Black Jack Question

Dealer is showing an Ace and you hit a BJ, do you take the even money or hope for a natural BJ? My thinking is to take the even money because you guarantee winning money. What are your thoughts on this?

JT

I always play the odds, therefore I never taken even money. I know many say to take the "sure thing" but I'll stick to the odds.

That's assuming you aren't playing at a 6:5 table (which you should never do). But if you are, then yes take it (I doubt it would be offered at those tables anyway).

Taking the Even Money is a much more conservative way of playing but by doing this, the player is giving up an additional one half of their bet for an event that will happen on average only about 30.7% of the time (since there basically is only about a 4 out of 13 chance [if the Dealer had the 10, J, Q or K as his/he Down Card] that the Dealer would have the Blackjack).

But, if a player were a Card Counter who had a much better idea of the imbalance of Tens and Aces, then it would be better for the Player to take the Even Money if the Player felt that it was more likely than not that the Dealer's Down Card was a 10-Value Card.

And yes, please avoid playing at any table where Blackjack is paying Players 6 To 5 because that is actually a big drain on Players' money!

RecVPPlayer

RVP is absolutely correct. Every bj expert I've ever read advises against taking the even money. For me, I can win even money on lots of hands but winning 3:2 is a thrill. I mean, that's why they call it gambling.

fredo

Two thoughts on this one!

First, I never take even money as it is a bad bet unless you are really scraping for cash and then it is still a bad bet but may be understandable.

Second, it is bad kharma for the table....more or less saying give me mine and screw the rest of you!

I am always in it with the table!

Taking even money is more for morale than anything else. It is a bad bet, mathematically, unless you are counting cards and have determined that the deck is very rich with 10-power cards.

The funny thing is, I just got my Casino Player magazine yesterday and lo & behold, that was a reader's letter sent in and answered! They agreed it's a bad bet unless you're a card counter!

And if you are a counter, or at least a good one, you wouldn't have to ask this question in the first place

Devils advocate here, and I usually don't take even money.

But on occasion, it seems like there is a run of dealer having blackjacks. On such occasions, I might take the even money, if I'm not down on money. I know there is no logic to doing so. Just those "feelings"...and like my dealer said, the feeling "is probably gas, and it will pass." LOL

It's very straightforward: Taking even money on the natural is mathematically equivalent to taking insurance (you can easily work this out for yourself). "Insurance" is kind of a misnomer, or marketing hype; you're not "insuring" anything, you're simply betting that the dealer has a ten card in the hole, nothing more, nothing less. People get the idea that they should "insure" a 20 or a natural, but not a stiff. Completely wrong idea, you're just betting on the hole card.

That being said, the optimal play for insurance is easy: Never take insurance, unless you're counting the cards.

If you make the mathematically best play on every hand, you'll do well. What happens on any single hand doesn't really matter, nor does hindsight ("see, I should have hit my 18...").