Blackjack Terms - Splitting

The ability to increase your bet in the middle of a hand is one of the most exciting, and potentially lucrative parts of the game of blackjack. One of the most popular ways to increase your wager is known as splitting.

If the two original cards you receive are the same, such as the seven of clubs and the seven of diamonds, the player has the option of splitting the hand if they wish, thereby giving themselves two separate hands to play. In order to do this, the player places a wager equal to the original bet alongside the original bet.

If the player has a pair that he or she wishes to split and the cards have been dealt face down, the cards should be turned over and placed a couple of inches apart. If the cards were dealt face up, the player should point to the cards and say split when prompted for a card by the dealer. The original bet will be placed with one card and another bet equal to the first will be placed in the betting box near the second card. After the hand has been split, the player is playing two hands as though they were regular hands. If the player has split two Aces, he or she will only get one card.

The hope, of course, is that the one card will be worth 10 points, providing an instant blackjack. It is important to know, however, that this situation does not count as a natural blackjack, and it is paid out at 1 to 1, instead of the 1 to 1.5 paid out for a natural blackjack. In strip blackjack hoverer regular rules apply.

After the player has split the cards, the dealer will deal the cards to the first hand until the player decides to stand. He or she will then deal the cards to the next hand. It is important to remember that the hit, stand, split and double down rules apply to both hands. The rules vary from casino to casino regarding how many times a hand can be split. It is important to find out the rules for splitting before you begin to play.