The Power of the Ace in Blackjack

Understanding the Ace in Blackjack Worth

We mentioned that the ace can be worth 1 or 11, which you may have heard before. But this rule often confuses novice players, as there is no option to select whether you want it to be a one or an 11 in either online or offline blackjack.

That’s because the value is always implied. It doesn’t need to be stated.

For instance, if you have an ace and a 7, you score either 18 or 8. If you stand, the highest value (18) is chosen, and that becomes your score. If you hit and get a 2, the ace continues to act as 11 and gives you a score of 20 (otherwise, the alternative would be just 10). If you were to draw a 10 while hitting on your ace and 7, you would bust if the ace was worth 11, so it automatically switches to a value of one.

There is no point when you would want to stand on a lower amount intentionally, nor is there a reason to purposely bust when you could have a valid hand, so the value never needs to be stated.

Special Ace in Blackjack Rules

There are a couple of special rules relating to the ace in blackjack:

The Insurance Bet

In most blackjack games, the dealer will deal themselves one face-down card and one face-up card. You can see the latter before your turn and use it to influence your decisions. If it’s an ace, you’ll be given the option to take insurance.

Insurance costs half of your original stake and pays 2:1 if it wins. However, an insurance win often means losing the hand, as it only pays when the dealer’s face-down card is revealed as a 10 and the dealer shows a blackjack.

Insurance will lose more times than it wins and has a much higher house edge than a standard game of blackjack. For this reason, basic blackjack strategy (a detailed strategy based on mathematical probability that instructs players how to act in every situation) recommends never taking insurance.

Splitting Aces in Blackjack

You can “split” a hand whenever you draw two cards of the same value. This is true when you draw two aces in blackjack, but some exceptions exist.

As noted above, the ace is a strong card that puts you in a strong position. If you draw two of them, you have two chances to make a blackjack or fall a little short but still land on an excellent hand. To protect against this, casinos will often limit how often players can split hands, such as only drawing one card on each split.

It’s still worth splitting aces if this rule is in place, as it means you can be a high 19 or 20 with an 8 or 9 and land on a natural blackjack with a ten-value card. But it also means that you lose the secondary value of the ace, as it won’t be worth anything to you if it has a value of just one. Check the table in advance to see what rules are in place.

Five Card Charlie in Blackjack

The Five-Card Charlie rule is rare nowadays but still used in some variations. It grants the player an automatic win when they have five cards in their hand with a value under 21.

It sounds more straightforward to achieve than it is, as a single ten-value card will ruin your chances of getting to five cards. But it’s a distinct possibility if you can avoid a 10 and get an ace or two. With the ace acting as one, a Five-Card Charlie is very possible.

Summary: What is Ace in Blackjack?

The ace is the biggest of all blackjack cards for several reasons:

• It is needed for a natural blackjack
• It can be worth both one and 11
• It triggers the insurance bet
• Splitting aces offers a chance of scoring two blackjacks

Keep this in mind the next time you see this card when playing blackjack, and if you fancy a few online games here at BetUS, check out our blackjack sign up bonus before checking out our varied blackjack selection.