Our Blackjack
Odds page is a archive
of interesting blackjack
strategy messages posted
the past few years on various
internet newsgroups.
Why does
the house edge change for
an insurance bet in blackjack
depending on the number of
decks used?
Because we
already know an ace has been
removed for the shoe. That
leaves the rest of the shoe
slightly ten heavy. A greater
the ratio of tens in the shoe
the more likely the insurance
bet is to win. The fewer the
decks the greater this effect
is. Insuring a 20 (except A/9)
increases the house edge on
the insurance bet because there
are two less tens in the shoe.
What is
the expected return in Black
Jack if a player wagers all
his money in one hand and
not having money for split's
or double's ?
If you can't
double or split that adds 1.9%
to whatever the house edge
is otherwise. This just goes
to show that you should always
have double or split money
available if you need it.
The house
edge in blackjack
is very low.
Maybe you should
increase your
bet when the
dealer gets 4
or 5 cards, because
the cards would
likely be small
and the next
hand would be
large card rich?
This is an
oversimplified method of counting
cards. Better yet, survey all
the cards on the table. If
you see a lot of small cards,
especially fives and sixes
and few large cards, especially
aces, then raise your bet.
If you see the opposite then
lower your bet. The fewer the
decks the better this will
work. Better yet use an actual
count system like the ace/five.
What would
be the house advantage for
single deck, hit soft 17,
double after split, split
to total of four hands, double
any first two cards, one
card on split A's, Blackjack
pays 6 to 5?
This is a
popular new gimmick in Las
Vegas. Many casinos here have
prominent signs saying "Single
Deck" blackjack. However
on a much smaller sign it says "Blackjack
pays 6 to 5." Aside from
the 6-5 rule the house edge
would be 0.05%. However the
6-5 on blackjacks costs the
player an additional 1.39%,
for a total house edge of 1.44%.
This is by far the worst blackjack
game in Las Vegas and I urge
you to avoid it.
In Blackjack,
what is the difference between
early surrender and late
surrender?
In early surrender
you can surrender before the
dealer checks for blackjack.
With late surrender you only
have the option after the dealer
checks for blackjack. Early
surrender is much better because
you can still save half your
bet when the dealer does have
blackjack. As far as I know
no casino on the land or Internet
currently offers early surrender.
What do
you think about the strategy
of add 50% after second winnings
in blackjack, ex, 2-2-5-7-11-15-22-33....?
In the long
run all betting systems are
equally worthless...
What is
the best blackjack program
to purchase for my pc. I
want to learn to play BJ
but since I am a beginner
the tables are too intimidating.
Download some
Internet casino software and
just play in free mode and
try to learn proper basic blackjack
strategy.
If you
have 15 and the dealer shows
an eight...basic strategy
say to hit. In this case,
whether you hit or stay your
chance of losing is over
70%........why is not the
better play to surrender
if you are going to lose
over 70% of the time no matter
if you hit or stay?
For the sake
of simplicity let's stay with
your example and say the probability
of winning is 70% and losing
is 30% if you hit. The expected
value of hitting would be 0.3*1
+ 0.7*-1 = -0.4. This is greater
than the expected value of
-0.5 by surrendering.
I play
the negative system in black
jack meaning I double every
time I lose until I Win.
I wondered to what the odds
are of losing 4,5,6,7,8,9
hands in a row? How many
hands should I expect to
play till I lost 8 hands
which is my stopping point?
The name for
this system is the Martingale.
Ignoring ties makes the probability
of losing a hand of blackjack
52.51%. So the probability
of losing 8 in a row is .52518
= 1 in 173.
What percentage
of hands are suited blackjacks?
Six-deck shoe, any suit.
?
The probability
of a suited blackjack in a
six-deck game is 2*(4/13)*(6/311)
= 0.0118723.
