blackjack switch

J

jtleon

Member
what is the house edge for blackjack switch?
they have these rules
house 22 push
blackjack pays 1-1

i think this rule would make the house edge a lot higher~ so i never play it, juz want to know if my thinking is right....i would rather chose traditional BJ than BJ switch
 
Automatic Monkey

Automatic Monkey

Banned
There are some erroneous basic strategies out there for Blackjack Switch. Play it just like you would a regular game- the push-on-22 rule cannot be compensated for by hitting on hands you would normally stand on. If the dealer is going to get a 22 nothing you can draw is going to help you.

The switch strategy is very complex and might require memorizing charts of win rates for various hands. I used to play a lot of BJ Switch online (back when Playtech was dealing it as a positive EV game!) and with practice I was guessing the correct pair of hands to play almost every time. For counting the card EOR's are going to be different due to the 1:1 BJ; use Zen or some similar count that properly weights the ace.
 
KenSmith

KenSmith

Administrator
Staff member
Automatic Monkey said:
There are some erroneous basic strategies out there for Blackjack Switch. Play it just like you would a regular game- the push-on-22 rule cannot be compensated for by hitting on hands you would normally stand on. If the dealer is going to get a 22 nothing you can draw is going to help you.
Click to expand...
This isn't accurate. Because of the push-on-22 rule, the dealer bust is less valuable than usual. That means that standing on stiffs is worth less than usual, which means that a more aggressive hitting strategy is appropriate.
 
Automatic Monkey

Automatic Monkey

Banned
KenSmith said:
This isn't accurate. Because of the push-on-22 rule, the dealer bust is less valuable than usual. That means that standing on stiffs is worth less than usual, which means that a more aggressive hitting strategy is appropriate.
Click to expand...
On the other hand, catching a good hand or even a 21 is also less valuable, because if you catch a 21 and the dealer catches a 22, it's still a push. However if you bust your hand and the dealer catches 22, it's not a push, you lose. I don't see any kind of play that can compensate for this rule.

The illustration I like for the push-22 rule is imagine a sloppy dealer, who just forgets to pay you whenever he busts with a 22 and you have no opportunity to complain about it. That would be the equivalent of the push-22 rule. There's nothing you can do about this; deviating from Basic Strategy won't help you at all.

But I could be wrong- I'd like to see the math worked out to prove why a different basic strategy is called for.
 
zengrifter

zengrifter

Banned
KenSmith said:
This isn't accurate. Because of the push-on-22 rule, the dealer bust is less valuable than usual. That means that standing on stiffs is worth less than usual, which means that a more aggressive hitting strategy is appropriate.
Click to expand...
thats not apparent in the WOO BS below. zg

----------

Blackjack Switch BS from Wizard of Odds



...more info - http://wizardofodds.com/blackjackswitch
 
Automatic Monkey

Automatic Monkey

Banned
Wow it does work!

Interesting, according to my first math on it the modified BS is right! I did an empirical simulation for the dealer outcome and probability using an infinite deck model of what happens when you draw one card to a 13.

H17 game, player has 13 vs. dealer 2-

Player advantage without push-22 rule-
Stand= -28.66%
Hit= -30.89%

Player advantage with push-22 rule-
Stand= -43.88%
Hit= -40.25%

So I guess it does work. But it's very counterintuitive, being that if the dealer is going to get a 22 there's nothing you can do to improve your hand, you can only make it worse.
 
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