Hitting a A-8 vs dealer K cost

The other day, a gentleman hit is A-8 vs a dealer K. The game was 6-deck, HS17, Surr, DAS, SA4. There was a lot of outrage at the table by some. Myself, taking the approach that incorrect plays hurt as much as help, sometimes, just let it go. The question I asked myself, though, was what was that play going to cost the player in the long run. By the way, he drew three more cards, I think, and still lost. I am guessing he wanted to try and improve the hand to at least a 20.

Quote: bushman

The other day, a gentleman hit is A-8 vs a dealer K. The game was 6-deck, HS17, Surr, DAS, SA4. There was a lot of outrage at the table by some. Myself, taking the approach that incorrect plays hurt as much as help, sometimes, just let it go. The question I asked myself, though, was what was that play going to cost the player in the long run. By the way, he drew three more cards, I think, and still lost. I am guessing he wanted to try and improve the hand to at least a 20.

You can input it here and see the EV of standing vs hitting: https://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/hand-calculator/

Thanks! I should have looked for that. That is an awesome feature. I should say that I did speak with him about why he hit it. His reply was that he was hoping to drive off a couple of annoying (I agree with his assessment) players at the table. Figured doing that might have them leave the table (it didn't.) I asked why he didn't split 10's? He said he would have, but he never got them. Figured taking a pretty strong (though probably losing hand) and hitting it might get them to leave. Pretty funny what some people will do. The guy was not a bad player, that is what surprised me. Don't know if he was casing the deck, or not. Me, I am not that smart.

Ok, so are craps players the worst, or BJ?

I think I vote BJ.

This might be a bit easier... https://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/1/

EV(Stand A-8) = +.063
EV(Hit A-8) = -.088

So if the player had a $10 bet, standing they could expect to MAKE 63 cents in the long run... hitting they could expect to lose 88 cents int he long run. So it's more than a $1 swing and one from positive to negative.