Optimum Strategy

Hi,

I'm sort of new to the game and before wagering any real money have been studying up and practicing quite a bit. I've also done a bit of research on my local casinos and realized that they all seem to have the same rules. I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and there are currently 5 casinos in my area with a 6th being built. On most tables the rules are:
Dealer hits soft 17, 4 decks, double any 2 cards, double after splitting allowed, early surrender, and no hole card. I put these rules into the basic strategy calculator offered on this website and I was quite surprised to see that the casinos edge is only 0.07%. I in fact find this a bit hard to believe. Therefore my question is does this small edge seem believeable? I thought perhaps that since there is no hole card it is more difficult to calculate the edge but I'm not really sure. I checked some other websites to see what odds they gave and they gave the casino a stronger edge though their calculators weren't as detailed and didn't take the fact that there was no hole card into account. Maybe someone familiar with casinos in Edmonton or Alberta could offer some advice. If the odds are this good I figure I might stand a decent chance trying out my card counting abilities soon...

Thanks a lot,
Adam

It sounds like the bit that really cuts into the house edge is the early surrender option. It is hard to find late surrender in the US; and early surrender is almost unheard of.

Alberta

E Town, I live close to you. Ive been trying to find someone interested in this game from my area for a long time, Im happy you arrived. That house edge is correct for the game your talking about. Send me a private message and we can talk more.
B

Does this game really offer early surrender? In other words, can you surrender even if the dealer ends up with blackjack?

In reply to Ken's comment of whether or not it actually offers early surrender I assume it does, but here's how it works.

Again since there is no hole card I might be a bit confused or am misinterpreting the rules.

The dealer deals two cards face up to all players and deals themself ONE card face up. Before anybody hits, doubles, or splits and before the dealer gets there second card the dealer allows players to surrender for half their wager. Since there is no hole card you have no idea if the dealer has blackjack.

So if someone could further clarify these rules that would be great!

Thanks again,
Adam

Yep, that is early surrender.

So just to clarify (hopefully I'm not being too annoying): these rules are actually pretty good and it could be worthwhile giving these tables a try?

Another question, since its a shoe game how do you determine the penetration? Is it up to the dealer? I've read a bit about it in a book but still don't quite understand it.

Thanks again.

Yes, it sounds like those are pretty good rules. Of course, you'll need to study the correct basic strategy for those rules to take full advantage.

Penetration is typically set by the policy of the casino. The player certainly has nothing to do with it. Your only option there is to observe and not play if it is too shallow for your liking.