You look first at your first two cards. If the cards are not the same (Ten, Jack, Queen, King are considered like-cards, the same value of 10), then you disregard this chart. Move on to the double-down situations, which are more frequent than the pairs. The color of action is red — it makes it very intuitive to learn the rules of casino blackjack. If the color of the cell is red, you split the pairs. For example, your first two cards are 9 & 9. The blackjack dealer's up card (face card) is 9. Signal split immediately to the dealer — it is a split-pair situation. If dealer's face card were 7, or 10, or 11, you do NOT split your pair of 9s. The color of the respective cells are grayed out (signifying no action). The color blue of a cell is most likely an ACTION: Split your pair (as most casinos allow doubling down after splitting the pairs).
There are two tricky situations: A + A and 8 + 8. They are hotly debated and arguable. You may not draw another card after splitting two Aces. No matter what, there is a clear percentage advantage for splitting the Aces and the Eights. I reconsider splitting the 8's, however, against the Dealer's 10 or Ace — If I bet high or I saw many high cards on the table (in that particular round).
The chart is a graphic (split-pairs.gif). You can right-click on it and select to print it — always in color!
Help other people find this worthy resource in blackjack basic strategy: Split pairs....and thusly return a favor to yours truly!
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