Cap. 3
The flexible ace
A soft total contains an ace counted as 11 — soft 17 is A+6. You can't bust a soft hand with one card, which makes it more aggressive to play: hands you'd never double as hard totals become profitable doubles when soft. This chapter covers the soft 13-20 range, including soft 18, the hand beginners misplay most, and explains when the flexible ace means hit, when it means double, and when it finally means stand.
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