☰
Most blackjack tables are printed with the following: "Dealer must draw to 16 and stand on all 17s." I don't understand the second part, all 17s. What does that mean? Aren't all 17s 17?
A 17 is a 17, but there's a difference between a hard 17 and a soft 17, the latter of which means an ace in the hand that can be counted as 11 without busting. For example, 6A is a soft 17, T6A is a hard 17.
When the dealer hits soft 17, it increases the house edge by 0.22%. Most players either don't realize this or don't care -- that extra edge sounds negligible. But putting it into perspective indicates otherwise.
Let's say you're a $10 bettor and you play 50 hands per hour. That's $500 in action, so the casino makes an additional $1.10 per hour off you -- not insignificant.
There’s no simple way to explain why hitting soft 17 increases the house edge, except to say that computer simulations have determined conclusively that this is the case. Soft 17 is a bad hand that’s more likely to improve when taking hit cards.
In Las Vegas, many of the tables that have higher-denomination minimum bets ($100 and up) stand on all 17s, while the lower-minimum tables hit soft 17s.
The reason for this is that higher-limit players are often more knowledgeable and look for better odds on the games they play. At these higher-dollar amounts, the casino makes more money by virtue of the total action and doesn't need to take that extra 0.22% (at the risk of running off a big player who may walk across the street to get that 0.22% back at a competitor's game that stands on soft 17). In most cases, though, players are simply ignorant of the difference.
A strategy point for beginners: It's never correct to stand on a soft 17, regardless of the dealer's up-card.