Sweet 16 at blackjack

(Credit: mandj98) 

No matter how experienced you are - it is very easy to make mistakes at blackjack while you play.

One of the most common mistakes at blackjack occurs when a player holds a 16. It makes people nervous to hit 16 for the fear of busting, especially when the dealer holds a card like 7 - this is often when players for some reason decide to stand and hope that the dealer busts.

It is true that the dealer will bust more often with a 7 than with a 10 - 26% vs. 23%. But if you are standing on your 16 you are still going to lose 74 out of every 100 hands in the situation. So you need to hit 16 to try and make a winning hand.

The odds of you busting with a 16 are not influenced by what the dealer is showing. When holding a 7, then the dealer has about a 31% chance of drawing to a 17. So that means that your 16 has many potential cards that can win you the hand. Any 2, 3, 4 or 5 will very likely give you a winning hand, while an Ace will produce a likely push. So 38% of the time your hand will improve and give you a chance to win the hand.

This makes hitting a 16 against a 7 even more profitable than hitting a 16 against a 10. Don't just stand on your 16 and hope that the dealer will bust. This also applies if you've already drawn 4 or 5 cards to make your 16, or if the dealer is holding an 8, 9 or even an Ace.

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