Two cases of misdealing - was my play right?

[wwcd]

Here’s an interesting case that happened during my Vegas trip. I have a total of 10 and the dealer has a 6 showing. Of course, I already have my red chip in my hand, ready to double. The guy just before me has a 15 and he obviously waves for a stand. Dealer (seemingly very tired and towards the end of her shift), hits him with a 9. The guy argues, PC comes in and everyone on the table support the guy, so the PC lets him stand. He comes back to me and asks whether I want the 9 to go on top of my 10. I hesitated for a second and thought about how many worse and better cards I could have gotten and decided to take the 9. PC also let me double my bet.

The dealer turns the bottom card, a 10, and hits with another 10 for a bust. My rationale for taking the 9 was if I took another card, there was 5/13 that would make me better off, and 7/13 that would make me worse. Since I would be doubling I would only be taking one card. So, to me 9 seemed to be a better than average card in that position and I took it. But, I’m open to see your opinions/comments on my rationale and whether it was the right thing to do.

In another instance with the same dealer, dealer is showing 10, and passes one guy who has a 15. The guy just before me stands on his 20, and I take a hit on my 10, only to get a crappy 5. So, the guy with the 15 argues that he motioned to hit, the dealer says she didn’t see, and honestly, I haven’t either. But I backed the guy with the hopes of getting rid of the god-damned 5. PC comes in and tells the guy that he would’ve accepted his case if it happened before he saw the 5. He offers him to take his bet back, so the guy takes his bet back. PC then comes to me and offers to burn the 5 if I’d like. Without hesitation, I wholeheartedly agree and get a 7 (grrrrr). Just like ihate17, I also hate 17, especially against a 10. Dealer pulls a 10 underneath and I lose. But, I think in this case I did the right thing to burn the 5, or did I?

 

[Pro21]

You did fine BUT in both cases, after you lost you should have asked for them to give you a push. It's a free shot and many times they will give it to you.

 

[wwcd]

Thanks, not a bad idea, trying doesn't hurt.

I forgot to add one more case, in the same casino. In my state, we are supposed to scratch the table to motion surrender. In this casino in Vegas, I did the same for my 15 against dealer's 10. This was my first time surrendering in Vegas blackjack. She immediately hit me with a 3. I told her I motioned to surrender. She asked me whether I wanted to keep the 3, or else she had to call the PC. I said, I'm not a big fan of 18 against a 10, so the PC was called to the table and he told the dealer to burn the 3 and surrender my bet.

I think this one was a little bit closer call than the first two cases but still thinking that on average dealer's made hand is 18+ (and with a 10 showing, I'm guessing this'll be even higher), I think I did the right thing.

By the way, it was interesting to me that just saying "surrender" to the dealer is accepted in Vegas. It's odd that they don't require a hand motion so that the eye can keep the record. On another note, I was always the only player who surrendered during all my play for three days. Most dealers, and players were shocked to see me doing this.

 

[Sucker]

In order for it to be correct to surrender, it's not merely a matter of who's the favorite. You have to be WORSE than a 3:1 underdog!

It's a mistake to surrender 17 against a dealers' 10 upcard. It's a TREMENDOUS mistake to surrender 18, which in effect is EXACTLY what you did!

 

[wwcd]

In order for it to be correct to surrender, it's not merely a matter of who's the favorite. You have to be WORSE than a 3:1 underdog!

It's a mistake to surrender 17 against a dealers' 10 upcard. It's a TREMENDOUS mistake to surrender 18, which in effect is EXACTLY what you did!

Thinking deeper, you're absolutely right. At that point, I for some reason thought surrender to be equal to getting my bet back, which sounds fine (18 vs. a 10). But I totally forgot that surrender was actually about taking half of my bet back.

Good thing she had a 10 underneath, because of that I didn't think about this at all, until you reminded me Thanks!