what
to do when the blackjack cards aren’t falling
kindly- blackjack strategy
free article
You
are sitting at a blackjack table and the dealer gives
you a 2,5 and his face card is a 6. You hit, and draw
an Ace. This gives you a soft 18 (2, 5, A). You can’t
double down because you’ve already drawn a third
card. So how would you play the hand? keep reading
the blackjack strategy free article and learn more.
This is just one of several blackjack plays that always
cause players to have fits. But there’s no need
to panic. Read on and learn how to play these and
other tough blackjack hands like a pro.
Three-card
soft hands
If you have a three-card soft hand and can’t
double down, here’s how to play it. If you have
anywhere between a soft 13 and a soft 17 hand, always
hit no matter what the dealer shows. If you stand
on these soft hands, you will be making a big mistake
that will cost you money. If you hold a soft 18 and
you can’t double down, then you should stand
if the dealer’s face card is 8 or lower, and
hit if it’s 9, 10, or an Ace. Always stand on
soft 19 and soft 20, no matter what the dealer shows.
Pair
of 8s versus dealer 10
Most players cringe when they are dealt a pair of
8s against the dealer’s 10 face card. Their
‘feelings’ tell them they should not split
because a pair of 8s against a 10 is a losing hand.
They figure: ‘Why put out more money by splitting
and risk losing twice as much?’
The
books say to always split 8s even against a dealer’s
10 face card. Yes, you will still have a losing hand
when you split, but in the long run you will lose
less money versus hitting or standing on the pair
of 8s.
The
reality of the situation is that being dealt a 16
against a dealer’s 10 is the worst possible
hand you could get in blackjack. You will lose money
with that 16 but when the 16 is a pair of 8s you have
a chance to lose about 50 per cent less money over
the long term when you exercise the option to split
the 8s. You won’t be turning a losing 16 hand
into a winner. Rather, over time you will be cutting
your losses and saving some money by splitting 8s
against the dealer’s 10.
Time
for insurance?
This is a really tough play for most blackjack players.
You are finally dealt a blackjack hand and, would
you believe it, the dealer’s face card is an
ace. In this situation, the casinos make you a proposition
you can’t lose on.
They’ll
give you an even money pay-off right on the spot,
even before the dealer checks their hole card to see
if they have a blackjack hand. Who can resist winning
even money? After all, a bird in the hand is worth
more than two in a bush.
But
if you check the facts of insuring or taking even
money on your blackjack hand when the dealer shows
an ace, here’s the score: yes, you’ll
get paid 1 to 1 every time you take even money, but
in the long run you’ll average a 1.04 to 1 pay-off
when you pass up the even money proposition. This
is because most of the time the dealer will not have
a 10 or picture card in the hole (and you’ll
be paid 3 to 2 for the blackjack) versus the times
they do have a 10 or picture card (known as a push).
If you average out the number of times you push versus
get paid 3 to 2, the maths shows an average payout
of 1.04 to 1 – which, of course, is greater
than the even money (or 1 to 1) pay-off you would
get if you chose to take that. The bottom line is
that you’ll win more money in the long run when
you never insure or take even money on your blackjack
hands.
Doubling
for less
I see this play being made far too often by blackjack
players. A player is on a roll and starts increasing
his bets. They place a bigger-than-normal bet, say
$20, and the dealer gives them an obvious double down
play. They start to sweat, thinking about having to
put out another $20 to double down. Maybe they shouldn’t
double down but they know that’s against what
all the books say. So instead they compromise and
double down for $10 which is less than the initial
$20 bet.
When
the books say double down they do so for a reason.
It’s because your expectation of winning money
on the hand is greater when you double versus when
you hit. But when a player doubles for less, they
give up some of their potential profit. In essence
you are not taking complete advantage of a favourable
situation – not a smart way to play blackjack.
Never double down for less.
Soft
18 against dealer’s 9
If the local casino called you up one day and said:
‘Listen, come and play blackjack with us and
we’ll give you an automatic 18 on every hand,’
would you take up the offer? Most players would, but
guess what? Over a long period of time you will end
up a loser with that 18.
With
a soft 18 you have the option of improving your hand
by hitting. You should not do so every time, but enough
to win about 45 per cent of hands when you do. If
you stand, you’ll only win 40 per cent of the
hands. The better play is therefore to hit when you
are dealt a soft 18 and the dealer shows a 9.
Pair
of 9s against a dealer’s 9 face card
This one fools a lot of players. It seems like standing
on the 18 (9, 9) is the right thing to do against
a dealer’s 9 face card rather than split and
have a 9 against a dealer’s 9.
It turns out that if you stand you will lose 18 per
cent of your bets but, if you split, you’ll
lose just 12 per cent of your bets. Both plays are
losers but you’ll lose less by splitting. Therefore
the better play is to split 9s when the dealer shows
a 9 face card.
There are several other tricky blackjack hands that
often confuse players and I’ll cover them in
a future article. For now, follow the advice in this
article and you’ll take a big step in becoming
a better blackjack player.
Dr
Henry Tamburin is a casino gambling expert and teacher
of ‘smart playing’ to gamblers everywhere.
To order copies of his books and tapes at a 30 per
cent discount, visit www.smartgaming.com. To receive
a free subscription to his Blackjack Insider e-newsletter
visit www.bjinsider.com
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