An advanced blackjack strategy involves knowing what a soft hand is. Basically, a soft hand is a hand that has an Ace and another card such as a low card like the number 5. So, a soft 16 is usually an Ace with a 5 card. Soft hands generally mean you want to take a hit because the Ace can also be a 1 so if you got a suit card or a 10 then you would still be ok. A lot of new players will feel too nervous to hit therefore sit on a soft hand but this can easily be beat by the dealer. Or they sit on a soft 16 or 17 thinking this is a solid hand.

However, logic says a soft hand should take a hit since you can afford to take any card in the deck. If you end up with a soft 18 you should double down only if the dealer has a face card showing a 3,4,5 or a 6 because if the dealer has a 10 on their face down card and they draw, they’ll likely go bust and you’ll win. Conversely, if the dealer has a higher card, ie a 9 or above that’s face up, you risk losing.