Should you hit soft 18 against a 9?
Hit. An ace and a 7 against a 9 is a hand the book hits, and no single card can take it over 21.
Why
18 feels like a good total, but a dealer showing a 9 ends on 19, 20 or 21 53.3% of the time, after checking for blackjack. Stand, and all of those beat you. The dealer goes over 21 only 22.9% of the time.
A soft hand counts its ace as 11, and the ace drops back to 1 if you need it to. So a hit can't break you: the worst a card does is leave you a hard total you can still play. In the app's words, with a 9 showing, the dealer ends on 19 or better about half the time, beating your 18.
When the answer changes
Every rule set the chart covers hits soft 18 against a 9 or a 10, and all but one hit it against an ace too: at a single-deck table where the dealer stands on soft 17, the book stands there. Against a 7 or an 8 the book stands. Against a 3 through 6 it doubles, or stands where doubling isn't allowed. Against a 2 it depends on the table. At the app's six decks with the dealer hitting soft 17, the book doubles soft 18 against a 2 through 6; where the dealer stands on soft 17, or at a single deck, it stands against the 2.
The full basic strategy chart for six decks, dealer hits soft 17, with every other rule set a tap away.
Questions
What is a soft 18 in blackjack?
A hand with an ace counted as 11 that totals 18, like an ace and a 7. Because the ace can drop to 1, one more card can't take it over 21.
Should you stand on soft 18 against a 9?
No. The book hits. A dealer showing a 9 ends on 19 or better 53.3% of the time, and all of those beat 18.
More hands
- Should you hit 16 against a dealer's 10?
- Should you hit 12 against a 2?
- Should you split 8s against a 10?
- Should you take insurance in blackjack?
- Blackjack hands, one at a time
Guides
Know the book before you sit down.
