"Double Attack" Blackjack

[davebreal]

link

anyone here ever play this game? i played it in Harrah's in AC this weekend. I think my biggest mistake was "attacking" (aka doubling) against dealer's 2's and 3's. i don't have much black experience overall to begin with.

i guess this is a signifigantly -EV game?

[HeroInBlack]

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i don't have much black experience overall to begin with.


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PM DS.

They say you can never go back.

[TheJunkyardGod]

I'm going to assume you know that they take the 10's out of the deck right?

I've dealt this a handful of times and I can't remember anyone winning.

I think that explains why I stood at a dead table for such a long time.

[davebreal]

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I'm going to assume you know that they take the 10's out of the deck right?

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yeah, i know that, but wouldn't stacking your bet up againt a "bad" dealer card (i.e. 4,5,6), signficantly improve your overall EV?

[bpb]

Check

http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/show...619&page=3

For a discussion on this game.

[CORed]

I'm not familiar with the game but it sounds like a variant of Spanish 21 (or just another name for it). To answer your question, no, doubling against the "bad" dealer cards probably doesn't make up for the removal of 10's from the deck, because that both makes the "bad" dealer cards significantly less bad, and significantly reduces your chances of getting a good card for your double.

News flash: The casinos are in business to take your money, and they rarely do anything to improve your chances of winning without doing something else to offset it, or, more commonly, more than offset it.

[bpb]

In double attack BJ, you can double your bet after you see the dealer's upcard, but before you are dealt your hand. Thus, you double your bet vs a dealer 2-8. This has nothing to do with doubling down.

The game has a very low house edge when played properly. Same for Spanish 21. In many cases, both these games will have the lower house advantages than standard blackjack for proper play.

The key here though is proper play. Common ploppy errors of not hitting often enough are far more costly in games where all of the Ts are removed. Spanish 21 basic strategy has you hitting your 12s and 13s vs all dealer upcards. Very few ploppies play that way. As such, though the house edge for perfect play is lower than that of standard blackjack, the actual casino hold is likely much greater than that of standard blackjack.

These games are certainly beatable with counting. However, they are not as profitable as counting regular blackjack under similar conditions. Other circumstances can make these games more attractive than blackjack though. I'd rather play Spanish 21 heads up with a 1-20 spread with no heat, than play at a full blackjack table where they're sweating my 1-10 spread.