harris
harris
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November 2nd, 2025 at 4:02:42 AM permalink
(Almost) everyone knows that you should surrender a 16 against a 10, or hit if that option isn't available.
But what about a three-card 16? Single deck compositional basic strategy is already known, but I could not find any information about 4-8 decks which is what I usually find. I did some analysis last night and forgot to post about it.

If the dealer hits soft 17 you stand except that should hit A+6+9, 2+6+8, 3+3+10, 3+6+7, 4+6+6, and when you have exactly 8 decks you should also hit 2+4+10.

These facts are true for both hitting and standing on Soft 17, I checked.

I hope this will be useful to someone here - personally I am starting to play with compositional basic strategy to gain a tiny edge (so far, not hitting 3-card 16s has actually helped me, but now I know which ones to hit).
aceside
aceside
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BigSlick
November 2nd, 2025 at 5:54:36 AM permalink
For single-deck games, Mental of this board has listed all possible 16 vs. T hands. Here is the link.

https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/blackjack/39079-blackjack-odds-of-winning-chart/#post924107

Here is my summary: Player stands on any hand that contains a 5; player hits only a few hands that contain a 6.

Let me list out all possible 3-card 16 hands

Stand: 259, 277, 349, 358, 448, 457, 556, 24T, 33T, A5T, A78.
Hit: 268, 367, 466, A69.
Last edited by: aceside on Nov 2, 2025
ThatDonGuy
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November 2nd, 2025 at 12:03:56 PM permalink
Quote: harris

(Almost) everyone knows that you should surrender a 16 against a 10, or hit if that option isn't available.
link to original post


My calculated strategy is, in a single-deck or double-deck game, stand on a hard 16 against a 10. Only hit with 3 or more decks.
billryan
billryan
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November 2nd, 2025 at 12:52:58 PM permalink
I look at the table and if no 4s or 5s are out,will hit.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
gordonm888
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gordonm888
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November 3rd, 2025 at 5:33:15 AM permalink
Quote: ThatDonGuy

Quote: harris

(Almost) everyone knows that you should surrender a 16 against a 10, or hit if that option isn't available.
link to original post


My calculated strategy is, in a single-deck or double-deck game, stand on a hard 16 against a 10. Only hit with 3 or more decks.
link to original post



Your strategy is incorrect, I imagine it must be infinite deck and it lacks sufficient granularity.

The most common hard 16 hand is T-6; for T-6 vs T one should HIT (or surrender). The removal of two Tens and a Six from the deck - three bust cards - is decisive. One deck, two decks, six decks eight decks. The universal basic strategy for 16 vs T is to HIT and this thread is about reducing this top-level strategy down to a composition-dependent strategy (which has been done a zillion times here in this forum and in other places.)

I suggest that you try using the WOO blackjack hand calculator.
So many better men, a few of them friends, are dead. And a thousand thousand slimy things live on, and so do I.
aceside
aceside
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November 3rd, 2025 at 6:18:21 AM permalink
I’ve researched more into this part. For a single-deck blackjack game, let me list all possible 3-card 16 hands

Stand: 259, 277, 349, 358, 448, 457, 556, 24T, 33T, A5T, A78.

Hit: 268, 367, 466, A69.

Let me list all possible 4-card 16 hands

Stand: 4444, 3445, 3355, 3346, 3337, 2455, 2446, 2356, 2347, 2338, 2257, 2248, 2239, A555, A456, A447, A357, A348, A339, A258, A249, A23T, AA77, AA59, AA4T.

Hit: 2266, 222T, A366, A267, AA68.

For a 6-deck game, the change is minor, so we can just neglect it.
ThatDonGuy
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November 3rd, 2025 at 2:28:23 PM permalink
Quote: gordonm888

I suggest that you try using the WOO blackjack hand calculator.
link to original post


I suggest that you check the WOO basic strategy charts. For a hard 16 against a dealer's 10 with 4 or more decks, whether the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17, the strategy there is, "Surrender if you can; otherwise, hit."
aceside
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November 3rd, 2025 at 2:38:48 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

I look at the table and if no 4s or 5s are out,will hit.
link to original post


I've investigated this part too. For 6-deck and 8-deck games, removing a card 5 does not change the composition-dependent strategy very much. what is important for the 16 vs T Hit/Stand decision is what player is holding.
billryan
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November 3rd, 2025 at 3:39:47 PM permalink
Quote: aceside

Quote: billryan

I look at the table and if no 4s or 5s are out,will hit.
link to original post


I've investigated this part too. For 6-deck and 8-deck games, removing a card 5 does not change the composition-dependent strategy very much. what is important for the 16 vs T Hit/Stand decision is what player is holding.
link to original post



I generally play DD. I don't remember the last time I played an eight deck shoe.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
Tanko
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November 4th, 2025 at 5:17:39 AM permalink
Quote: harris

But what about a three-card 16? Single deck compositional basic strategy is already known, but I could not find any information about 4-8 decks which is what I usually find. I did some analysis last night and forgot to post about it.

link to original post



Most often better to stand, whether or not the dealer stands on soft 17, but it also depends upon the card composition of the 3-card 16.

https://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/hand-calculator/
aceside
aceside
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November 4th, 2025 at 6:05:14 AM permalink
This Hit/Stand decision of 16 vs. T is very important for card counters. In the Hi-Lo system, both the card 5 and card 6 are counted as a low card, indicating their removal is good for player’s overall expectation value. However, for this hand, the card 5 is a low card but the card 6 is a high card. This makes me think, how effective is the Hi-Lo system towards this 16 vs. T Hit/Stand decision?
Kellynbnf
Kellynbnf
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November 4th, 2025 at 7:30:37 AM permalink
Quote: Tanko

whether or not the dealer stands on soft 17


S17/H17 would be irrelevant anyways with this hand (as would any hand with a 7-10 dealer upcard).
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