Doa-ebj
- Thread starter tribute
- Start date
standard toaster
Well-Known Member
Well first off you should never double your blackjack. Im very suprised they did not allow it. What game are you playing that they allow doa? Its a .23% advantage to the player. What rules do they have to make up for it?tribute said:
ihate17
Well-Known Member
Did you know the next card out of the shoe?
If you did not know the next card out of the shoe, then I believe the casino saved you the problem of making perhaps the worst bet in the casino!
I look at it this way: You bet $100 and you won $150 already so you are no longer risking your original $100
By doubling you have decided to risk $200 to try and win just a measly $50 additional.
Please let me know of a worse bet available in your local casino?
ihate17
tribute said:
If you did not know the next card out of the shoe, then I believe the casino saved you the problem of making perhaps the worst bet in the casino!
I look at it this way: You bet $100 and you won $150 already so you are no longer risking your original $100
By doubling you have decided to risk $200 to try and win just a measly $50 additional.
Please let me know of a worse bet available in your local casino?
ihate17
ihate17
Well-Known Member
standard toaster said:
Doubling on any first two cards is available in almost any decent shoe or DD game, an extremely common rule at least in the U.S.
The better shoe games would have the following rules for example: 3/2 for a natural, DOA, DAS, RSA, split to 4, and late surrender.
ihate17
standard toaster
Well-Known Member
for some reason i though double on any...like having 5,2 hit for a 4 and then double...ihate17 said:
the rules you describe are the exact rules of my home casino.
my mistake.
but i still say never double your blackjack
tribute
Well-Known Member
Every game I have ever played, from Las Vegas to Louisiana, has allowed double down on any FIRST TWO cards. Most games I play also have RSA and DAS.standard toaster said:
I agree double down on a BJ is not a good idea. Sometimes I would just like to try it when the dealer has a 6 up. I like my chances of getting paid 2:1 over 3:2 in that situation. I have even done things like "double down" for a dollar on a 12 vs dealer 2. My thinking is I am only going to take one card anyway. It also makes the PC's scratch their heads!
Last edited:
ihate17
Well-Known Member
Wrong: when you double down you get paid 1 to 1
Tribute, think about this for a second. Whenever you double you only get paid 1 to 1 and not 2 to 1 because you doubled you bet. So when you double your blackjack you are exchanging 3 to 2 for 1 to 1, actually worse.
I say worse because you went from a 3 to 2 win with no risk any longer because if you can double the dealer does not also have blackjack, to a situation where you throw away that win and could easily lose double your original bet trying to improve your total dollars won by a measly 33%.
There is only one payout in blackjack that is bigger than 1/1 and that is a blackjack.
ihate17
tribute said:
Tribute, think about this for a second. Whenever you double you only get paid 1 to 1 and not 2 to 1 because you doubled you bet. So when you double your blackjack you are exchanging 3 to 2 for 1 to 1, actually worse.
I say worse because you went from a 3 to 2 win with no risk any longer because if you can double the dealer does not also have blackjack, to a situation where you throw away that win and could easily lose double your original bet trying to improve your total dollars won by a measly 33%.
There is only one payout in blackjack that is bigger than 1/1 and that is a blackjack.
ihate17
EasyRhino
Well-Known Member
It's a bad idea. not only are you giving up the bonus payout, but you're giving up the guaranteed win.
The only way it would conceivablly be a good idea is if you knew for absolute certainty that your next card on the double would be a 10 (as in, you SAW the next card). But even then, there will be about a 10% chance that you will push the hand because the dealer will also draw to 21.
The only way it would conceivablly be a good idea is if you knew for absolute certainty that your next card on the double would be a 10 (as in, you SAW the next card). But even then, there will be about a 10% chance that you will push the hand because the dealer will also draw to 21.
Most people who are considering doubling down on blackjack don't realize just how expensive a mistake it is. They may think they are just having a little fun and having a chance to win a little extra if it works. This especially seems to come up when people are playing 6:5 games where they think it might even be the right thing to do!
The numbers are stark.
With a $10 bet, collecting on the blackjack pays $15 (or $12 at the ripoff 6:5 game).
Doubling by risking $20 total yields an expected profit of a little more than $7.
You're giving the casino an extra $8 when you make this play.
The numbers are stark.
With a $10 bet, collecting on the blackjack pays $15 (or $12 at the ripoff 6:5 game).
Doubling by risking $20 total yields an expected profit of a little more than $7.
You're giving the casino an extra $8 when you make this play.
If you saw the next card and it was a 10, you should always double your blackjack! The worse case scenario is you will push with a dealer 21 - this will happen most frequently with a dealer's up card of 2 at around 12% (depends on rules, see http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack/appendix2.html). This means the EV of doubling your BJ = 0.12*0 + 0.88*2=1.76, which is greater than EV(BJ)=1.5.EasyRhino said:
In some circumstances, you may want to double if the next card is a 9 as well. This will depend on the set of rules and the dealer's up card. For example, double deck, S17, you would double your bj because the dealer will make a 20 7.9% of the time and a 21 7.3% of the time for an EV of 1.548 > 1.5.
I would say only remember my first paragraph and forget the second. The first paragraph is a very easy and fun rule to remember. The second is complicated, is not worth much in terms of EV, and the situations in which doubling is justified are very rare.