Cheating
maneuver allowed on this variant of blackjack
7 December 2007
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark: Have you ever heard of a blackjack
game where you are allowed to switch cards
between two of your own hands? My friend says
he's played it, but I can't believe a casino
would allow you to do it. Tim A.
Yes, Tim, there is such a game where casino
allows the players to do what would normally put
them in the slammer, swap cards between two
hands.
Called Blackjack Switch, it is a mutant form of
blackjack where a player is dealt two hands and
is allowed to trade cards between hands. For
example, if the player is dealt a 10-5 and a
6-10, the player can switch the top two cards of
each hand to make hands of 10-10 and 6-5.
Seemingly, Tim, this is a great rule that favors
the player, but unfortunately any gain is offset
by the other rules that favor the house. Natural
blackjacks are paid 1:1 instead of the standard
3:2, and a dealer 22 is a push.
Blackjack Switch is very popular online, but it
hasn't caught on yet at land based casinos.
Although I haven't had a whack at it with live
play, at the kitchen table I must say it's fun
switching those cards around, even with rules
that counter any advantage gained by being
allowed to interchange them.
Dear Mark: Is there ever a good time to play on
a multiple deck game? It seems every casino
today uses eight decks. Marty D.
Alert readers of this column are suspicious of
multiple deck games and have been schooled in
the past that it is to their advantage to play
blackjack on a game that trots behind the fewest
decks possible. They know a two-deck game
handicaps their play by about 0.35%, four decks,
0.48%, six decks, 0.54% and eight decks 0.58%.
So, Marty, although it is usually a good idea to
stay away from an eight-deck game, since the
casino's added 0.58% advantage makes it a less
attractive play for you, as you state, sometimes
it's the only game in town. To neutralize that
edge, you need to look for liberal rules, like
surrender, both early and late, doubling down
allowed on any two cards, doubling allowed after
splitting pairs, multiple pair splitting
allowed, re-splitting aces, dealers that stand
on a soft 17, and deep-deck penetration. If you
can find these playing conditions, along with
your using perfect basic strategy, I'll
rubber-stamp "Okay to Play."
Dear Mark: I had a bit of a beef between a
player this weekend on a blackjack game and it
involved hitting an Ace/seven against a nine. I
was playing third base, I hit it, but by doing
so I ended up taking the dealer's bust card (a
Jack), which would have went with her nine/six.
The dealer instead deals another six for a 21,
causing first base to blow up and yell at me for
misplaying my hand. Did I? Don B.
Whether or not to hit a soft 18 (Ace/seven) when
faced against a dealer's nine is probably one of
the most misplayed hands in blackjack, yet you,
Don, played it properly. The correct strategy
for a soft 18 is to stand against a 2, 7, 8,
double versus a 3-6, and hit against a 9, 10 or
Ace.
If you stand on a soft 18, no matter the
dealer's up card is, you will win approximately
8 out of every 20 hands. But if you hit until
you reach a soft 19 or hard 17, you would win
about 9 out of every 20 hands.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week:
Question: What's the difference between a poker
player and a dog?
Answer: In about ten years, the dog quits
whining.
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