BustIt (Bust It Blackjack)

[aslan]

I couldn't find a discussion thread (owing to the fact that the search engine won't look up the whole term, "bust it"), so I was wondering if anyone had figured out the count on which to make this side bet? (or a way to get the search engine to find "Bust It"; I tried putting it in quotes.)

I'm using KO in this game (8D DOA DAS S17). The side bet is that the dealer will bust on his third card. Different odds are give depending on which card causes him to bust. For example, if the dealer busts with a six, the payoff is 15 to 1.

[EasyRhino]

a local casino was offering that, and calling it a "buster bet". Actually, at that same casino, I saw a dealer bust on her 8th card. It would have been an insane payout if that bet was being played.

[aslan]

Originally Posted by EasyRhino

a local casino was offering that, and calling it a "buster bet". Actually, at that same casino, I saw a dealer bust on her 8th card. It would have been an insane payout if that bet was being played.

I can imagine! Maybe a 1000 to 1, but should be a whole lot more (10,000 to 1)! In "Bust It" they only pay if the bust is on the third card, but the odds are based on what card busts you. Also, I think busting with three eights pays a premium, but can't remember what. Maybe three eights suited pays even more, but I can't remember. I'm going to AC in the morning, so I'll write it all down. If I don't get an answer tonight, I'll play Lucky Ladies instead, with max bet at
+12 (KO count).

[weavin42]

Here is a link to the wizzardofodds info on BustIt.

http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack/appendix8.html#BustIt

He puts an interesting side note "Card counters should may be interested to know that the dealer is more likely to bust when the count is high".

Anyone want to sim this? My gut instinct is to bet it at the same TC that I stand on a 15 vs. dealer 10 but I may be way off on that. I would imagine there is some inflection point where if the count is too high it is less profitable.

If no one wants to sim this I might after I finish my writing the code for my 21 plus 3 sim.

[aslan]

Originally Posted by weavin42

Here is a link to the wizzardofodds info on BustIt.

http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack/appendix8.html#BustIt

He puts an interesting side note "Card counters should may be interested to know that the dealer is more likely to bust when the count is high".

Anyone want to sim this? My gut instinct is to bet it at the same TC that I stand on a 15 vs. dealer 10 but I may be way off on that. I would imagine there is some inflection point where if the count is too high it is less profitable.

If no one wants to sim this I might after I finish my writing the code for my 21 plus 3 sim.

I hope you're on to something. I played this weekend but did not make the side bet. I was thinking maybe if the count was high there would be less chance that the dealer would even get a hand he had to draw to. On the other hand, I reasoned if the count was too low, the dealer would probably get hands he could easily draw to because a ton of low cards were still in the deck(s). I also agree with you that too high a count would have a reverse effect, because at some point the dealer would very likely have a pat hand.

I like this bet better than lucky ladies in 6 or 8-deck because the point at which you should bet the lucky ladies is at least +4 to +6 past the pivot point. In 8-deck, it seldom ever comes up, and I don't know of any casinos in AC that offer the game in 6, 2, or 1 deck. I hope you get a chance to run this sim.

[weavin42]

i should be able to get some code worked up by the end of the month. my first goal is to finish my sim for 21 plus 3. it's been so long since i've written anything that it's taken longer than i hoped. im modifying an open source blackjack sim off sourceforge and it needs to be tweaked first. ill post a link to my code when it's finished if anyone is interested.

josh

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by weavin42

my first goal is to finish my sim for 21 plus 3.

There are a few counting systems for beating that bet. They are buried somewhere in the CardCounter.com archive. I think they were from someone named Scooter if that helps at all.

-Sonny-

[EDIT] it is on page 44, a little more than half way down.

[weavin42]

Originally Posted by Sonny

There are a few counting systems for beating that bet. They are buried somewhere in the CardCounter.com archive. I think they were from someone named Scooter if that helps at all.

-Sonny-

[EDIT] it is somewhere before page 50.

Thanks Sonny, I will look for that. It would be interesting to see if it's different from the method I'm trying to sim and if so which one is better. I tried to do a google search and a search on here before I started my little project but didn't find anything. It's a work in progress but I will post my results when it's finished. 21 + 3 is slowly becoming the only side bet in the KC area and would be nice to find a way to overcome the 3%(ish) house edge.

Josh

[aslan]

Originally Posted by Sonny

There are a few counting systems for beating that bet. They are buried somewhere in the CardCounter.com archive. I think they were from someone named Scooter if that helps at all.

-Sonny-

[EDIT] it is somewhere before page 50.

I never did find this thread.

I played "bust it" this week. I was playing the bet just before the the count goes positive and that strategy paid off (maybe just lucky). I was afraid that at a positive count the dealer would be less likely to need to hit.

After reading the Wizard of Odds (he says to play it when the count is positive), I would probably try it when the count just turns positive and then up several counts, but would probably not bet when the count gets beyond this, because I reason that at too high a count the dealer probably won't have to hit at all. I wish someone with the skills would work this out mathematically.

[weavin42]

Yeah, sorry I started classes again and put both my project and this project on the back burner. I will try to have something for you sooner or later.

Josh