Just to confirm...

[Fun_at_21]

...since I'm always on the players end and not the dealer's, it is true that the dealer must always view an ace as an 11 first and foremost if it results in a 17 -21 regardless of what cards he/she drew to herself before it or after it, correct? (assuming it's a S17 game to begin with)

In other words, if the dealer first has a 4 showing, then draws an ace, then draws to this and gets a 2, then the dealer (by rule) must always treat this as a 17 and never as a 7 correct? Assuming this is indeed a S17 game...

Yet, in this same S17 game, if the dealer was showing that 4, then drew a ten, then drew an ace, she would be allowed to count it as a soft 15 rather than having to accept it as a bust card of 11 that would result in a total of 25 correct?

So the dealer (again, in any S17 game) must always use an ace to the PLAYER'S benefit UNLESS it is busting her hand, in which case it can be used as a 1 for her hand?

Just making sure I fully understand how the dealer must treat an ace now that I'm getting a better handle on how the player must treat them ( for basic strategy purposes)...

Thanks!

 

[Murrow]

If, as in your scenario, the dealer has 14 and draws an ace, that ace counts as 1 and the dealer essentially has hard 15. An ace can never bust a hand, unless you're hitting 21

Basically, an ace counts as 11 so long as the hand is equal to or less than 21. If not, it counts as 1.

 

[Fun_at_21]

If, as in your scenario, the dealer has 14 and draws an ace, that ace counts as 1 and the dealer essentially has hard 15. An ace can never bust a hand, unless you're hitting 21

Basically, an ace counts as 11 so long as the hand is equal to or less than 21. If not, it counts as 1.

Thanks. That makes sense. Just wanted to verify that the dealer never has the VOLUNTARY choice to play ace hands as a 1 when her total is below that 17 mark. Just making sure that whether she draws an ace on her first card, second or even fifth, that she must always be thinking of it in terms of 11 at all times unless, as pointed out, it is busting the hand in which case she obviously can use it as a one...

 

[Nynefingers]

If counting an ace as 11 won't result in a total greater than 21, then the hand is considered a soft hand. You can't bust when you hit a soft hand. If counting the ace as 11 will result in a total greater than 21, then it is counted as 1 and the hand is a hard hand. So if the dealer has A, 6 or A, 2, 4, etc., then the dealer has a soft 17. In an H17 game, the dealer would hit, and in a S17 game, the dealer would stand. There is no option. The rules dictate that the dealer must act in a specific way.