The dumbest thing you have ever seen at the table

[BJgenius007]

And some of the dumbest plays I've seen came from the same guy. He split 10's vs Ace and also doubled a 6 vs 4... Dealer busted both times.

Believe or not, the odds of these two moves are "fair", much better than poor moves like double on hard 12 against everything, split 10's against vs 9 or 10. If you need a good cover, these two are good choices.

 

[HockeXpert]

Believe or not, the odds of these two moves are "fair", much better than poor moves like double on hard 12 against everything, split 10's against vs 9 or 10. If you need a good cover, these two are good choices.

How is splitting 10's vs. A better than splitting tens vs. 10? From bjmath.com's ev tables I get a greater loss in ev splitting tens vs 10.

I was surprised at how close the two plays are in loss of ev but nevertheless suffice it say that neither play would ever be acceptable as cover. Way too costly. I guess your definition of "fair" is different from mine.

 

[HockeXpert]

And some of the dumbest plays I've seen came from the same guy. He split 10's vs Ace and also doubled a 6 vs 4... Dealer busted both times.

The guy may have been as dumb as a fox.:laugh:

 

[tribute]

Believe or not, the odds of these two moves are "fair", much better than poor moves like double on hard 12 against everything, split 10's against vs 9 or 10. If you need a good cover, these two are good choices.

I do sometimes double for less on 12 vs 2. With a $10 bet I will throw a dollar down to get that one card. This play really makes for some funny faces at the table.

 

[pit15]

How is splitting 10's vs. A better than splitting tens vs. 10? From bjmath.com's ev tables I get a greater loss in ev splitting tens vs 10.

I was surprised at how close the two plays are in loss of ev but nevertheless suffice it say that neither play would ever be acceptable as cover. Way too costly. I guess your definition of "fair" is different from mine.

Because facing a 10 up there's a very high chance (4/13) you're facing a 10 down.

Facing an A up there's a guarantee that there's no 10 in the hole.

 

[pit15]

My favorites are the plays that look really dumb to the casual observer, but are actually the correct strategy play.

I once played two hands. Dealer showed a six. I stood with 13 on my first hand, but then hit the 14 on my second hand.

I'll leave it as an exercise for the class to figure out the specific scenario which made this strategy correct.

You had a next card game. First hand had a small bet, second hand had a large bet. You saw a card that would help your big bet hand (say a 6 or 7) and decided to save it for that hand.

You didn't double because you don't want to kill the game

 

[HockeXpert]

Because facing a 10 up there's a very high chance (4/13) you're facing a 10 down.

Facing an A up there's a guarantee that there's no 10 in the hole.

Thanks Pit15, the blind man said as he fell down the stairs. Never thought of that.

 

[Pelerus]

The absolute dumbest was when some jerk put the chips in his mouth then took them out and made a bet with them. This grossed out not only the dealer but the rest of us at the table. I have seen plenty of guys drain the lizard in the bathroom and not wash thier hands. I had to wonder what the chips tasted like and then I didn't want to imagine.:vomit:

Anecdotally, it seems to me that the instance of hand washing among casino patrons is significantly lower than in the general population - at least in the men's room, to which my own experience is limited. I'm not sure if this is a symptom of the "nothing left to lose" mentality, a passive aggressive strike at "the man" and other players, or just the desire to get back to the table as quickly as possible.

 

[pit15]

Thanks Pit15, the blind man said as he fell down the stairs. Never thought of that.

it's also exactly the same reason why you surrender 15 vs 10, but not vs A (at a neutral count)

 

[neversplit5s]

Because facing a 10 up there's a very high chance (4/13) you're facing a 10 down.

Facing an A up there's a guarantee that there's no 10 in the hole.

Since you mentioned the dealer checking for blackjack with an Ace and thus eliminating the possibility of a 10 in the hole, I'd like to correct the probability with a 10 up (it would be 4/12 or 1/3) since in that case you can rule out an Ace being in the hole.

 

[neversplit5s]

Another tidbit I thought about on whether a 10 or Ace up is worse (in general, not just against a 16) for counters: The EV when the dealer is showing a 10 goes down as the count goes up (since it becomes even more likely the dealer has a 20) while the EV goes up with the count when an Ace is showing assuming the dealer checks for BJ (since the probability of a dealer bust which is normally low with an Ace upcard goes up). This is also why surrender is more valuable when counting than with straight-up BS (since it gives a way to back out of a likely strong dealer hand) while the difference in edge between S17 and H17 is less for counters. Also explained from what I said is the reasoning behind some of the "retrograde" indices like splitting 88 vs. 10 and surrendering 17 vs. A.

 

[BJgenius007]

How is splitting 10's vs. A better than splitting tens vs. 10?

When the dealer allow you to split, it means he/she already checked the face down card is a non-ten.