monodactyl
monodactyl
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June 14th, 2023 at 11:45:25 PM permalink
I've been going to Macau a lot recently and wondered how the ruleset there would cause a variation from basic strategy, particularly against a dealer showing A with no peeking for blackjack.

The rules are:
Dealer only draws first face up card for himself - no peeking for blackjack
Dealer stands on soft 17
Double Down on any 2 cards
Surrender against any dealer card except an Ace
Continuous shuffle machine, 6 decks
Blackjack pays 3:2
Split up to 2 times to make 3 hands EXCEPT Aces which can only be split once.
Cannot Redraw split aces
Can double down after split (except aces)

And here's the main reason for the question:
Original and busted bets only - If the dealer draws a blackjack, only the original bet is taken in the event of a split. So if you split 2 times to make 3 hands and don't bust and the dealer gets a blackjack, only 1 one those 3 hands would be collected.
For double downs, there is variation between casinos. If you double an 11 and the dealer gets a blackjack, both the original and the double are taken. If you double anything else an the dealer draws a blackjack, only the original bet is taken.

This seems like it would favor splitting more vs an A, particularly with 88 with surrender not allowed. I use /games/blackjack/hand-calculator/ a lot to see the EV differences between choices, but unfortunately, incorporating this OBBO rule is not an option for that tool. Does anyone know where I can find a tool that incorporates this ruleset or what optimal strategy would be facing A with OBBO, doubledowns with 11s are totally taken when dealer gets a BJ?
GMan
GMan
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July 17th, 2023 at 7:37:24 AM permalink
An OBBO game should be played like a regular american peek game. No difference.

"For double downs, there is variation between casinos. If you double an 11 and the dealer gets a blackjack, both the original and the double are taken. If you double anything else an the dealer draws a blackjack, only the original bet is taken."

These 11 double downs should be played like an ENHC game. That means you should not double 11 vs 10 and A with basic strategy.
If you are counting cards (Hi-Lo), you will double 11 vs 10 at a count per deck of +11 or higher and never double against A.
G Man
charliepatrick
charliepatrick
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July 17th, 2023 at 7:58:30 AM permalink
See https://wizardofodds.com/games/australian-blackjack/

Given your rule about doubling 11 losing both bets, means you play like EHNC (ie.. don't double). Similarly if you split Aces and the Dealer gets BJ, then both hands (neither which can have busted) would lose, so this is also like ENHC. (So only split AA vs T.)

I'm guessing you split 8s vs 10 since, if you don't bust, you only lose one unit to BJ. I guess the maths shows you split 8s vs 10 and not vs A, but I wouldn't know for sure since the effect of busting and definitely losing comes into effect and changes the decision to somewhere between the US and ENHC versions.).

It's rare, unless FreeBet, to add money vs Dealer's Ace where you would lose the additional bets to BJ.
Torghatten
Torghatten
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July 17th, 2023 at 9:54:41 AM permalink
This one should work:

https://wizardofmacau.com/en/games/blackjack
GMan
GMan
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July 17th, 2023 at 10:16:28 AM permalink
Quote: charliepatrick

See https://wizardofodds.com/games/australian-blackjack/
Similarly if you split Aces and the Dealer gets BJ, then both hands (neither which can have busted) would lose, so this is also like ENHC. (So only split AA vs T.)
link to original post



No you did not read the OP correctly.

The ENHC rule only applies to DOUBLING 11 VS A.

So, all other hands have to be played like a regular american game. Don't complicate what was a simple question.
G Man
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