One of the biggest blackjack mistakes that newer players make involves splitting 10's. Now this may seem like a good idea because you have the makings of two good hands after splitting. However, it's never correct to split 10's because you're breaking up the second best possible hand available.
In any case, one interesting dynamic here is that other players will get mad about you splitting 10's. And it's not just because they're worried about you using optimal blackjack strategy. Instead, these blackjack players are angry because they mistakenly believe that you're taking a card away that could bust the dealer out.
Of course, their thoughts may not actually be a mistake because you could truly be taking the dealer's bust card. For example, let's say that you're sitting at third base with a pair of 10's, and the dealer has a score of 14. You choose to split the hand, and the first card you're dealt is a 10; following the second card you're dealt, the dealer goes on to receive a 7 and hit a score of 21.
Assuming you had just stood with the pair of 10's, the dealer would have gotten the 10 that was first dealt to you after splitting. Furthermore, they would have busted instead of getting a score of 21. So it would be no surprise that the rest of the table would be angry with you.
However, the reality is that the table should consider how you can also help by taking good cards away from the dealer. So in the long run, you're not going to affect the outcome of other players' hands by splitting 10's. But you should still keep your pair of 10's rather than splitting them just to stick with good blackjack strategy.
