The player is -0.53536 to hit 8,8 and is -0.4748 to split them. So if you are a gambler who lives and dies with the percentages, you should split 8,8. A more important fact to keep in mind is that blackjack is a dying casino game with the 6-5 payoffs taking over everywhere. A good player can really no longer bring the house percentage down to just under 1% as in the 3-2 payoff games. My advice?.........stay away from blackjack.......period!