Blackjack Basic strategy MBS rules

Hi everyone,

I’ve got a question in regards to basic strategy for blackjack in Singapore MBS casino.

The rules are as follows
1) only lose original bet if banker gets a blackjack
2) banker stand of soft 17
3) BJ pays 3:2
4) 6 decks on continuous shuffle machine
5) double on any first 2 cards. Able to double on split cards too
6) split up to 3, making 4 hands in total
7) No resplitting of aces or hitting on split aces
8) No hole card for dealer ( dealer gets 2nd card after all players have made their play )
9) Surrender on dealer 2 - 10 except ace


Ive tried wizard of odds calculator and on CSM house advantage comes to 0.40622% I presume with using the basic strategy calculator base on rules above.

However after further research, another site calculator shows a slight vary of House advantage of 0.28% with their basic strategy.

It does not differs much with the only difference with hard 16 / pair of 8 against dealer 10.

On wizard basic strategy it states either surrender if not hit.
However on the other strategy it states either surrender if not stay.

I’ve also used wizards per hand calculator and came up with slight difference in answer, some stating stay or hit.

Additionally I like to play 2 hands instead of 1 hand, not sure if this makes a difference.
Question is, what is the optimal playing decision for 16 against 10 for such rules?

Additionally, if the table is only loose original bet against banker bj, wouldn’t it be wiser to split aces against dealer ace?

Lastly I would like to thank wizard for his website and guidance of making me a better bj player

Thank you :)

Hello Jacob,

Although I´m not the wizard, I know a LOT about Blackjack. I am a blackjack dealer for more than 20 years. Moreover I have studied the game intensively.

The rules in Singapore MBS casino you mention are clear, with exception to the first rule. "Only loose original bet if banker gets a blackjack" means that the house is playing with the "two cards rule", that is the dealer gets one card open and one card closed. The dealer peaks at the hole card in case the house could have a blackjack. Is that the case, then the dealer takes all bets away (except blackjack for a player) immediately. However in your summary of rules you mention that there´s NO hole card for the dealer. So the dealer gets one open card, just like the European rules. In that case you can double and split, but you loose all those additional bets when the house eventually gets a blackjack!

Conclusion: Your first rule must be: "Player loses only original bet against dealer BJ: NO!" If you then calculate your strategy on the Wizard of Odds house edge calculator there is a house advantage of 0,43541%. Other sites are sometimes worse in counting the house edge. Stick with the Wizard of Odds!

Knowing you can loose additional bets (when you split and/or double) it makes sense to NOT split aces against a dealer ace. What you do for 16 against 10 does not really matter, because the difference in expectation for hitting or standing is soooo small. That being said, if you really want to cut the house edge as far down as you can: always hit 16 against 10 when you have 16 with 2 cards, and always stand on 16 against 10 when you have 16 with 3+ cards.

Hopefully I have helped you in some way. Good luck at the tables!

P3t3r P3n

In regards to 16 vs 10;

If you are playing at a full table, scan the other hands for 4s and 5s. If there are two or more out on the table, I stand. Otherwise I hit.
I generally only played two decks so the auto shuffle weakens that a bit.

Quote: JacobOh93

Ive tried wizard of odds calculator and on CSM house advantage comes to 0.40622% I presume with using the basic strategy calculator base on rules above.

link to original post

Where is the Wizard’s calculator for the house edge of a dealer no-hole-card game? He has an online calculator, but that is only for American games with a dealer hole card.

https://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/calculator/
The phrase used is whether you only lose the original bet. It doesn't matter whether the dealer peeks beforehand or at the conclusion of the hand, if you can only lose the original bet - the difference is they would track your bets, e.g. leave a bust hand in play, and only take one bet on a BJ.

Thank you for the link. I agree with what you said above but would like to add a little more on the difference between these two games.

Firstly, let us fix this particular rule, player only loses the original bet upon a dealer BJ. Secondly, let us look at the consequences of not taking a dealer hole card. Player cannot surrender to a dealer upcard of Ace anymore, and this consequence alone will increase the house edge. However, player can surrender to a dealer upcard of Ten even with the potential of getting a BJ later, and this consequence alone will decrease the house edge. Therefore, in terms of EV, there is a real difference between a no-hole-card game and a hole-card game.

I am not sure if we can use the same online calculator anymore.

Quote: aceside

Thank you for the link. I agree with what you said above but would like to add a little more on the difference between these two games.

Firstly, let us fix this particular rule, player only loses the original bet upon a dealer BJ. Secondly, let us look at the consequences of not taking a dealer hole card. Player cannot surrender to a dealer upcard of Ace anymore, and this consequence alone will increase the house edge. However, player can surrender to a dealer upcard of Ten even with the potential of getting a BJ later, and this consequence alone will decrease the house edge. Therefore, in terms of EV, there is a real difference between a no-hole-card game and a hole-card game.

I am not sure if we can use the same online calculator anymore.
link to original post

Yes, when dealer peeks at the hole card and sees that he doesn't have blackjack, that is information. And information = ΔEV