Treasury Brisbane - 'Star Blackjack'

Hi everyone,
I have decided to make this post as a reference to myself but I hope other players will find it useful.
Traditionally (at least since I've turned 18), all blackjack tables at Treasury Casino in Brisbane have had the following rules:




However very recently (<2 weeks ago), low limit tables ($15, $20, $25? (will confirm this)) have been introduced to a new variant called 'Star Blackjack'. The rules of this game are identical to the rules above with one exception. The dealer now must hit a soft 17. This results in a new house edge of 0.7769%

An interesting basic strategy play in this game some players may not be aware of is that since doubling on soft totals is allowed, doubling on a soft 19 vs a dealer 6 is the optimum play.

In the Queensland Casino Gaming Rule, the legislation for the game can be found in 'Schedule 2(d) - Soft 17 Blackjack'. The legislation has a typo that says blackjack only pays 1 to 1, but the table felt and the rule sign at the tables show the correct payout of 3:2.

That is known as fake blackjack
not worthy at all.

Quote: ddsdoni

An interesting basic strategy play in this game some players may not be aware of is that since doubling on soft totals is allowed, doubling on a soft 19 vs a dealer 6 is the optimum play.

Question: in Queensland, if you double on a soft 19 and draw a 2, is that considered a 21, or an 11 (since you can't double on a 19)?

Quote: ThatDonGuy

Question: in Queensland, if you double on a soft 19 and draw a 2, is that considered a 21, or an 11 (since you can't double on a 19)?

Interesting question. I can't see any reason why the ace that you've been dealt would be considered a 1. My reasoning for this is that if you split aces you receive 1 card only and the ace you have is automatically counted as 11.

I think some European casinos count the Ace as 1 if you decide to double a soft total - so it's worth checking.

Quote: charliepatrick

I think some European casinos count the Ace as 1 if you decide to double a soft total - so it's worth checking.

I can't imagine a player would be too happy about doubling a soft 16 (at a different casino for example) receive a 2 and their total is now an 8.

Definitely worth checking though. I wonder how much value from doubling is lost as a result of this rule? In this specific casino perhaps it's worth standing on a soft 19 instead of doubling?

After doubling a soft total an ace is counted as 1 or 11 at all star properties.

Australian casinos mostly offer D9-11 on their Blackjack tables. This means that if your first two cards total 9,10 or 11 then you are permitted to double (excluding Blackjack). Your additional bet must be up to or equal to your original bet and you will receive one additional card only, laid 90° across your first two cards. In this situation, if one of your first two cards is an Ace then its point value is 1, not 11.

If you are dealt two cards with the same point value you may split them and form two separate hands. Your additional bet must equal your original bet and at least one card will then be dealt to each hand. If one of those cards is an Ace then the rules are the same as described above. If you split Aces you will be dealt only one additional card to each hand and if it's a face card then the total is 21, not Blackjack.

The rules are laid out in the relevant state gaming codes and are standard in most Australian casinos.

Quote: davethebuilder

Australian casinos mostly offer D9-11 on their Blackjack tables. This means that if your first two cards total 9,10 or 11 then you are permitted to double (excluding Blackjack). Your additional bet must be up to or equal to your original bet and you will receive one additional card only, laid 90° across your first two cards. In this situation, if one of your first two cards is an Ace then its point value is 1, not 11.
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I agree with davethebuilder (see above quote).

Quote: ddsdoni

(snip)
Definitely worth checking though. I wonder how much value from doubling is lost as a result of this rule? In this specific casino perhaps it's worth standing on a soft 19 instead of doubling?
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With Star Blackjack***, standing on soft 19 vs 6 is ~14.80% better for your EV compared to doubling

***: I haven't been to Brisbane for a while, but I play at the Star Gold Coast (so I am guessing the doubling rules would be the same?).

Note: If you play a game with the exact same rules, except doubling a soft 19 counts as a hard or soft total (whatever is better for the player), then it would be ~ 0.9% better for your EV to double against a 6.

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Before you play the game, you should ask the Floor Manager^^^ what will happen in that particular case, just to be doubly sure.

^^^: No offence to the Dealers, but I play Blackjack Challenge sometimes (mainly because of promotions) and 80-90% of the time, I have to get them to call the Floor Manager to the table, because Challenge is the only "BJ Style" game at the Star Properties that lets you double on any total (2-3 card hands). When you double any soft total, it will count as whatever is better for the player (eg if you had soft 18 and received a 3 after doubling, then your hand would = 21, in Challenge).