Questions on Peter Griffin’s The Theory of Blackjack

[ssho88]

Hello, anyone out there can help me to answer this questions :-

1) As mentioned in the Peter Griffin’s The Theory of Blackjack (6th Edition), all the tables from page 74 to page 85 are for single deck game. Can we make use of this tables for 4, 6 & 8 decks game ? How to modify all the entries of this table before we can use it for 4, 6 & 8 decks game ?



2) Why the player should not split pair 4,4 against dealer’s 6 as advised by the entries (negative 10.96) shown on page 80 ? is it because the blackjack rule of No Double After Split ?

Cheers

[KenSmith]

I am always amazed at the density of information in Griffin's Theory of Blackjack.

1) Check out page 72. Griffin describes a method of adjusting the EOR column by 1/2 for 2-deck, or 1/4 for 4-deck. Then, the adjustment fraction changes to 103/(104-n) for 2-deck for example.

However, there are slight differences in the off-the-top or mean column for the various decks. While there's enough information in Griffin to estimate the appropriate adjustments, there's a better way.

Buy the latest paperback edition of Blackjack Attack, available here. In Appendix D, you'll find complete EOR tables for 1,2,6 and 8 deck games, S17 & H17. It enhances Griffin's charts, and adds a 'mean' column for each of the various games mentioned.

2) Yes, it's the DAS/NDAS difference that causes the discrepancy. In single deck S17, hitting (4,4) vs 6 is 9.88% better than splitting if NDAS. If DAS is allowed, the decision flip-flops, and in a big way. With DAS, splitting is better by 7.35%.

(The difference between 9.88% and Griffin's 10.96% is I think because Griffin's mean column only removes the dealer 6, not the two 4s as well.)

Of course, doubling (4,4)v6 is better than hitting in both cases.
Bottom line: With (4,4)v6, split if DAS, otherwise double.