There will be occasions when you are dealt two jacks as the first two cards against the dealer ace in online blackjack games. How would you handle such a situation? At the outset, it must be pointed out the situation is the same even when you have two tens, queens or kings. This article will take you through the steps involved in answering the question posed. You then apply the process to other online blackjack scenarios.

If the online blackjack variant offers the insurance bet it will come into play because of the dealer ace. The insurance option is a sucker bet and you should refuse it at once. Then, if the variant is based on American Blackjack, the dealer will check for blackjack. If the dealer has blackjack the game ends without your having to do anything. Otherwise the ball is in your court. In European Blackjack variants the dealer does not check for blackjack and you have to play directly.

You have four options at this stage and these will be highlighted on the screen. The common options are hit and stand. Since you have yet to make your first move, the double option is available. Since your two cards are of the same rank, the split option is available. Your hand value is 20, which is the second highest eligible value in online blackjack. If you hit then you will bust with any card other than an ace. You have only about 7.5% chance of getting an ace, so it would be suicidal to hit. You may be tempted to double because you have a strong hand. But if you double then you have to take another card by default and you are in the same boat as if you hit.

The temptation to split is even stronger. Splitting a pair of jacks gives you two potential blackjack chances that pay out 3 to 2 instead of the normal even money. But again, you need an ace to get a blackjack and the probability of that is about 7.5%. After splitting, unless you get an ace or a ten value card, you will be worse off than before. The probability of getting a card from 2 to 9 is 62%. So you are actually reducing the chance of winning by splitting in this situation.

The optimum blackjack strategy when you have a pair of jacks against the dealer’s ace is to stand.