August 18th, 2025 at 4:41:44 PM
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I’m going to Vegas this week and will be trying out the blackjack variant Double Down Madness again. On the Wizard of Odds website it states to double down on any first card 10. However, the base strategy chart for this game indicates to only double down on a 10 when the dealer has a 9 or less, similar to the basic strategy for standard blackjack games. Does anyone know which play is correct? Thanks in advance.
August 18th, 2025 at 5:07:42 PM
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Quote: technicsI’m going to Vegas this week and will be trying out the blackjack variant Double Down Madness again. On the Wizard of Odds website it states to double down on any first card 10. However, the base strategy chart for this game indicates to only double down on a 10 when the dealer has a 9 or less, similar to the basic strategy for standard blackjack games. Does anyone know which play is correct? Thanks in advance.
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In Double Down Madness the player is initially dealt a single card . WOO's advice is to always double when your first card is a ten vs any dealer card. The Basic Strategy chart applies to the decision after player has drawn his second card.
So, if your first card is a Ten valued card, always double against all dealer cards. If you have a two card Ten - say a seven and a three, the WOO chart says to Double against 2-9 and Hit vs a dealer Ten or Ace.
The reason these decisions are different is this: with a Ten on your first card you have a chance of drawing an Ace and making blackjack with a pay-out of 3-2, so you should double on a Ten-valued card before drawing the second card.
When you hold a two card ten, there is no chance of making a blackjack,so not enough incentive to double down vs a dealer Ten or Ace.
So many better men, a few of them friends, are dead. And a thousand thousand slimy things live on, and so do I.