Strongest Double and splits ??

What are the best doubles and splits ??

I think this info. would be very helpful, when you are looking other player's hands to double or split.

11 v. 6

A,A v. 6

The best doubles and splits for you when you're "helping" your neighboring player aren't necessarily the best ones for him. But here is a list of hands that I found that have an EV for you greater than about 0.25 of your bet on his hand in an S17 shoe game:
double 11 vs 3-6
double 10 vs 5-6
double A9 vs 5-6
split A's vs 3-6
split 10's vs 5-7

Better have a true count of +4 against a 5 or 6. And a 7 NO WAY

Quote: buzzpaff

Better have a true count of +4 against a 5 or 6. And a 7 NO WAY

Suppose a player at my table had a $100 bet and got dealt a 20 vs the dealer's 7. Then he said, "I'd love to split these tens. Does anyone want to go partners with me on this hand?" I would put $100 for half the profit. But of course, no way would I split my own 20 vs the dealer's 7.

The puzzle is, "Why would I split his tens but not my own?"

The answer is if YOU had the 20 you've got a good hand (89% winner) so why wreck it. In the second case you're being offered a chance to make (essentially) a bet on a 10 vs 7 (at 63%). He is being an idiot splitting them, and then an idiot for not making the additional bet.

It is similar to if people play behind you and you've decided to double-down 10 vs 7 and the back player doesn't want to - given the option you make his bet (60%). Doubling-down you always make the additional bet, splitting you don't always.

Also if you played behind a player and they suddenly doubled 9vs7 (which if course you wouldn't do) then you would make the additional bet (53%). Conversely if they split 8s vs 9, you just pick one of them.

btw if two of you are in cahoots and bet even amounts behind each other (i.e sometimes split to help the other player) then you would splits 7s vs 9 (and some others) for a very small advantage. I wonder what would happen if the back amounts were larger!

I think outside of the box and push the limits when splitting against a dealer's 5 or 6.

I split everything except face cards and 10s.

Yes, I get the weird looks from players, dealers and pit bosses when splitting 5s against dealer's 5 or 6. I am trying to get as much money out on the table. I can double on A, 3, 4, 6, and split again with another 5. Yeah, I know I will look/have looked like an idiot when a 10 or face cards pops out, but as I said before, I am trying to get as much money out on the table when it is favorable that the dealer will bust on a 5 or 6 showing.

Quote: DonPedro

What are the best doubles and splits ??

I think this info. would be very helpful, when you are looking other player's hands to double or split.

The "best" double or split should be measured by the Expected Value of the split vs the Expected Value of making the second best choice.

By that standard a pair of 8's against a dealer 7 has one of the largest differences in blackjack. If you split, you have an excellent chance of winning both hands, whereas if you stay you will most likely lose one hand.

If you can use the @if function in a spreadsheet function, and the "text to columns" command, you can download the Wizard's tables of Expected Value on the Wizard of Odds sites, and see how much improvement there is between the first choice when it is doubling or splitting and the second best choice. Then you can rank them from best to worst.

The "worst" hands that still require you to double or split and hands where you have increased the probability of losing by doubling the bet, and when you split the hands the two individual hands have a worse chance of losing than the original hand. However, you have not decreased the probability by more than 50%, so when you consider how much money you are expected to win, you come out ahead.

Quote: TaxmanCPA

I think outside of the box and push the limits when splitting against a dealer's 5 or 6.

I split everything except face cards and 10s.

Yes, I get the weird looks from players, dealers and pit bosses when splitting 5s against dealer's 5 or 6. I am trying to get as much money out on the table. I can double on A, 3, 4, 6, and split again with another 5. Yeah, I know I will look/have looked like an idiot when a 10 or face cards pops out, but as I said before, I am trying to get as much money out on the table when it is favorable that the dealer will bust on a 5 or 6 showing.

That's an extremely bad play. By splitting 5s against a 5, you are going from a positive expectation play (double) to a negative expectation (splitting). Just be satisfied with splitting every other pair. You will get plenty of chances to get extra money out on the table at other times.