Soft 17 or 18

A soft 17 (consisting of three of more cards) is too weak not for the player to hit against any of the dealers up-cards. Any 17 (hard or soft), is a very poor total and the player must risk taking another card. There is a good chance of the player improving their total since they may hit again if they draw a stiff total on their first attempt.

Drawing a soft hand of 17 or 18 (when doubling down is not an option) is a frequent occurrence. This situation is often dealt with incorrectly by the player as the dealer will often call 17 or 18 without stating the individual value of the cards.

The soft 18 is one of the most consistently misplayed hands in Blackjack. Experienced players will often mistakenly hit on these hands against the dealers stiff cards in the assumption that the hit cannot hurt them. Alternatively, they may stand against a dealers 9,10 or Ace. Both of these are poor plays.

* Always hit soft hands totalling 17 or less, whenever doubling down is not an option

INDEX:
H = HIT
S = STAND
P = SPLIT
D = DOUBLE DOWN
G = GIVE UP (surrender if allowed, otherwise hit)