Power Blackjack

[aka23]

Power Blackjack is offered by Wagerworks. The rules are:

-A "power double" gives the player the opportunity to reject the 3rd card on a double and take a replacement card. The player may power double on a hard or soft 9-11, and do a standard double on any other two cards.

-"Power splits" are available on a hard 15 or 16. A power split is functionally the same as any other split, but the two cards do not need to be the same rank. For example, you could split a 10 and a 6.

-Dealer 22 is treated as a push, rather than a bust.

-The more standard rules are 6 decks, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, no resplit, and no peek for blackjack.


Wizard of Odds' strategy table for this game likely has some typographical errors. The strategy says you should stand on 13 vs 7, and lists two different rows for pairs of 8s with different strategies. I suspect that there are a couple more errors as well.

My listed strategy is http://www.beatingbonuses.com/tables_wwpower.htm
Wizard of Odds lists http://wizardofodds.com/powerblackjack

Can anyone confirm the correct strategy for this game?

[Geoff Hall]

Originally Posted by aka23

Power Blackjack is offered by Wagerworks. The rules are:

-A "power double" gives the player the opportunity to reject the 3rd card on a double and take a replacement card. The player may power double on a hard or soft 9-11, and do a standard double on any other two cards.

-"Power splits" are available on a hard 15 or 16. A power split is functionally the same as any other split, but the two cards do not need to be the same rank. For example, you could split a 10 and a 6.

-Dealer 22 is treated as a push, rather than a bust.

-The more standard rules are 6 decks, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, no resplit, and no peek for blackjack.


Wizard of Odds' strategy table for this game likely has some typographical errors. The strategy says you should stand on 13 vs 7, and lists two different rows for pairs of 8s with different strategies. I suspect that there are a couple more errors as well.

My listed strategy is http://www.beatingbonuses.com/tables_wwpower.htm
Wizard of Odds lists http://wizardofodds.com/powerblackjack

Can anyone confirm the correct strategy for this game?

Hi aka,

I've looked at your strategy card and have the following differences :-

12 vs dealer 5 & 6 - HIT (not stand)
14 vs dealer 2 - HIT (not stand)
7,7 vs dealer 2 - HIT (not stand)
A,5 vs dealer 6 - HIT (not double)
A,6 verses dealer 5 - HIT (not double)
6,6 verses dealer 4 - HIT (not split)

The 'Power Doubling' rules seem correct.

Hope this helps.

[aka23]

Thanks, that was very helpful. Your adjustments match Wizard of Odds for those values, so it is extremely likely that I am incorrect. How did you determine the strategy?

[Geoff Hall]

Originally Posted by aka23

Thanks, that was very helpful. Your adjustments match Wizard of Odds for those values, so it is extremely likely that I am incorrect. How did you determine the strategy?

In fairness, my results will match The Wizard Of Odds because I asked him to do the analysis for me when I developed the game.

However, if you look at the playing strategy for 'Blackjack Switch' (which also contains the 'Push 22' rule) the plays should be the same, apart from the extra strategy needed for 'Power Doubling'. I believe that the strategies match for both games as they should due to the 'Push 22'.

Incidentally, 14 vs 2 and 4,4 vs 6 are very close plays and I doubt that much ev would be lost playing them either way.

Finally, what do you think of the graphics of the game that Wagerworks have produced ? I'm interested to hear your views on how the game plays from your perspective.

Good luck & may the 'Power' be with you

Geoff

[aka23]

Originally Posted by Geoff Hall

However, if you look at the playing strategy for 'Blackjack Switch' (which also contains the 'Push 22' rule) the plays should be the same, apart from the extra strategy needed for 'Power Doubling'. I believe that the strategies match for both games as they should due to the 'Push 22'.

Actually, the strategy for blackjack switch listed on Wizard of Odds and blackjackswitch.com resemble my original strategy for Power BJ, but often do not match your suggested changes. For example, on 12 vs dealer 5/6 the blackjack switch strategy is to stand. However, in an early post you suggested to change this from stand to hit.

Originally Posted by Geoff Hall

Incidentally, 14 vs 2 and 4,4 vs 6 are very close plays and I doubt that much ev would be lost playing them either way.

Finally, what do you think of the graphics of the game that Wagerworks have produced ? I'm interested to hear your views on how the game plays from your perspective.

Good luck & may the 'Power' be with you

Geoff

I really like the game. The power double/split options make far more interesting play than traditional blackjack. The graphics and game quality are decent... excellent for a flash casino, but inferior to several of download casinos, like Microgaming Gold. I think the lightning strikes are a nice addition. It's the type of thing you see in video slots, but never in table games. I still don't trust Wagerworks Player's Suite BJ 100% due to an incident reported on Casinomeister last year:

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A poster on Casinomeister reported the dealer bust rates listed below for Wagerworks Player's Suite Blackjack in late 2006. The results are far lower than expected. For example, one would expect a bust rate of ~37% when the dealer shows a 3, not 12%. The chance of this low a dealer bust rate occurring randomly over 500 hands is well under 1 in one trillion. The dealer bust rates listed below for 4, 5, and 6 are also far below expectations.

"I have logged 500 (for each scenario) hands of BJ for dealer upcard of 3, 4, 5 , and 6 bust % on wagerworks "players suite blackjack"

dealer upcard 3- bust 12%
dealer upcard 4- bust 18%
dealer upcard 5- bust 31%
dealer upcard 6- bust 22%"

[Geoff Hall]

Originally Posted by aka23

Actually, the strategy for blackjack switch listed on Wizard of Odds and blackjackswitch.com resemble my original strategy for Power BJ, but often do not match your suggested changes. For example, on 12 vs dealer 5/6 the blackjack switch strategy is to stand. However, in an early post you suggested to change this from stand to hit.

12 vs 5,6 is a hit for dealer stands soft 17 and a stand for dealer hits soft 17, so they must be close decisions.

I'll have to try and locate that thread on Casinomeister. I thought that Wagerworks had an excellent reputation for fairness so I'm a little concerned about the bust rates you stated.

Thanks for the feedback about the game. I really like the graphics and feel that they have done a great job with the presentation. They also improved my lightening logo and made it look far more professional than mine so I really enjoyed working with them.

[aka23]

The hit/stand on 17 explains the difference. Thanks.

The thread I was referring to is http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/...agerworks+bust
In addition to the bust stats mentioned, players have also reported suspicious results on Texas Hold 'Em, such as losing 48 hands in a row.

Having said that, many players really like Wagerworks and report results within normal statistical expectations. Their slots seem to be particularly popular.

[Geoff Hall]

Originally Posted by aka23

The thread I was referring to is http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/...agerworks+bust

Thanks for the link aka, I'll check it out.