Blackjack Double Down On 8

I’ve played a lot of Blackjack over the years but have never struck anything like the situation I experienced on the weekend. Playing $25 a hand I lost 19 hands in a row with no pushes. One of the hands was a double down, so effectively I lost 20 x $25 bets in a row. Blackjack double down on 8 at @GIGBeach Triq id-Dragunara, St. Julians, STJ 3148, Malta. For customers accessing the services from Great Britain blackjack double down on 8 (“GB”) MT SecureTrade Limited is licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission and holds a Remote Casino Operating License number blackjack double down on 8 39575.

Blackjack Double Down On 8
Two aces and two eights in a standard deck of playing cards.

Splittingaces and eights is part of blackjackbasic strategy. Rules vary across gambling establishments regarding resplitting, doubling, multiple card draws, and the payout for blackjack, and there are conditional strategic responses that depend upon the number of decks used, the frequency of shuffling and dealer's cards. However, regardless of the various situations, the common strategic wisdom in the blackjack community is to 'Always split aces and eights' when dealt either pair as initial cards.[1] This is generally the first rule of any splitting strategy.[2]

  • 1Splitting

Splitting[edit]

The object of blackjack is for a player to defeat the dealer by obtaining a total as close to 21 as possible without accumulating a total that exceeds this number.[3] In blackjack, the standard rule is that if the player is dealt a pair of identically ranked initial cards, known as a pair, the player is allowed to split them into separate hands and ask for a new second card for each while placing a full initial bet identical to the original wager with each. After placing the wager for the split hands the dealer gives the player an additional card for each split card. The two hands created by splitting are considered independently in competition against the dealer.[4][5] Splitting allows the gambler to turn a bad hand into one or two hands with a good possibility of winning. It also allows the player to double the bet when the dealer busts.[2] Some rules even allow for resplitting until the player has as many as four hands[4] or allow doubling the bet after a split so that each hand has a bet double the original.[6][7] The standard rules are that when a bet is doubled on a hand, the player is only allowed to draw one more card for that hand.[8][9]

Aces[edit]

A pair of aces gives the blackjack player a starting hand value of either a 2 or a soft 12 which is a problematic starting hand in either case.[2][10] Splitting aces gives a player two chances to hit 21.[11] Splitting aces is so favorable to the player that most gambling establishments have rules limiting the player's rights to do so.[2][10] In most casinos the player is only allowed to draw one card on each split ace.[8][10] As a general rule, a ten on a split ace (or vice versa) is not considered a natural blackjack and does not get any bonus.[6] Prohibiting resplitting and redoubling is also common.[2] Regardless of the payout for blackjack, the rules for resplitting, the rules for doubling, the rules for multiple card draws and the dealer's cards, one should always split aces.[10][12][13]

Eights[edit]

If a player is dealt a pair of eights, the total of 16 is considered a troublesome hand. In fact, the value 16 is said to be the worst hand one can have in blackjack.[10] Since sixteen of the other fifty cards have a value of 10 and four have a value of 11, there is a strong chance of getting at least an 18 with either or both split cards. A hand totaling 18 or 19 is much stronger than having a 16.[6] Splitting eights limits one's losses and improves one's hand.[10][11][12] Probabilistic research of expected value scenarios shows that by splitting eights one can convert a hand that presents an expected loss to two hands that may present an expected profit or a reduced loss, depending on what the dealer is showing.[14] A split pair of eights is expected to win against dealer upcards of 2 through 7 and to lose less against dealer upcards of 8 through ace.[15] If a player hits on a pair of eights, he is expected to lose $52 for a $100 bet. If the player splits the eights, he is expected to lose only $43 for a $100 bet.[16]

History[edit]

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Blackjack's 'Four Horsemen' (Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James McDermott), using adding machines, determined that splitting eights was less costly than playing the pair of eights as a 16.[17] They were part of a 1950s group that discovered that strategy could reduce the house edge to almost zero in blackjack.[18] Now a typical strategy involves the following sequence of playing decisions: one decides whether to surrender, whether to split, whether to double down, and whether to hit or stand.[19]

One of the earliest proponents of the strategy of splitting eights is Ed Thorp, who developed the strategy on an IBM 704 as part of an overall blackjack strategic theory published in Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One in 1962.[18][20][21] Thorp was the originator of the card counting system for blackjack.[18]

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Notes[edit]

  1. ^Gros, p. 60
  2. ^ abcdeOrtiz, p. 56
  3. ^Gros, p. 48
  4. ^ abGros, p. 51
  5. ^Jensen, pp. 22–23
  6. ^ abcSchneider, p. 47
  7. ^Gros, p. 52
  8. ^ abSchneider, p. 49
  9. ^Gros, p. 50
  10. ^ abcdefJensen, p. 53
  11. ^ abJensen, p. 56
  12. ^ abHagen and Wiess, pp. 68
  13. ^Schneider, p. 48
  14. ^Hagen and Wiess, pp. 66–67
  15. ^Scoblete, Frank. 'Why Splitting Eights At Blackjack Is An Iron Clad Rule'. Golden Touch Craps. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  16. ^Tamburin, Henry (25 October 1999). 'Splitting Aces and Eights'. Casino city Times. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  17. ^Snyder, Arnold (2005). 'Blackjack Basic Strategy: Aces and Eights'. Player Magazine (republished).
  18. ^ abcGros, p. 44
  19. ^Jensen, p. 51
  20. ^Thorpe, Beat the Dealer as cited in Snyder, Arnold citation below
  21. ^Levinger, Jeff (10 February 1961). 'Thorpe, 704 Beat Blackjack'(PDF). The Tech. Retrieved 30 May 2009.

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References[edit]

  • Dunki-Jacobs, Frits. Betting on Blackjack: A non-counter’s Breakthrough Guide to Making Profits at the Tables. Adams Media. pp. 28–34. ISBN1-58062-951-2.
  • Gros, Roger. The Winner's Guide To Casino Gambling. Carlton Books Limited. pp. 44–69. ISBN1-85868-899-X.
  • Hagen, Tom & Sonia Weiss (2005). The Everything Blackjack Strategy Book: Surefire ways to beat the house every time. Adams Media. pp. 66–68. ISBN1-59337-306-6.
  • Jensen, Marten (2003). Beat Multiple Deck Blackjack. Cardoza Publishing. pp. 22–23, 51–56. ISBN1-58042-069-9.
  • Ortiz, Darwin. Casino Gambling For The Clueless. Carol Publishing Group. pp. 55–59. ISBN0-8184-0609-7.
  • Schneider, Meg Elaine. The Everything Casino Gambling Book (2nd ed.). Adams Media. pp. 47–49. ISBN1-59337-125-X.
  • Thorp, Ed (1966). Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One. Vintage. ISBN0-394-70310-3.
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Double Down Blackjack

A player next to me showed me his strategy card and I compared it to mine and his indicated STAND when player has A,8 (soft 19) against dealer 6.
I told him that should be Double Down. So I asked him where he got the strategy card and he said it was from his mentor (an ex-player on the MIT blackjack team); someone with a greek name like 'petropolous' or 'petrolopous'
This man didn't seem to know that much and wasn't not jumping his bets according to the count so I doubt he was really able to count.
Any ideas why his strategy card or his mentor would have him STAND instead of double down on A,8 vs. dealer 6?
Anyway, I told him mine was correct and that I even had an argument with a dealer once who told me I was not suppose to double down A,8 against dealer 6. I told the dealer it was basic strategy, so the dealer asked the pit boss who was right. The pit boss did not know off hand, but had a strategy card in his pocket and looked at it and sure enough I was right. The pit boss 'I better keep my eye on you, you know your basic strategy too well...wink, wink.'