9 vs dealers 2

[Johnrfla]

Greetings,

I know the BS of that hand is to hit, but what is the reason/s of not doubling down? I seem to win that situation quite a bit.

 

[Blue Efficacy]

The dealer will make a hand quite often with a "deuce" showing. As a matter of fact, the dealer will make a hand of "21" more often with a deuce than with any other upcard. Certainly, the deuce is still worse for the dealer than the 7 or higher, which can be "made" hands right off the bat, but not by a whole lot.
There is only one card she can have in the hole that will give her an instant "bust" scenario, that being the ten. Even then, she must draw another ten to bust.

 

[vingtetun]

The reason

Buy Professional Blackjack, look in the index in the back and you will see that you make more money by hitting than by doubling. Part of the reason is that doubling limits your options, being that you can only take one card. Eg. if you get a 2 or a 3 on a hit you can hit again. If you doubled you're stuck on eleven.

Additionally with your index plays you will double 9 v. 2 on many occasions.

 

[creeping panther]

That being said

Buy Professional Blackjack, look in the index in the back and you will see that you make more money by hitting than by doubling. Part of the reason is that doubling limits your options, being that you can only take one card. Eg. if you get a 2 or a 3 on a hit you can hit again. If you doubled you're stuck on eleven.

Additionally with your index plays you will double 9 v. 2 on many occasions.

Everyone should give some thought of the CW to ALWAYS splitting aces.

CP

 

[sabre]

The dealer will make a hand quite often with a "deuce" showing. As a matter of fact, the dealer will make a hand of "21" more often with a deuce than with any other upcard. Certainly it is worse than the 7 or higher, which can be "made" hands right off the bat, but not by a whole lot.
There is only one card she can have in the hole that will give him an instant "bust" scenario, that being the ten. Even then, she must draw another ten to bust.

The deuce is not worse than the 7 in this instance. Though the chance of a dealer 21 is higher, the dealer also busts 10% more often when showing a 2 vs a 7. The index for doubling 9v2 is substantially lower than the index for doubling 9v7.

 

[callipygian]

The deuce is not worse than the 7 in this instance. Though the chance of a dealer 21 is higher, the dealer also busts 10% more often when showing a 2 vs a 7. The index for doubling 9v2 is substantially lower than the index for doubling 9v7.

While I believe that everything you write here is true, it's important to note that the first two sentences do not explain the third. The index is related to how close the best option is to the second best option - it does not indicate which best option is better.

 

[Blue Efficacy]

The deuce is not worse than the 7 in this instance. Though the chance of a dealer 21 is higher, the dealer also busts 10% more often when showing a 2 vs a 7. The index for doubling 9v2 is substantially lower than the index for doubling 9v7.

I meant for the dealer a 7 is worse than a deuce. Sorry I was confusing in my wording.

 

[Blue Efficacy]

Everyone should give some thought of the CW to ALWAYS splitting aces.

CP

Wait, in a H17 game, you always double down on 11. And when you split aces, that's basically the same thing as doubling down on eleven, except you have two chances to get a big card.

 

[creeping panther]

Blue

Wait, in a H17 game, you always double down on 11. And when you split aces, that's basically the same thing as doubling down on eleven, except you have two chances to get a big card.

Always?

CP

 

[Blue Efficacy]

Always?

CP

I get what you're saying.

But I maintain that situations where you should not split aces are extremely rare.

 

[Small Pennies]

While I believe that everything you write here is true, it's important to note that the first two sentences do not explain the third. The index is related to how close the best option is to the second best option - it does not indicate which best option is better.

Care to elaborate what the exact index numbers are for the hi-lo count in 1,2,3,4,6, and 8 deck shoes.

 

[Renzey]

Care to elaborate what the exact index numbers are for the hi-lo count in 1,2,3,4,6, and 8 deck shoes.

The Hi/Lo TC index for doubling 9 vs. 2 is +1 for single deck as well as 8 deck. Notice however, that if you're dealt say, 6/3 vs. 2 off the top of a single deck, your TC is +3. In double deck, it's +1.5, and with a six deck shoe, it's +0.5. As an integral part of that, your relative chance to catch a 10 with one hit, as well as the dealer's chance to be stiff with 12 also go down as the number of decks increases. That's basically why doubling 9 vs. 2 is a basic strategy play for single and double deck -- but not for the shoe.

 

[Johnrfla]

Greetings,

Are there many casinos that allow a double down on 9 vs 2 in a single or double deck game? All the ones I played at only allowed double down on a 10 or 11.

John

 

[Martin Gayle]

Greetings,

Are there many casinos that allow a double down on 9 vs 2 in a single or double deck game? All the ones I played at only allowed double down on a 10 or 11.

John

I have never seen a rule which limits a player from taking action against a particular dealer upcard (except ES v A). In Nevada most DD games allow you to double on any first two cards. There are some bad games on the LV strip that you should avoid that have very restrictive rules, 8-deckers are probably better. But off the top of my head downtown LV has good DD and SD games, DOA I think. In Reno/Tahoe most of the SD games allow double on X or 11 only. But the Sands Regency and Grand Sierra have DO9,10,11 and DOA respective single deck games if I can remember correctly. In Sparks the SD games have more liberal rules and may allow DOA, again if I remember correctly. If you get CBJN it will anwser all your questions.