- Blackjack Switch Odds Vs Regular Blackjack Game
- Blackjack Switch Odds Vs Regular Blackjack Odds
- Blackjack Switch Odds Vs Regular Blackjack Against
- Blackjack Switch Odds Vs Regular Blackjack Poker
Regular blackjack payouts stand at 3:2 while switch blackjack odds online payouts stand at 1 to 1. Blackjack Switch Counting Of Cards? When it comes to overall Blackjack Switch odds, the casino has a very small edge of around 0.5% for most games – essentially the same as standard blackjack. That makes it one of the better casino games for the player, roughly on par with other games such as video poker and craps. Gate777 Casino 4.1 /5.
With the use of the right blackjack basic strategy, you will have the opportunity to turn the casino edge in blackjack from 7-8 percent down to just 0. If you can properly count cards, you can repeatedly alter the blackjack odds and gain the upper hand over the casino. Blackjack Switch Video Poker. And explain your chances of winning with a look at the house edge and blackjack odds. Regular Blackjack 0.5%. Since in a live blackjack game at the tables you can expect a blackjack every 21 hands or so, this disadvantage of losing the bonus money loses an additional 2.3 percent to the house edge. If you take into account that the normal house edge for blackjack is only less than half a percent for a perfect strategy player, this is quite a hit on the.
Blackjack Switch is a casino gambling game invented by Geoff Hall and patented in 2009.[1] It is based on blackjack, but differs in that two hands, rather than one, are dealt to each playing position, and the player is initially allowed to exchange ('switch') the top two cards between hands. Natural blackjacks are paid 1:1 instead of the standard 3:2, and a dealer hard 22 pushes all player hands except a natural.
History[edit]
Blackjack Switch was conceived after Hall - who was a card counter at the time - became frustrated at being dealt 2 weak hands when playing Blackjack that could be improved dramatically if the top two cards were allowed to be switched. Hall then developed this idea and exhibited the game at the G2E conference in Las Vegas in October 2000. Blackjack Switch was installed in Harvey's Casino in Iowa in February 2001. After this Hall modified the game to include the ‘Push on 22' rule in 2003. This modification led to the game being installed in Four Queens in December 2003.[2] The game has since become widely available in offline casinos in Las Vegas and around the world and is offered online only by Playtech casinos. Further games developed by Hall that are found in Las Vegas casinos include Free Bet Blackjack,Zombie Blackjack, and Zappit.[3]
Play[edit]
Blackjack Switch is played with four, six or eight 52-card decks which are shuffled together. The shuffled cards are dealt from a dealing shoe or a shuffling machine.
A semicircular card table with a similar layout to blackjack is used. Each playing position has two betting boxes, rather than one, and the initial wagers in these two boxes must be identical. However, each corresponds to a separate hand; during play they may be doubled and split independently, and are resolved separately.
In the initial deal, the dealer puts one card face up on each box of each playing position starting from his left, deals a face-up card to himself, and then a further card to each box left to right. After resolving any side bet, the dealer then consults each player in turn, initially asking them whether they wish to 'switch' their top cards. Any new slot machines at foxwoods. For example, if the player is dealt 10-5 and 6-10, then the player may switch to transform the two hands into 10-10 and 6-5. After a player has made a decision whether or not to switch, the dealer offers him the chance to hit, stand or double, firstly for the hand on the player's right-hand box, then for the one on the left. As in blackjack, a player hand which exceeds 21 is 'bust'; its cards are removed and its backing wager acquired by the house.
When all players have been consulted, the dealer plays out his hand according to blackjack-style drawing rules, with the difference that a dealer hand of 22 is not a bust but a push (a tie) against any surviving player hand; the only exception is a player blackjack which has not been obtained by switching or splitting.
The small variations in dealer drawing rules between casinos which are found in blackjack are also found in Blackjack Switch, such as whether the dealer must stand or hit on soft 17 (a hand totalling 17 but containing an ace counted as 11. A-6 or A-3-3, for example), whether even money/insurance is offered, whether a player may double after a split, and whether a player may hit split aces.
Strategy[edit]
The strategy of Blackjack Switch covers both the switch decision and the subsequent decisions of whether to stand, double, or draw a further card which are familiar from blackjack strategy. Quick tips to win blackjack.
The switch decision[edit]
The correct decision regarding whether to switch is sometimes obvious, particularly when there is the largest difference in advantage. However, borderline and counter-intuitive cases are relatively common, and switching strategy is hard to summarize. While an often-quoted rule of thumb is to choose the option that forms or preserves the best single hand, this is unreliable; sometimes it is even correct to break up a natural by switching, for instance in the case AT + T[3-8] vs. dealer 7, 8 or 9. The correct switching choice depends on the dealer card in a significant minority of cases. Near-optimal schemes which can be learnt have been developed by several authors: Arnold Snyder presents a protocol for switching decisions based on four categories of hand, 'winner', 'push', 'loser' and 'chance'[4] which he claims reduces the house edge to 0.25% under his ruleset. Cindy Liu presents a scheme based on assigning a point value to the dealt hands and those produced by switching.[5]
Basic strategy after the switch decision[edit]
Basic strategy for playing out blackjack switch hands, after the switching decision has been made, is tabulated below, for a game in which the dealer hits soft 17 and peeks for blackjack. Compared to traditional blackjack, in Blackjack Switch there are fewer occasions where doubling or splitting is rewarding, and more occasions where it is correct to hit at the risk of going bust. The differences originate from the push-on-dealer-22 rule.
Player's hand | Dealer's face-up card | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | |
Hard totals | ||||||||||
17-20 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
14-16 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
13 | H | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
12 | H | H | H | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
11 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H | H |
10 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H | H | H |
9 | H | H | H | H | D | H | H | H | H | H |
5-8 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
Soft totals | ||||||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | |
A,8, A,9 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
A,7 | S | S | S | D | D | S | S | H | H | H |
A,6 | H | H | H | D | D | H | H | H | H | H |
A,5 | H | H | H | H | D | H | H | H | H | H |
A,2-A,4 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
Pairs | ||||||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | |
A, A | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP |
10,10 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
9,9 | S | S | SP | SP | SP | S | SP | SP | S | S |
8,8 | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | H | H |
7,7 | S | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | H | H | H | H |
6,6 | H | H | SP | SP | SP | H | H | H | H | H |
5,5 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H | H | H |
4,4 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
2,2 3,3 | H | H | H | SP | SP | SP | H | H | H | H |
Key:
- S = Stand
- H = Hit
- D = Double
- SP = Split
Side bet[edit]
Blackjack Switch tables typically allow a side bet, called Super Match, which rewards pairs, three-of-a-kind, two-pairs or four-of-a-kind among the four initial cards comprising the players two hands. For a 6-deck game, the Super Match bet pays out 1 to 1 if there a pair is present, 5 to 1 for three of a kind, 8 to 1 for two pairs and 40 to 1 for four of a kind.[6] This seems to mitigate the adverse effect on the player of the case where the two top or bottom cards are identical, which robs the player of a meaningful switching decision, although, like most side bets, playing it increases the house edge.
References[edit]
- ^Norm Wattenberger. 'Modern Blackjack'. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ^ThePOGG (27 November 2012). 'ThePOGG Interviews – Geoff Hall – The creator of Blackjack Switch'.
- ^Michael Shackleford. 'Blackjack Info Interview with Geoff Hall'. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^Snyder, Arnold (2006). The Big Book of Blackjack. New York: Cardoza Publishing. pp. 229–45. ISBN1-58042-155-5.
- ^Shackleford, Michael (May 2011). 'Switching decision'. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ^'Blackjack Switch'. blackjackswitch.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
External links[edit]
Blackjack Switch is an original variation of the popular casino-banked card game and was invented by Geoff Hall, who patented his creation in 2019. The game was adapted for online play by supplier Playtech and is currently available across a large number of web-based casinos using this software.
The most distinctive trait of Blackjack Switch is that you play two hands at a time and have the option to switch the top card between the two, thus improving your odds of winning. This interesting twist makes Blackjack Switch extremely exciting to play but it also increases the game's level of complexity in terms of strategy.
With the use of the right blackjack basic strategy, you will have the opportunity to turn the casino edge in blackjack from 7-8 percent down to just 0. If you can properly count cards, you can repeatedly alter the blackjack odds and gain the upper hand over the casino. Blackjack Switch Video Poker. And explain your chances of winning with a look at the house edge and blackjack odds. Regular Blackjack 0.5%. Since in a live blackjack game at the tables you can expect a blackjack every 21 hands or so, this disadvantage of losing the bonus money loses an additional 2.3 percent to the house edge. If you take into account that the normal house edge for blackjack is only less than half a percent for a perfect strategy player, this is quite a hit on the.
Blackjack Switch is a casino gambling game invented by Geoff Hall and patented in 2009.[1] It is based on blackjack, but differs in that two hands, rather than one, are dealt to each playing position, and the player is initially allowed to exchange ('switch') the top two cards between hands. Natural blackjacks are paid 1:1 instead of the standard 3:2, and a dealer hard 22 pushes all player hands except a natural.
History[edit]
Blackjack Switch was conceived after Hall - who was a card counter at the time - became frustrated at being dealt 2 weak hands when playing Blackjack that could be improved dramatically if the top two cards were allowed to be switched. Hall then developed this idea and exhibited the game at the G2E conference in Las Vegas in October 2000. Blackjack Switch was installed in Harvey's Casino in Iowa in February 2001. After this Hall modified the game to include the ‘Push on 22' rule in 2003. This modification led to the game being installed in Four Queens in December 2003.[2] The game has since become widely available in offline casinos in Las Vegas and around the world and is offered online only by Playtech casinos. Further games developed by Hall that are found in Las Vegas casinos include Free Bet Blackjack,Zombie Blackjack, and Zappit.[3]
Play[edit]
Blackjack Switch is played with four, six or eight 52-card decks which are shuffled together. The shuffled cards are dealt from a dealing shoe or a shuffling machine.
A semicircular card table with a similar layout to blackjack is used. Each playing position has two betting boxes, rather than one, and the initial wagers in these two boxes must be identical. However, each corresponds to a separate hand; during play they may be doubled and split independently, and are resolved separately.
In the initial deal, the dealer puts one card face up on each box of each playing position starting from his left, deals a face-up card to himself, and then a further card to each box left to right. After resolving any side bet, the dealer then consults each player in turn, initially asking them whether they wish to 'switch' their top cards. Any new slot machines at foxwoods. For example, if the player is dealt 10-5 and 6-10, then the player may switch to transform the two hands into 10-10 and 6-5. After a player has made a decision whether or not to switch, the dealer offers him the chance to hit, stand or double, firstly for the hand on the player's right-hand box, then for the one on the left. As in blackjack, a player hand which exceeds 21 is 'bust'; its cards are removed and its backing wager acquired by the house.
When all players have been consulted, the dealer plays out his hand according to blackjack-style drawing rules, with the difference that a dealer hand of 22 is not a bust but a push (a tie) against any surviving player hand; the only exception is a player blackjack which has not been obtained by switching or splitting.
The small variations in dealer drawing rules between casinos which are found in blackjack are also found in Blackjack Switch, such as whether the dealer must stand or hit on soft 17 (a hand totalling 17 but containing an ace counted as 11. A-6 or A-3-3, for example), whether even money/insurance is offered, whether a player may double after a split, and whether a player may hit split aces.
Strategy[edit]
The strategy of Blackjack Switch covers both the switch decision and the subsequent decisions of whether to stand, double, or draw a further card which are familiar from blackjack strategy. Quick tips to win blackjack.
The switch decision[edit]
The correct decision regarding whether to switch is sometimes obvious, particularly when there is the largest difference in advantage. However, borderline and counter-intuitive cases are relatively common, and switching strategy is hard to summarize. While an often-quoted rule of thumb is to choose the option that forms or preserves the best single hand, this is unreliable; sometimes it is even correct to break up a natural by switching, for instance in the case AT + T[3-8] vs. dealer 7, 8 or 9. The correct switching choice depends on the dealer card in a significant minority of cases. Near-optimal schemes which can be learnt have been developed by several authors: Arnold Snyder presents a protocol for switching decisions based on four categories of hand, 'winner', 'push', 'loser' and 'chance'[4] which he claims reduces the house edge to 0.25% under his ruleset. Cindy Liu presents a scheme based on assigning a point value to the dealt hands and those produced by switching.[5]
Basic strategy after the switch decision[edit]
Basic strategy for playing out blackjack switch hands, after the switching decision has been made, is tabulated below, for a game in which the dealer hits soft 17 and peeks for blackjack. Compared to traditional blackjack, in Blackjack Switch there are fewer occasions where doubling or splitting is rewarding, and more occasions where it is correct to hit at the risk of going bust. The differences originate from the push-on-dealer-22 rule.
Player's hand | Dealer's face-up card | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | |
Hard totals | ||||||||||
17-20 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
14-16 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
13 | H | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
12 | H | H | H | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
11 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H | H |
10 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H | H | H |
9 | H | H | H | H | D | H | H | H | H | H |
5-8 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
Soft totals | ||||||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | |
A,8, A,9 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
A,7 | S | S | S | D | D | S | S | H | H | H |
A,6 | H | H | H | D | D | H | H | H | H | H |
A,5 | H | H | H | H | D | H | H | H | H | H |
A,2-A,4 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
Pairs | ||||||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A | |
A, A | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP |
10,10 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
9,9 | S | S | SP | SP | SP | S | SP | SP | S | S |
8,8 | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | H | H |
7,7 | S | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | H | H | H | H |
6,6 | H | H | SP | SP | SP | H | H | H | H | H |
5,5 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H | H | H |
4,4 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
2,2 3,3 | H | H | H | SP | SP | SP | H | H | H | H |
Key:
- S = Stand
- H = Hit
- D = Double
- SP = Split
Side bet[edit]
Blackjack Switch tables typically allow a side bet, called Super Match, which rewards pairs, three-of-a-kind, two-pairs or four-of-a-kind among the four initial cards comprising the players two hands. For a 6-deck game, the Super Match bet pays out 1 to 1 if there a pair is present, 5 to 1 for three of a kind, 8 to 1 for two pairs and 40 to 1 for four of a kind.[6] This seems to mitigate the adverse effect on the player of the case where the two top or bottom cards are identical, which robs the player of a meaningful switching decision, although, like most side bets, playing it increases the house edge.
References[edit]
- ^Norm Wattenberger. 'Modern Blackjack'. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ^ThePOGG (27 November 2012). 'ThePOGG Interviews – Geoff Hall – The creator of Blackjack Switch'.
- ^Michael Shackleford. 'Blackjack Info Interview with Geoff Hall'. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^Snyder, Arnold (2006). The Big Book of Blackjack. New York: Cardoza Publishing. pp. 229–45. ISBN1-58042-155-5.
- ^Shackleford, Michael (May 2011). 'Switching decision'. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ^'Blackjack Switch'. blackjackswitch.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
External links[edit]
Blackjack Switch is an original variation of the popular casino-banked card game and was invented by Geoff Hall, who patented his creation in 2019. The game was adapted for online play by supplier Playtech and is currently available across a large number of web-based casinos using this software.
The most distinctive trait of Blackjack Switch is that you play two hands at a time and have the option to switch the top card between the two, thus improving your odds of winning. This interesting twist makes Blackjack Switch extremely exciting to play but it also increases the game's level of complexity in terms of strategy.
How to Play Blackjack Switch
Blackjack Switch is not all that difficult to master rules-wise as it borrows most of its rules from traditional blackjack. The bottom line is you will experience no difficulties in grasping the rules of this bespoke variation if you are already accustomed to playing regular 21.
The key thing in this version of the game is that you need to post two bets per round to cover each of the two hands you play. There is also an additional optional wager called the Super Match side bet. Other than these peculiarities, the objective of the player is the same as that in the traditional version of the game – beat the dealer with a higher hand total without exceeding 21.
Basic Rules and Payouts
Since the ability to switch cards between your two hands improves your odds of winning, some of the other rules of Blackjack Switch have been tweaked to compensate for this. The game is dealt out of a shoe containing multiple decks but the exact number varies in different landbased casinos. Some gambling halls use four, others go for six or eight decks.
The online variation by Playtech, in particular, uses six standard decks of cards, which are shuffled together after each round of play. Like in standard blackjack, here you have the option to hit, stand, split, double down, and buy insurance.
However, here the dealer hits soft 17 and peeks for naturals when showing an Ace or a ten-value card. Surrendering a hand is not possible in Blackjack Switch. Blackjacks pay even money. Instead of busting, the dealer pushes with the player when having a hand total of 22.
Insurance
Insurance is a prop bet offered to Blackjack Switch players when the dealer's exposed card is an Ace. To buy insurance, players are required to post an extra wager equal to half of the amount they have originally staked.
A winning insurance bet pays at a rate of 2 to 1 but only if the dealer has a ten-value card in the hole for a blackjack. If so, you win your insurance bet but lose your initial wager, which basically means you break even for the round.
Insurance is generally a bad bet to make. It yields a bigger house edge and inevitably gives you negative expectation. With insurance, you are practically wagering that the dealer has a ten in the hole for a blackjack.
This side bet has zero impact on your odds of winnings your original hand. Contrary to popular belief, insurance does not protect your hand against dealer blackjacks. Because of this, basic strategy players are recommended to never insure their hands.
Double Down
Blackjack Switch Odds Vs Regular Blackjack Game
Blackjack Switch players have the option to double down on any two-card total they like, which enables them to bank on the occasions when the dealer is in a tough spot and more likely to lose.
Doubling down requires the player to post an additional wager that is equal to their original bet, although some landbased casinos offering the game do allow you to double down for less.
However, this is not a smart idea because it prevents you from profiting to the fullest from advantageous situations. Doubling after you split is allowed here as well.
Blackjack Switch Odds Vs Regular Blackjack Odds
Splitting
Yukon gold casino mega moolah. Splitting is also available in Blackjack Switch and is possible when the player is dealt a pair of cards of the same value. Unlike ten-value cards like Queen and Jack can also be split here. Again, an additional bet is needed to cover the split. You can split twice to form a total of four hands.
Super Match Payouts
Blackjack Players have the option to post a side bet called the Super Match. Interestingly, this pays whenever you form specific poker hands with your initial two hands. The Super Match payouts are as follows:
- even money for one pair
- 5 to 1 for three of a kind
- 8 to 1 for two pairs
- 40 to 1 for four of a kind
Blackjack Switch Odds Vs Regular Blackjack Against
House Edge and RTP
Blackjack Switch Odds Vs Regular Blackjack Poker
Despite the disadvantageous rule adjustments, Blackjack Switch does not yield a big house edge. The theoretical return of the Playtech variation stands at 99.87%, which is quite decent. In turn, this translates into a house edge as low as 0.13% but this applies if you play in accordance with the optimal strategy for this game.
On a side note, the basic strategy for Blackjack Switch is different than that of regular variants of the game. For instance, when one of your hands consists of paired Aces and the other one totals 10 or 11, it is best not to split the Aces.