harikarilord
harikarilord
  • Threads: 12
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Joined: May 24, 2015
July 19th, 2015 at 12:00:58 AM permalink
Hi all, I recently found a single deck game (the only one I've found in my area!) with very liberal rules:

1) double on *any* hand (yes, that includes being able to double after already hitting).
2) split up to four times
3) double after split
4) surrender at *any* point (yes, this includes surrender after already hitting. Exception: no surrender prior to dealer checking hold card)

The catch: naturals pay only 1:1 (but they do pay out immediately - no pushes against a dealer's natural)

So the question then: is this a game advantage players should bother playing? Put another way, does counting give you an edge when BJ only pays 1:1?
sabre
sabre
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Joined: Aug 16, 2010
July 19th, 2015 at 12:41:02 AM permalink
No and no.
Paigowdan
Paigowdan
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Joined: Apr 28, 2010
July 19th, 2015 at 1:04:08 AM permalink
It's Super Fun 21.
Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes - Henry David Thoreau. Like Dealers' uniforms - Dan.
Romes
Romes
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Joined: Jul 22, 2014
July 20th, 2015 at 11:18:09 AM permalink
Blackjack pays 1:1 = 2.27% added on to the house edge. Even with a lot of other "little" rules in your favor, that is quite difficult to overcome. Check out the Wizards "extended rules variation" and add them all up. Report back with the real House Edge of the game. Then decide if it would be worth counting by figuring out at what True Count you have an advantage. Plug in a spread to a spreadsheet and see what your hourly EV would be. (all of this info can be found in my A to Z Counting Cards in Blackjack thread)
Playing it correctly means you've already won.
Kellynbnf
Kellynbnf
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Joined: May 5, 2010
July 21st, 2015 at 10:52:25 AM permalink
Also remember that a large portion of the advantage gained with traditional counting systems is due to the asymmetrical blackjack payout. Even if there are enough other good rules to overcome the deficit of the even money payout, your usual counting systems may not work like they would with traditional rules. An example is a game with some form of a five-card automatic winner - a great rule if you know the proper modifications to the standard BS, but it makes the tens less important and the deuces and threes more so (Aces are still helpful though since they can count as "ones").
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