In blackjack, the hand is made up of two cards face up and one card face down. The face up card is considered the “hard” card and the face down card is considered the “soft” card.
The goal of blackjack is to come as close to 21 as possible, which is achieved by making a fist with one hand and counting cards until you hit 21. In order to make an advantageous hand, you want to have a hard card (a high-ranking card like an Ace) and a soft card (a low-ranking card like a Two). Here’s how it works:
If you are dealt a hard card (like an Ace), it means that the odds are in your favor because Hard Blackjack hands are generally thought to be more favorable than other hands. If you are dealt a soft card (like a Two), then the odds are against you because Soft Blackjack hands are generally thought to be less favorable than other hands.
Therefore, in order to make an advantageous hand, you want both a hard card and a soft card. If you only have one of these cards, then your hand is said to be “hard-soft”.
