A Winning Play Strategy

Double-down on a soft 17 or 18 against a dealer's up card of3, 4, 5 or 6. The strategy is similar to the previous soft double situations. Receiving a 10-value card on the soft 17 and 18 results in hard hands of 17 and 18, respectively. This added advantage accounts for expanding the dealer's required up card to include the 3. Some strategies allow players to double against a 2. I have hound the 2 to be a dangerous card to hit against. With a 2 up, the dealer has an above-average chance of hitting to a standing hand.

Never double-down on soft 19 or 201 These are strong hands and are too difficult to improve. Be happy with winning the bet and don't get greedy. As I have previously mentioned, the dealer's average standing hand is slightly over 18. You have that beatl Other Double-Down Situations

9
Double-down on a two-card total of 9 against all stiffs (2-6). The chance of hitting to a standing hand of 17 through 20 is approximately 56%. This in itself puts the odds in your favor. For added insurance, the requirement that the dealer's up card be a stiff makes this an excellent bet.

8
Double-down on an 8 against a dealer's up card of5 or 6 only. This is a borderline double-down, but the odds are in the player's favor. With fewer "helping" cards available, only double against one of the two worst possible dealer up cards.

The last time my wife, Robin, and I were in Vegas we found a casino downtown (off the Strip) which offered double-down on any two cards. We took advantage of the liberal rules and made a hefty profit at the tables. Every chance we had, we doubled. The percentages went our way and we won the majority of the doubles.

I was surprised that the online casino was not crowded. In fact, there was hardly anyone at the tables. The majority of the players were in the larger, better known casinos. I am perfectly willing to sacrifice the glitz for the gold! Obviously, John Q. Public is unaware of the advantage double-downs offer. I would hope, after reading this book, that you will seek out and play at such casinos.

When I travel to Reno or Las Vegas on a casino "package deal" I make sure that I spend the required time at the "host" casino's tables to qualify for all benefits and thus ensure that I am invited back. These benefits are often as much as $200 in cash and "play" Coupons. I subsequently find the casino in town with the most liberal blackjack rules. I highly recommend this procedure for anyone who plays blackjack to win!

Splitting Pairs

Another key factor in the quest to beat blackjack is the proper splitting of pairs. Very few experts agree on what pairs to split, and when. Some players always split pairs; this strategy is a sure road to disaster.

In some cases, pairs are split with the intent of winning both hands. Some pairs are split to avoid a bust, with the possibility of winning both hands, but a more realistic expectation of breaking even (win one, lose the other). Never should a pair be split if likely to lose both hands. Nor should a pair be split if it requires breaking up a winning hand. This criteria is the basis behind the winning strategy of splitting pairs.

Aces

Always split aces! The chances of winning both hands are excellent, regardless of the dealer's up card. An 11 is a much better total to hit to than a 2. The only drawback is that you only receive one card on a split ace. With only one hit the odds are approximately 64 percent that each ace will reach a total of 17 or more.

Splitting aces is similar to doubling down, since each only receives one card. Most of the time you can expect to win both hands, some of the time you will only win one hand and break even on the bet. A very small percentage of the time should you expect to lose both hands. Splitting aces is a very good bet. All knowledgeable players advocate splitting aces.

Article by toba

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