Page 8 - Jackpot Magazine South ~ February, 2026

PLAY TO WIN
Strategies for playing the 18 in blackjack
“At 18, everything is possible and tomorrow looks friendly.”
~ Author Jim Bishop
There are a lot of hands to dislike in blackjack and a few hands to love. For example, getting a 13 is not great hand — just ask my father, an avid blackjack player who had a way of muttering and shaking his head when the hand was not to his liking. But on the other hand, who doesn’t love getting an ace and a face card or two face cards? My father certainly did. What about a 10 and a 9? That’s pretty good, too.
One hand that can be tricky is the 18. There are several ways to get an 18 when playing blackjack. There is the “hard 18,” meaning the hand either doesn’t contain an ace, or if it does, the ace is counted as one. Examples include 10-8 or 8-5-5. Or, you could get a “soft 18,” meaning a hand containing an
ace that is counted as either a one or 11. Examples are ace-7, and 5-2-ace.
Moreover, you could bedealtapairof9sfor18.In
a column for Jackpot!, Henry Tamburin, best-selling
author and gaming expert,
shared strategies for all the
18 hands. The key thing is to
note not just what cards make
up the 18, but, as with all hands, what card the dealer has as his upcard.
Hard 18
The strategy for a hard 18, Tamburin said, is simple: Always stand.
Most players are very happy to be dealt a hard 18, the next best hand to a blackjack, 20 or 19. Players are ready to break out the bubbly and take their winnings to the bank because
they believe they have a big edge regardless of what the dealer’s upcard happens to be.
I hate to be the
bearer of bad news, but winning a hard 18 (e.g., 10-8) is not always a sure thing. You will have the edge when the dealer shows a 2 through 8 but against the dealer’s 9, 10, and ace, you are at a disadvantage.
The bottom line is this: Even though you should always stand with a hard 18, you are only a slight favorite to win that hand, after the dealer ascertains that he doesn’t have a natural, and, were you to be offered a starting 10-8 all the time, you would actually be a net loser of about 0.64 percent, allowing for the dealer to have a natural.
So, don’t get all excited when you’re dealt 10-8; you aren’t going to get rich with that holding. But it doesn’t hurt to hold a
good thought.
Soft 18
When you are dealt a soft 18, you could stand, hit, or double down. Most players routinely stand when their initial hand isasoft18butyou should only do this when the dealer’s upcard is a 2, 7 or 8 (S17 game) because the player’s expectation is more favorable
compared to hitting or doubling down. Against a dealer’s 9, 10, or ace, you
should always hit.
Multi-Card Soft 18
Suppose you were dealt an ace-2 against a dealer’s 4 upcard. You follow
the basic strategy and hit, and draw a 5 for a three-card soft 18 (ace-2-5).
Since the playing rules don’t allow doubling on a three- card hand, what should you do? The correct playing strategy for a multi-card soft 18 is to always stand when the dealer shows a 2 though 8 upcard, and hit when he shows a 9, 10, or ace as your
soft 18 could climb a little higher.
Pair of Nines
The correct basic strategy for a pair of 9s, Tamburin said, is to split when the dealer shows a 2 though 6, 8 and 9, and stand when he shows a 7, 10, or ace. You split 9s against a dealer’s small card because you’ll earn more money playing two hands, starting with a 9 on each, than you would by playing one hand, starting with 18.
When you stand on a pair of 9s against a dealer’s 9, you are in trouble because he often will have a 10 in the hole and his 19 will beat your 18. Here again, you are slightly better off playing two hands starting each with 9 (even though sometimes you will lose two bets).
Against a dealer’s 7, splitting 9s will get you the money but you’ll win more in the long run by standing, since your 18 will beat the dealer’s 17, if he has a 10 in the hole.
And, as with all hands, make sure you understand the basic strategy, knowing the best moves to make no matter the cards dealt.
Do you have a question on the best way to play to win? Email us at loribeth@ m2mediacorp.com.
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8 JACKPOT! MAGAZINE • February 2026
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