Question for BJ players

[Scooter7]

Splitting 8's

My question is, does anybody strongly disagree with any one of the WoOdds strategy - like splitting 8's to me when the dealer has 10 seems a little strange.

Splitting 8's against a ten is a little strange.

The reason is because you don't do it to win, rather you do it to lose less than not splitting them.

The difference is slight, but statistically significant in the long run.

Many of the basic strategy scenarios in BJ are simply the 'lesser of two evils' and it requires discipline to keep making the right play even though it doesn't seem to be working.

 

[dabruin2]

On that first question specifically--I generally buy insurance if I have 19 or higher. The reason why is because it works with my conservative style of play. I buy insurance when I hit a blackjack against a dealer's A because it guarantees you the win--so you lose the .5 bonus, it doesn't matter--you still now have funds to play some more--whereas if you chance it and the dealer does indeed have a BJ, then you've got nothing to show for it.

And at this point in my online casino career, I like playing at webcam type casinos like casinowebcam.com. I like to see the cards shuffled. I like seeing a live deal of my hands. I just don't trust video interfaces.

 

[dickens1298]

Splitting 8's against a ten is a little strange.

The reason is because you don't do it to win, rather you do it to lose less than not splitting them.

The difference is slight, but statistically significant in the long run.

Many of the basic strategy scenarios in BJ are simply the 'lesser of two evils' and it requires discipline to keep making the right play even though it doesn't seem to be working.

Actually, the basic strategy scenarios are designed to maximize the player's return, and hence lower the house edge. A couple of notes, however:

(1) A number of players hate splitting 8s against a 10. But why? Only 5 cards out of 12 (removing the ace, since that would yield a dealer BJ) are cards that you would rather not see (another 10 or a 9). It actually only makes sense in casinos where you can resplit or DAS (double after split) - I believe that Cryptos don't allow the former.

(2) A player should NEVER take insurance. Why? While it pays 2-1 (thereby saving your initial wager if the dealer has it), the odds that the dealer has it is 4-9. In other words, the house should pay 9-4 on insurance bets, instead of the current 8-4. You HAVE to think of it as a separate wager...

(BTW..I always take "even money", although that's a bad bet as well)

A casino wins because statistically it cannot lose on a large scale. Because it does not pay full odds on games (craps, roulette), or has a built-in edge (blackjack, slots), or charges a commission on otherwise even-money propositions (the vig in sports betting, baccarat, and pai gow), a casino is BOUND to win money.