Or should you just surrender? All that and more you know easily thanks to blackjack.

• In Blackjack When Should You Double Down Watch
• How To Play Blackjack And Win
• Blackjack When To Double
• In Blackjack When Do You Double Down
• How To Play Blackjack At A Casino
• Soft Doubling Down Blackjack

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The blackjack strategy of doubling down has gained such notoriety over the years that it has become synonymous with more than just gambling in a casino or online – it is now used as an apt descriptor for any situation where someone takes risks that involve pushing the envelope.

Technically speaking, doubling down in blackjack is a situation where, after you are dealt your two original cards, you decide to double your initial bet in return for a single card – with your option to hit or stay eliminated – in the hope that you will either hit a hand that beats the dealer’s or the dealer will bust when their turn comes. It can be a risky strategy, but it’s a chance you’ll have to take if you want to win at blackjack.

When to Double Down – Rules to Live By

If you start with 10 or 11 against a four, five, or six, you'd draw just once, doubling or hitting. This is because the lowest total you could get is 12, on which you'd then stand. Your chance is therefore the same, whether you hit or doubled, only the amounts differ.

The first rule of doubling down is much the same as the first rule of blackjack – assume any card you can’t see has a value of 10. Counting the four 10s and 12 face cards, there are more cards in the deck that are worth that amount than any other value. Since blackjack is about playing the odds, it’s a rule of thumb you’ll want to follow in any situation, but especially when it comes to doubling down.

Because of that rule, you will only want to double down on a hand where the combined value of your cards is 11 or fewer. That way, no matter what card you’re dealt on your double down, you’ll never have the chance to go over 21, or “bust” as it is more commonly known. You never want to put yourself in a position where you press your bet with the chance of busting.

In some venues, whether at a casino or online, you will only be allowed to double down if you’ve been dealt two cards that combine to equal nine, 10 or 11. In those cases, the decision to double down is made a bit easier. You will only have to look at the dealer’s up card and determine whether they are weak, i.e., showing a number between two and seven. If they have that type of hand, you’ll almost always want to double down.

And, though this rule is a simple one, always remember that once you opt to double down you will only receive one card. Many amateurs make the mistake of thinking that by doubling their bet they will be able to continue pursuing their hand as they normally would. The whole gamble behind a double down is that you’re relying on one more card to make your hand.

Finally, remember that doubling down is one of your best chances to rake in the big money, so you should be looking to do it at every possible opportunity. Winning at blackjack, or really any type of gamble for that matter, is about being aggressive, searching for opportunities where you feel you have an advantage and pressing your bets.

Decide whether to double down based on your hand and the dealer’s face-up card.

In blackjack, doubling down provides you with that opportunity as well as any bet you’ll encounter.

When to Double Down – Strategy

In more common scenarios where the casino or website do allow double downs on cards of any value, the strategy behind doubling down becomes much more complicated, but also affords you the opportunity to really press your bet when the table is running hot, or the odds or your instincts tell you to do so.

You’re still going to want to look to double down any time you are dealt two cards equaling nine, 10 or 11. In fact, you’ll want to double down every time you are dealt one of those three combinations as long as the dealer’s up card isn’t a 10 or a face card. In the case when the dealer’s up card is worth 10, you should still double down on all 11s, but use your best judgement when you have a total of 10 and avoid it altogether if your hand equals nine.

In Blackjack When Should You Double Down Watch

Doubling down gets really tricky when you have two cards that combine to make a low total or you have an ace and a number card. In both of those cases you are in a position to take a hit without busting and, if the dealer’s up card is anything between two and six, meaning they are in a very good position to bust, you will want to consider doubling down and hoping they go over 21.

However, making that determination can be tricky. If you play by the book, you will want to double down in those situations almost every time, with the idea being that over the course of dozens, hundreds or even thousands of those circumstances you will end up winning. So, playing strictly by the book, you should double down any time the dealer is weak and you can take a hit without busting. But there is more to it than that.

As with many decisions at a blackjack table, you’re going to want to base your choice on both odds and instinct. For instance, if a dealer has been running hot – meaning they haven’t been busting much and have been making good hands even when starting with a bad combination – you might want to avoid doubling down in all but the most advantageous situations.

Make the choice to double down based on both odds and instinct.

How To Play Blackjack And Win

Conversely, if the dealer has been running through a string of busts, or you seem to be making winning hands no matter what you’re dealt, you should be looking for any situation where you can double down. Taking advantage of good runs, and holding your bets on bad ones, is as important to winning at blackjack as knowing the rules and the odds.

Doubling Down as a Key to Winning

Blackjack When To Double

If you just play blackjack straight and never split (which you can find a guide to elsewhere on this site) or double down, your chances of going home a winner become almost nil. It will require a huge amount of luck, and in the long run it will work against you.

Unfortunately, many players, especially amateurs, are afraid to press their bet and will eschew the double down even when it is obviously the best option. In the end, if you want to win, you’re going to have to swallow your fear and make the plunge. If anything, you should look at opportunities to double down as your friend.

Blackjack is all about the thrill and the action. The reason you play should be to have fun and, one hopes, make some money – situations that usually go hand in hand. Doubling down will help you accomplish both. Throw caution to the wind, double that bet whenever you have the opportunity and the winds of luck are blowing in your favor, and when the dealer offers to peel that one card off the deck and slide it to you face down, leave it unseen. That way you can watch the action unfold and discover your fate when the time comes to collect your money or deliver your souped up bet into the house’s coffers.

In Blackjack When Do You Double Down

by Henry Tamburin

One of the more frustrating hands in blackjack is being dealt a 12 when the dealer shows a 2 upcard. You hate to hit your 12 because you are afraid the dealer is going to give you a picture card and you’ll bust. There’s a lot of misconception on what’s the correct way to play this hand and I aim to sort it all out so it will no longer be a “dilemma” for you.
First off, let’s look at some facts about this hand.

How To Play Blackjack At A Casino

• Many players don’t hit 12 because they believe the dealer has a ten in the hole and, therefore, they won’t risk busting when the dealer has a weak upcard. However, when you hold a 12, only four cards will bust you ... any 10, Jack, Queen, and King, meaning you have a 65% chance of surviving a hit. Five cards ... any 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 ... will give you a 17 through 21 hand.
• With a 2 upcard, the dealer has a 35% chance of busting and 65% chance of making a 17 though 21.
• If you stand, you’ll win 35% of the time and lose 65% of the time.
• If you hit, you’ll win 37% of the time and lose 63% of the time.

Soft Doubling Down Blackjack

So what does all of the above mean? First, when the dealer has a 2 upcard, she’s not as venerable to busting as she would with, say, a 4, 5, or 6 upcard. Secondly, your chance of busting isn’t as great as you think. Therefore, it appears that hitting the 12 would be the better play than standing and this is corroborated by facts # 3 and #4. Let’s look at this in a little more detail.
Fact # 3 says you will win 35% of the time standing on 12 against a dealer 2 and lose 65% of the time. This means if you bet a dollar a hand, you would be down $30 after 100 hands on average. That certainly isn’t a good outcome but that’s a fact: standing on 12 when the dealer shows a 2 is not a profitable play and you will lose more money than you win in the long run. However, let’s look at the second option, namely hitting 12. Fact #4 says you will win 2% more times compared to standing. In dollars and cents, this means you will lose $26 after 100 hands on average. That’s also a loser but here’s the question you must ask yourself: is it better to lose $26 or $30? I hope that I’ve convinced you that even though hitting 12 against a 2 is a loser, you will lose less money in the long run compared to standing. In other word, this is classic hand where the best playing option allows you to minimize your losses.
What if your 12 consists of a pair of 6s? Now you’ve got another option and that’s to split the 6s and play two hands against the dealer’s 2 upcard. It turns out that when you split and play a 6 against a dealer 2, you will win roughly 43% of the time. In other words, you’ve increased your chances of winning when you split the 6’s against a dealer 2 compared to hitting. To say it differently, starting with a 6 is a whole lot better than starting with a 12 when you are facing a dealer’s 2 upcard. Therefore, the correct strategy is to always split a pair of 6s against a dealer 2 upcard (with one exception: if you’re playing a four-, six-, or eight-deck game where you can’t double down after pair splitting, you should hit 6’s against a 2).
You could also be dealt a soft 12, which happens to be Ace-Ace. This hand should be a no brainer. You should always split a pair of aces regardless of what the dealer’s upcard is.
Is there ever a situation when you wouldn’t hit a non-pair 12 hand against a dealer’s 2? Actually two cases come to mind. The first is when the remaining cards contain an abundance of high-value vs. small-value cards (thus increasing your chance of busting if you hit 12). In fact, card counters will sometimes stand on 12 whenever their count gets moderately positive (indicating more high cards than small cards remain in the unplayed deck of cards). So, the next time you see a fellow player standing on 12 against a dealer 2, think twice about calling him a nerd because he might just be a skilled card counter making the correct play.
The second situation which justifies deviating from hitting 12 against a dealer 2 comes about in tournament play. If the tournament rules specify that the double-down card is dealt face down, instead of hitting your 12 you could double down for just one chip (i.e., doubling for less). This move, although it involves some risk of busting, allows you to disguise the outcome of your hand from your opponents who must play their hands after you. This is a powerful strategy especially when it’s used on the last few hands of a closely contested tournament.
So now you know how to play a 12 against a dealer’s 2 under all types of situations; therefore, this hand should no longer be a dilemma for you, right?