If you are familiar with Blackjack, you must know that you can split pairs and construct two hands. Different people may have different rules, but there are certain pairs that should be handled using a particular way. With a pair of Aces, the simple rule would be to always split. With a pair of 10s or 5s, the rule is entirely different.

You should never, ever, split a pair of 10s because the hand is already strong as it is. Why risk a possibly winning hand only to go after uncertain probabilities. Your 10s may turn into two Blackjacks, but the odds of that happening is relatively small. Stand your ground with the pair of 10s and you will most likely win against the dealer.

A pair of 5s should also never be split but for different reasons. With pair of 5s, splitting will cause you to have two starting cards with no strength at all. If you hit an Ace with one of those two 5s, you will be stuck with a soft 16; a very dilemmatic situation don’t you think? Since the pair of 5s total up as 10, it would be best to just work with it and have another card. 10 is not a bad number, and any card above 8 will construct a strong hand for sure.

With the tens-and-fives rule in mind, you can make better decisions when receiving either a pair of 10s or 5s as a starting hand and increase your chance of winning against the dealer.