Blackjack enthusiast

Hello Experienced players,

I have played studied blackjack for several years and have played in casinos perhaps 25 times. I know Basic Strategy well and I am practicing with KO. I would like to post a few threads to share some of my few experiences and ask some questions. Also we have a Vegas trip planned for the end of next month and I will be asking for a bit of advice regarding that. Thanks.

About six years ago we stayed in Las Vegas (Flamingo) for a few nights, and I sat down at the double deck table. I knew as little about how to play well as most folks. I played many hours, got some help from other players and ended up with only a small loss, considering I was at the $25 tables most of the time. I also remember seeing some 6:5 tables and I even played that some. (Never again, of course.) I really loved playing; After we came home I ordered a few books and starting studying Basic. Now it started to make sense.

There is an Indian casino a hour from here and I have had good & bad luck there.
So I continue to hone my skills and learn. I have read most of the Blackjack threads here going back over three years.
My first question is this:
I think all the places I have played are H17, but I must have been using the wrong chart because I have been hitting 11 vs. dealer A whereas it appears that I should have been doubling.
Is this very important; or rather, how much have I put myself at a disadvantage with that play?
Thank you.

Is your question for double deck or shoe games?

Six decks in the shoe.

I found an EV chart. Interestingly the four 11 combinations doubled against an ace have slightly different EVs. Here's the one for 9,2 vs ace. The expected value for hitting is 0.107036 and for doubling is 0.115609. As you can see the difference is small but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.

There are two other double downs that you must add to the H17 strategy. Is surrender offered? If so there are three surrender plays to add. Put them all together and it definitely makes a difference.

1BB, thank you so much for the concise reply; that is all very interesting. My understanding of just what EV is, is still a little unclear - but I have several texts to refer to and Wong's Professional Blackjack is giving me a good explanation. The small but notable difference is about what I expected. I am pretty clear with understanding HE with different rules.

There is no surrender at the stores I have been at thus far but next month I plan to seek some out.
More questions and some experiences coming soon, thanks again.

Quote: ThreeSevens

...understanding of just what EV is...

The normal method of EV is the expected profit (+) or loss (-) to your original bet. I am guessing, like Aces in the US, this takes into account you already know the dealer does not have a BJ.

Normally when considering a decision, such as whether to double, you are comparing the results of Option A (hitting and allowing further hits if sensible) compared with Option B (doubling, with the scope to win or lose twice as much, but having to stand even if you wanted to hit).

Using an iterative process we can work out all possible 21 to 17s and their chances of winning, standoff and losing. Then look as all 16s and their chances if standing compared with hitting. Continue all the way down and you get the chances for all starting hands. Similarly for all 11s and the hands formed with only one further card.

Using simple values against a 7, it may be that for your £1 bet on average
21 wins +93p
20 wins +77p
19 wins +62p
18 wins +40p
17 loses -11p
16 stand -48p hit -41p [this is ({93p+77p+62p+40p-11p}-{8*£1})/13 ]
15 stand -48p hit -37p
etc
12 stand -48p hit -21p
11 hit +29p double +46p

So for 16 if you stand you only win if the dealer busts (about 26% of the time). If you hit: you lose if you bust (8 times out of 13) but otherwise (5 times) you've increased your chances of winning. In this case it's worth the risk and you're better off hitting.

Thus you can see the EV (expected value) of the two choices for 16 and you should select the one with the largest. Extrapolating, assuming you always select the best choice, this leads to the basic strategy.