Double your blackjack fun by playing pairs correctly - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Double your blackjack fun by playing pairs correctly
[SIZE=-1]By Mark Gruetze
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, September 10, 2010 [/SIZE]
The old advertising jingle of "double your pleasure, double your fun" often applies when blackjack players are dealt a matching pair.
Say you have two 8s, while the dealer shows a 7. Instead of treating your hand as a 16, you should look at it as a chance to play two hands, each starting with eight.
Playing pairs correctly is an essential part of the basic strategy that reduces the house edge in blackjack to less than 0.4 percent under Pennsylvania rules.
To split, you must begin with two cards of equal value -- for example, two 8s, two aces or two 3s. Put out a second bet equal to your original bet and signal that you want to split by holding your index and middle fingers apart. The dealer will spread your original two cards apart, with each becoming the first card of a new hand.
When you split aces, you get only one card on each. When you split any other pair, you decide whether to stand, double, hit or even re-split to a third hand as the dealer gives you additional cards.
In Pennsylvania, players may double after a split. That rule is good for the players and increases the number of times when splitting is the right play. Say you split your 8s and are dealt a 3, giving you a first-hand total of 11. You can double your original bet and get one more card on that hand before playing your second hand.
If the first card dealt to either hand makes a pair -- another 8, in the example above -- you re-split to a third hand. Pennsylvania allows only one re-split, so you could not start a fourth hand if you were dealt yet another 8.
Never split 5s or face cards. You'll be dealt a pair you might consider splitting about once every 20 or 25 hands in a 6-deck or 8-deck shoe.
Some players split every pair they get, simply because they can. That's the wrong play. Like hitting or standing, your decision to split depends mainly on the dealer's up card.
Sometimes, you split because it gives you a good chance of winding up with two winning hands; other times, you split because, overall, it will cost you less than hitting or standing.
Splits can make or break you. With the possibility of re-splitting and doubling after a split, you occasionally wind up with four or five bets at risk.
Here's how to play splits correctly:
2s and 3s: Split when the dealer shows a 2 through 7. Generic basic-strategy cards might say to split only against a 4 through 6, but those don't take into account the ability to double after splitting.
4s: Split against a 5 or 6. Generic basic strategy says never split 4s, but the double-after-split rule changes that.
5s: Never split. Treat the hand as a 10.
6s: Split against a 2 through 6, the dealer's weakest cards.
7s: Split against a 2 through 7.
8s: Always split, even against a 9, 10 or ace. It's better to start two hands with an 8 than play a total of 16. Over the long run, you'll lose less by splitting your 8s against high cards than you would by hitting or surrendering your 16. If you hit, you can expect to lose around $52 for every $100 bet; if you split, your expected loss drops to $43 for every $100 bet.
9s: Split against a 2 through 6 and an 8 or 9; stand against a 7, 10 or ace. This is a fun hand. Against the dealer's weak cards, you want to get more money on the table. Against the 7, your two-card total of 18 is likely to win. Against an 8 or 9, your 18 isn't as strong, and you will lose less often by splitting.
10s: Never split. Never. You have 20, which is tough to beat. Remember, even when showing a weak card, the dealer makes a hand more than half the time.
Aces: Always split. You're starting with two 11s instead of a total of 2 or 12. If you draw a face card, you're paid even money because you drew to 21 as opposed to being dealt a blackjack.
Tournament winner
Gerald Donahue of Johnstown won the $1,000 buy-in Labor Day Classic poker tournament at The Meadows. It drew 71 entrants and had a prize pool of $66,030. Donahue won $23,770. Stan Geier of Sewickley took second, winning $12,216.
Slot money
Pennsylvania's nine casinos had gross slot machine revenue of $47.32 million for the week ended Sept. 5. That's the amount used to figure the state's tax take. For the comparable week last year, gross slot revenue was $44 million.
Gross slot revenue for Western Pennsylvania casinos for week ending Sept. 5:
$5.27 million
Rivers, on bets totaling $61.95 million
$5.22 million
The Meadows, on bets totaling $62.38 million
$3.99 million
Presque Isle in Erie, on bets totaling $49.82 million
Double your blackjack fun by playing pairs correctly
[SIZE=-1]By Mark Gruetze
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, September 10, 2010 [/SIZE]
The old advertising jingle of "double your pleasure, double your fun" often applies when blackjack players are dealt a matching pair.
Say you have two 8s, while the dealer shows a 7. Instead of treating your hand as a 16, you should look at it as a chance to play two hands, each starting with eight.
Playing pairs correctly is an essential part of the basic strategy that reduces the house edge in blackjack to less than 0.4 percent under Pennsylvania rules.
To split, you must begin with two cards of equal value -- for example, two 8s, two aces or two 3s. Put out a second bet equal to your original bet and signal that you want to split by holding your index and middle fingers apart. The dealer will spread your original two cards apart, with each becoming the first card of a new hand.
When you split aces, you get only one card on each. When you split any other pair, you decide whether to stand, double, hit or even re-split to a third hand as the dealer gives you additional cards.
In Pennsylvania, players may double after a split. That rule is good for the players and increases the number of times when splitting is the right play. Say you split your 8s and are dealt a 3, giving you a first-hand total of 11. You can double your original bet and get one more card on that hand before playing your second hand.
If the first card dealt to either hand makes a pair -- another 8, in the example above -- you re-split to a third hand. Pennsylvania allows only one re-split, so you could not start a fourth hand if you were dealt yet another 8.
Never split 5s or face cards. You'll be dealt a pair you might consider splitting about once every 20 or 25 hands in a 6-deck or 8-deck shoe.
Some players split every pair they get, simply because they can. That's the wrong play. Like hitting or standing, your decision to split depends mainly on the dealer's up card.
Sometimes, you split because it gives you a good chance of winding up with two winning hands; other times, you split because, overall, it will cost you less than hitting or standing.
Splits can make or break you. With the possibility of re-splitting and doubling after a split, you occasionally wind up with four or five bets at risk.
Here's how to play splits correctly:
2s and 3s: Split when the dealer shows a 2 through 7. Generic basic-strategy cards might say to split only against a 4 through 6, but those don't take into account the ability to double after splitting.
4s: Split against a 5 or 6. Generic basic strategy says never split 4s, but the double-after-split rule changes that.
5s: Never split. Treat the hand as a 10.
6s: Split against a 2 through 6, the dealer's weakest cards.
7s: Split against a 2 through 7.
8s: Always split, even against a 9, 10 or ace. It's better to start two hands with an 8 than play a total of 16. Over the long run, you'll lose less by splitting your 8s against high cards than you would by hitting or surrendering your 16. If you hit, you can expect to lose around $52 for every $100 bet; if you split, your expected loss drops to $43 for every $100 bet.
9s: Split against a 2 through 6 and an 8 or 9; stand against a 7, 10 or ace. This is a fun hand. Against the dealer's weak cards, you want to get more money on the table. Against the 7, your two-card total of 18 is likely to win. Against an 8 or 9, your 18 isn't as strong, and you will lose less often by splitting.
10s: Never split. Never. You have 20, which is tough to beat. Remember, even when showing a weak card, the dealer makes a hand more than half the time.
Aces: Always split. You're starting with two 11s instead of a total of 2 or 12. If you draw a face card, you're paid even money because you drew to 21 as opposed to being dealt a blackjack.
Tournament winner
Gerald Donahue of Johnstown won the $1,000 buy-in Labor Day Classic poker tournament at The Meadows. It drew 71 entrants and had a prize pool of $66,030. Donahue won $23,770. Stan Geier of Sewickley took second, winning $12,216.
Slot money
Pennsylvania's nine casinos had gross slot machine revenue of $47.32 million for the week ended Sept. 5. That's the amount used to figure the state's tax take. For the comparable week last year, gross slot revenue was $44 million.
Gross slot revenue for Western Pennsylvania casinos for week ending Sept. 5:
$5.27 million
Rivers, on bets totaling $61.95 million
$5.22 million
The Meadows, on bets totaling $62.38 million
$3.99 million
Presque Isle in Erie, on bets totaling $49.82 million
