Heineken-Ashi said:In a single deck game, I'd be pissed if you hit a 16 with the dealer showing a 5 and ended up getting an ace or face card. Or if you split something stupid.Charismatic Megafauna said:
Ok since it's the weekend, i was playing free blackjack at a company thing and since I'm a degenerate and it was free i split something dumb and this dude at the table got on me with that "hey man you're stealing his cards" silliness. Now you guys, who i have come to believe are intelligent, logical dudes who have a decent understanding of probabilities, are talking about it. You're saying that in a multi deck game, you honestly believe that me taking an extra card (or two or 3) by splitting does anything to materially change what the following card or two or three will do for your hand?
In a multi-deck game, ya, you might take a couple good cards out of the deck, but it doesn't bother me as much.
My strategy is simple. The goal is minimize losses and maximize winnings. Booking profits and letting winners run.
Sit down at the table. Figure out what your personal minimum will be and don't waver from that. Place your min bet. Once you win 3 in a row, you are on a streak. If you are playing $10 hands, you are $30 in the green. Add a chip. If you win, you're $50 in the green. Add a chip. Win, you're $80 in the green. Add a chip. If you win this one, you've booked $120. Pocket it and go back to your starting balance and drop back to minimum bet. Streaks in BJ come to an end and winning more than 6 in a row is extremely rare.
With this strategy, double and splits can be costly, but you are usually getting the chance with house money to use. If you win them, they are extremely profitable. And if at any point within the max 6 hand winning streak you lose the original hand (50% on a split doesn't count), you go back to the min bet. 21 is pure icing on the cake in all of these situations.
And if the table is cold, you came in with a set amount of money to spend. When it's gone it's gone. Can't win them all. But using the 10x of min bet threshold to determine your going in balance, it's pretty hard to lose out if you aren't playing silly or making stupid choices. Tables go from hot to cold all the time. Trying to pick a hot table and jump around when they go cold to new tables.. it's taxing and frankly not fun. Employ this strategy and you will profit immensely when it's hot and lose the minimum when its cold.
Lastly, if you hit 15's and 16's, you ALWAYS hit them unless dealer is showing 2-6. Don't mix up your strategy. Be consistent.
Unless you're counting, even simple strategy that requires very little attention and skill. If a deck is heavy in one direction or the other it absolutely changes strategy. If it's a new shoe, play standard strategy, and consistent. But as the deck changes then strategy should shift with it. Including when to hit or stay, and how big your bet is. The parallels to trading strategy is actually a very good comparison.