Updated 2026-07-30 · 8 decks · S17 · DAS · methodology

5,5 (pair of 5s) vs dealer Ace: the verdict

Q: Hit or stand on a pair of 5s against an ace?

Basic strategy says Hit. A genuine coin-flip — the gap is under half a cent per $1. Your chance of winning with the best play is about 47.2% (push 13.6%). Full EV math for every action is in the table above.

HIT

The math is in: hit. Against a dealer Ace, drawing another card carries the best expectation for 5,5 (pair of 5s).

The numbers

Action	Win	Push	Lose	EV per $1
Hit	47.2%	13.6%	39.1%	+0.081
Double	44.3%	10.8%	45.0%	−0.014
Split*	31.2%	9.7%	59.1%	−0.557
Stand	16.7%	0.0%	83.3%	−0.667

* win/push/lose shown per split hand; EV covers both hands per one initial bet.

Why hit is correct

Standing here wins only when the dealer busts, and a dealer showing Ace busts just 16.7% of the time — the other 83.3% they make a hand and your total loses on its own. Hitting risks going over, but the math nets out ahead: 47.2% wins versus 16.7% for standing, and a better expected value overall.

For context, a dealer Ace finishes on 17–20 about 75.6% of the time, on 21 7.8%, and busts 16.7%. Those dealer outcomes are the same no matter what you hold — the whole game is choosing the action whose distribution fits them best.

What the mistake costs

Choosing double instead of hit costs about $239 per 100 such hands at $25 a hand (−0.095 EV per dollar). The genuinely expensive error here is stand: −0.748 per dollar, or roughly $1871 per 100 hands at the same stakes.

Does the rule set change it?

No — hit holds across every common configuration: Vegas Strip, Atlantic City with late surrender, H17 games and European no-hole-card tables all agree here.

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Related spots

5,5 against other dealer cards:

vs 2 vs 3 vs 4 vs 5 vs 6 vs 7 vs 8 vs 9 vs 10

Other key hands vs a dealer Ace:

16 vs Ace 12 vs Ace 15 vs Ace soft 18 vs Ace 8,8 vs Ace

Frequently asked

Do you hit on 5,5 against a dealer Ace?

Yes — hit is the basic-strategy play for 5,5 (pair of 5s) vs Ace (EV +0.081 per $1). Double is the second-best option at −0.014.

What are the odds of winning with 5,5 vs Ace?

Playing it correctly (hit), you win 47.2% of hands, push 13.6% and lose 39.1%.

Should you always hit 5,5?

Not against every upcard — the verdict for 5,5 changes with the dealer’s card. Use the links below to see the full row, or the chart for the complete picture.

Hit or stand on a pair of 5s against an ace?

Basic strategy says Hit. A genuine coin-flip — the gap is under half a cent per $1. Your chance of winning with the best play is about 47.2% (push 13.6%). Full EV math for every action is in the table above.