Hypothetical dealer rule changes

First, I'd like to say hello and thank you to everyone on the forums, especially the Wizard himself. I've been a reader of wizardofodds.com, wizardofvegas.com, and these forums for several months now. I've learned an unbelievable amount about Vegas hotels, shows, and games. My three favorites to play are Texas Hold'em (which started my interest in Las Vegas), blackjack, and video poker. I made my first trip to Vegas for five days last month and had a wonderful time. I managed to make a modest profit in all three of those games while giving some of it back in others like roulette that I didn't know so well (so many double zero wheels!). I'm certain that I wouldn't have been able to do this without the advice from this site. Now I hope to become a more active member of the forums as I plan my next trip in May.

And now, on to my QUESTION:

I've read about all of the different effects of removing cards from the deck or making small rule changes to the game, but one question I've always had would be a rule change for when the dealer hits or stands. For example, hitting a hard 17 (stopping at 18+) or going the opposite direction and standing with 16+. Clearly the former would increase the dealer's average count but also create a bust more often while the latter would do the reverse.

I think I could make some logical changes to basic strategy if something like this ever showed up, but the house/player's edge isn't so simple. Any thoughts on this if a casino ever decided to spice up the usual mix of hit/stand soft 17 tables (though I expect it would be along with some unpleasant changes like 6 to 5 blackjack)? I've done some searching but haven't found any answers.

Thanks all

Thank you for the kind words. I recall thinking about this years ago, and coming to the conclusion that 17 is the correct place to draw the line for standing, in terms of maximizing the return for the dealer. With my Ties Win Blackjack game I racked my brain for ways to pay 1-1 on a tie, including your idea, but never came up with anything good.