Splitting pairs in blackjack can be one of the trickiest concepts for a beginning blackjack player to master; sure, it’s easy to know to hold two tens and split two aces, but what to do you do with two eights? The answers are situational, but easy enough to understand and implement in your next trip to the casino.

First, the only two pairs you’ll always split are aces and eights; 16 is a terrible hand to play, against any dealer upcard, so splitting and getting two chances at more manageable hands is ideal. You’ll never be splitting tens and fives; tens for obvious reasons, fives because a hard ten is a good hand for doubling down against, and the split fives will create a lot of awkward hands to play against the dealer. Fours are also very simple; only split them if the dealer shows a five or six.

The others are a bit trickier, but still easy to remember. Twos, threes, and sevens should be split against any card lower than an eight, while sixes should be split against any card lower than a seven. Nines can be split against anything except an ace, ten or seven. These may seem a bit odd to see, but the numbers don’t lie; there are absolute reasons why you split two sevens against a six showing; you have a nasty 14 showing, and splitting the 7′s can get you at least one and possibly two playable hands like 10/11/18 against one of the more advantageous situations in blackjack; a dealer showing a six. Many players simply keep the 14 and stand, hoping for the dealer to bust, but by not splitting, you’re passing up small chunks of equity that can spell the difference between a break even blackjack player and a generally losing blackjack player.