Blackjack Switch Appendix 1

Introduction

Making the decision to switch is often complex. However, most scenarios will clarify this choice. The subsequent tables are designed to help determine whether a switch is advantageous in various situations according to standard rules. The left column indicates the player's hand, while the dealer's up card is displayed at the top. To utilize the table effectively, compute the expected values for both switching and not switching; then play the hand with the higher expected value. An example follows the table. It's also crucial to recognize that the value assigned to a blackjack differs based on whether it is natural or achieved through switching. Most casinos count a switched blackjack as 21 points, which results in a push against a dealer's 21 or 22.

Example: In the first hand, there’s Q7, in the second hand, there’s 9J, and the dealer is showing a 2. The player cannot switch to achieve a total of 17 and 19, or they can switch to reach 20 and 16. Calculating, the value for 17 and 19 is -0.3081 + 0.2264 = -0.0817. Conversely, for 20 and 16, it comes out to 0.4829 - 0.4385 = +0.0444. Thus, in this scenario, opting for 20 and 16 is the better choice, indicating that the player should switch.

The switching strategy derived from the Las Vegas rules table has an error rate of only 548 instances out of 100,000 plays, making the chance of an error just 0.37%. Such errors would marginally increase the house edge by only 0.0002%. There exist around 300 variations between switching strategies used in Playtech and those in Las Vegas rules, primarily occurring when the dealer is showing a 6, 10, or an ace, with no discrepancies when the dealer displays an 8.

Strategy Calculator

My Blackjack Switch calculator This tool, provided by Jing Ding, will help determine when to switch in any context. The calculator is built on Playtech rules along with an assumption of an infinite deck.

Links

• German translation of this article.
• Free Online Game

Written by: Michael Shackleford