UK Basic Strategy Differences

Hi,

I'm from the UK and new to blackjack so I'm just getting my head round the basic strat. According to the UK basic strat you just hit 11 v 10 or ace instead of doubling, does anyone know why? It doesn't make sense to me! Also, a pair of aces are hit v dealer ace and not split, and a pair of eights are hit v 10 or ace and not split.

Thanks for any replies!

Quote: Looterman

Hi,

I'm from the UK and new to blackjack so I'm just getting my head round the basic strat. According to the UK basic strat you just hit 11 v 10 or ace instead of doubling, does anyone know why? It doesn't make sense to me! Also, a pair of aces are hit v dealer ace and not split, and a pair of eights are hit v 10 or ace and not split.

Thanks for any replies!

See this Wizard's page for the answer. The pertinent rule is this: "No-peek (player loses total bet, including after doubling or splitting, if dealer has blackjack)."

If you lose all bets when the dealer has blackjack, such as in the UK, to avoid the risk you should not double 11 vs 10 or ace, and you should not split aces vs ace or split eights vs 10 or ace. In the United States, for example, we only lose the original bet when the dealer has blackjack. In the US the dealer will usually check for blackjack (peek) before the players act and take the bet of each player who does not also have blackjack. Or if the dealer forgets to peek and discovers a dealer blackjack at the end of the hand, then the players lose their original bets only.

Quote: Looterman

Hi,

I'm from the UK and new to blackjack so I'm just getting my head round the basic strat. According to the UK basic strat you just hit 11 v 10 or ace instead of doubling, does anyone know why? It doesn't make sense to me! Also, a pair of aces are hit v dealer ace and not split, and a pair of eights are hit v 10 or ace and not split.

Thanks for any replies!

Hi Looterman. Let me be the first to welcome you to this great forum.

The short answer is the no dealer's hole card rule where, unlike here in the US, entire doubles and splits are lost in the event of a dealer blackjack. There are some discussions that can be found in past posts here. To find them, use the search feature at the top of this page. Happy reading!

Thanks for clearing that up for me guys, it all makes sense now!