Blackjack Why can't I split tens?

[Lyken]

I know it's never advisable to split tens, but I just want to find out why that is so? Can someone explain to me what happens if someone were to do that?

 

[Saldina]

I am no expert, but isn't holding two tens an almost unbeatable hand? Why would you want to split that and risk getting a weaker hand?

 

[AlltheAces]

Why would you want to split tens? Twenty is a good hand and it'll win most of the time. The chances of getting something better by splitting are low.

Card counters and advantage players might know when it is a good time to split tens for best results, but it is one of the tells that a casino looks for when detecting counting so I don't think it's worth the risk of getting banned.

 

[Stealth]

Many amateurs split tens against dealer 5 or 6 and they should be aware that card counters may also do that in certain conditions. This is one of the plays that pit and surveillance look for to identify a card counter, for that reason many counters avoid making this lucrative (when conditions are right) play.

AlltheAces is correct that normally (without information) standing with tens, a strong hand, is a much better play (basic strategy).

 

[Orton]

So basically you're saying that it's always a good idea to not split tens even when you know that you might win (if you've been counting cards) as this will alert the casino to what you're doing ?

 

[tito]

I have always felt that in situations such as these it's best to go with your gut. Whatever the odds say is the best thing to do cannot be the same for every single game - can it?

 

[Stealth]

Whatever the odds say is the best thing to do cannot be the same for every single game - can it?

Yes.

 

[AlltheAces]

I have always felt that in situations such as these it's best to go with your gut. Whatever the odds say is the best thing to do cannot be the same for every single game - can it?

Yes, to add to what Stealth says, there are even charts that can cover the basic guidelines for play depending on your hand and the dealer's. Here's some from Wizard of Odds covering 4-8 decks strategy.