Double Attack Blackjack

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BAMA21

Well-Known Member
I'm making my first ever trip to Atlantic City at the end of August; and I am curious about the new variation of 21 that they are offering there, Double Attack Blackjack. I am wondering if anyone has played it, has any thoughts on it, etc.

I'm not even sure which casinos have it. (Obviusly, that would be info I'd appreciate if anyone has it); but my understanding is that it works like this:

You place a bet like normal. Then the dealer shows you his or her upcard. At that point, you can make an additional bet up to the amount of the original bet. Once you get your cards, it plays like regular blackjack with the following exceptions:

You can double down (both wagers) at any point, on any total, with any number of cards, including after splitting. YOu also have "Double Down Rescue", surrendering after doubling.

If you do split, you have to match both wagers.

You can surrender at any point, with any total, with any number of cards, except if the dealer has a natural.

Player's natural always wins, but pays only even money.

The ten cards are removed from the deck. All of the face cards are still in play; but there are no tens (just like Spanish 21).

There is also a "bust0it" side bat where you wager that the dealer will bust in exactly three cards; and you get odds depending on what the third card is.

There is also a 50:1 bonus on the bust-it bet if the dealer gets three eights of the same color, and a 200:1 bonus for three eights of the same suit.

It is an eight deck shoe.
 
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BAMA21

Well-Known Member
Just the same, any experience with the game would be appreciated. I have had a decent run with games that we are supposed to avoid. I am up big in SuperFun21. I am up decently in Double Exposure. THis new game would seem to fit very nicely with my overall playing strategy, which is why I am interested in trying it out.
 
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JerseyT

New Member
Double Attack

In Atlantic City, Double-Attack BJ is only offered at Trump Casinos. My husband and I have been playing regularly at the Marina since it was introduced (we live about 15 minutes away). As with all games, there are good nights and bad nights, but overall we remain "up" and have a lot of fun playing this game.

Always play the bust bet, even if only a small wager. This side bet can be from $1 to $50, not to exceed your original wager. With no 10s in the deck, bust bets do pay out regularly. Generally, we play this as 1/2 of our original wager. If the dealer busts on his third card, payouts are as follows:
Face...3:1
Nine...6:1
Eight...8:1
Seven..10:1
Six...15:1
3 same-color eights = 50:1
3 same-suit eights = 200:1

Generally speaking, only attack (increase your bet up to your original wager) when the dealer shows 4,5,6. Some players attack on 3s but we find this to be too favorable for the dealer. If the dealer shows a 2, assume it's an Ace (assume he'll get 21) and take hits accordingly against it.

You can double your bet (which also includes your attack bet) anytime, even after hits; surrender anytime; and split to 3 hands. Blackjack pays even money. Insurance pays 5:2. Dealers must stand on all (even soft) 17s.

We are careful about who we play with. Dealers, that is. We don't play with 'relief' dealers if we lose the first two hands to them. These "chip collectors" have a knack of taking back all money won against the regular dealer. If it starts bad, we take a break or move to Spanish 21 until the regular dealer returns after 20 minutes.

Have fun and good luck!
 
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BAMA21

Well-Known Member
Thanks! Great information. I was beginning to give up on getting any news on this before my trip. I'm going on Monday. Can you tell me, if you see this, what to expect in the way of table minimums and maximums? I will be arriving by bus at about 11:00; but that is at the Showboat. It will be a little while later before I get to one of the Trump properties. Is there any reason to hurry?

Also, do you find that the dealer 7 behaves at all like the 6 in regular blackjack, because of the removed tens. My thought was that the "atack" might be appropriate on 4,5,6, and 7.

Lastly, what about split aces? Can they draw? Can they be resplit? Can you double after splitting them?

Thanks a bunch. I'll let you all know how it goes when I return.
 
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BAMA21

Well-Known Member
Okay, here is the report on Double Attack Blackjack:

I found the game at the Showboat, which is where I played. I also saw it, but did not play it at the Taj. The only other casino I was in was Resorts, where I didn't notice it, but wasn't looking either at that point.

The amnswers to my last round of questions are as follows:

Table minimums at both the games I saw were $10. I think the max was $500; but I'm not 100% certain.

Split aces get only one card. I am not sure about resplitting them.

I did find the 7 to be attackable, somewhat, the three as well. I tried both a few times; and after I tried the 7, I noticed a couple of others doing so as well; but they had not been until I did it. Overall, I think the previous poster is probably right. The safest bet is to only attack on the 4,5,and 6. Winning when attacking the 3 and the 7 requires you to get a decent hand.

I probably didn't use surrender as much as I should have; and I need to do some more figuring on the insurance bet, which pays 5:2.

Basic strategy for Spanish 21 (according to the Wizard of Odds) calls for always hitting a 12 or a 13, regardless of the dealer's upcard. That is the closest basic strategy out there, because it accounts for the missing ten cards. However, it was a tough sell to my tablemates when I hit 12 against a dealer 6 and "messed up the cards" on everyone's double attack..

I'm not sure that betting the bust-it bet at half the regular bet is the right ratio. I did bet it fairly often, and mostly at or just below that level. I'm thinking that next time I might cut it back a bit. It does pay off fairly regularly (on average, I'd say about once every four hands or so.) The pay-off can be nice too. I got one 15:1 pay-off. I only had $5 bet on it that time; but another guy at the table had $75 bet. It saved me on a couple of bets that I lost by busting myself; but overall, I think I'd have come out better to have bet it a little smaller.

On the whole, I played for about an hour and ended up winning about $375 on a $500 buy-in. However, I did have two very big bets go my way; and I did get the 15:1 on the bust-it. So I think it is a winnable game; but probably not as good as my results would indicate from yesterday. If I make it back to AC, I'll definitely give it another try.
 
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Jazzy

New Member
Dobule attack

This is my favorite game at th Tropiana in Atlantic city. I play it regularly! You can win big r lose big very quickly, so be careful! Watch a few hands first to figure out all the rules!

I did hit big on the bust it last w/e...... I usually play 15 on bet and 10 on bust it.... one of the pay offs of the bust is triple 8's of same color pay 50 to 1... I hit it for $500!!! I loved it!!!

Going back in a few weeks and will be back at this table!
 
moo321

moo321

Well-Known Member
Jazzy said:
This is my favorite game at th Tropiana in Atlantic city. I play it regularly! You can win big r lose big very quickly, so be careful! Watch a few hands first to figure out all the rules!

I did hit big on the bust it last w/e...... I usually play 15 on bet and 10 on bust it.... one of the pay offs of the bust is triple 8's of same color pay 50 to 1... I hit it for $500!!! I loved it!!!

Going back in a few weeks and will be back at this table!
Click to expand...
Umm, it's a terrible game. Welcome to the forum?
 
Ferretnparrot

Ferretnparrot

Well-Known Member
Jazzy said:
This is my favorite game at th Tropiana in Atlantic city. I play it regularly! You can win big r lose big very quickly, so be careful! Watch a few hands first to figure out all the rules!

I did hit big on the bust it last w/e...... I usually play 15 on bet and 10 on bust it.... one of the pay offs of the bust is triple 8's of same color pay 50 to 1... I hit it for $500!!! I loved it!!!

Going back in a few weeks and will be back at this table!
Click to expand...
For the recrod, and just to detur confusion, double attack blackjack is not offered at the tropicana, they offer "double exposure", which is a differnt game.

Double attack can be found at the following casinos, they do not always have them open, but these are the casinos i have seen the game dealt at....

Trump plaza, Marina, and taj, Ceasars, ballys, hilton, resorts, and harrahs
 
Pro21

Pro21

Well-Known Member
FLASH1296 said:

I suggest that you look up what the casino "hold" % is on this awful game.

You will see that it is 2 or 3 TIMES as bad as BJ for the player !
Click to expand...
Now that is an interesting approach to analyzing a game.
 
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ExhibitCAA

Well-Known Member
JerseyT says: "In Atlantic City, Double-Attack BJ is only offered at Trump Casinos." This statement is so obviously wrong that any further statements in that post should be ignored.

Flash says that Double Attack has a high hold%. The only "people" that I've ever seen trying to use the hold% as a meaningful measure of anything are casino bosses. What does that tell you?
 
W

WRX

Well-Known Member
The Wizard of Odds gives a basic strategy (considerably different from that for standard BJ), and states that the house edge is 0.62%. So, a bit worse than most standard BJ games, but not outrageous. I know Shackleford isn't hugely popular with some around here, but his analysis should make it evident that there will be ways to "attack" the game and get an edge.
 
FLASH1296

FLASH1296

Well-Known Member
Exhibit ... is correct re: "hold percentage" inasmuch as most ploppies are playing with severely sub-optimal strategy. I sometimes forget that. Sorry.
 
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