Pushovers sit here
Dear Mark, It seems to me that in blackjack the less you know the more right your decisions are. When it comes to splitting pairs, doubling, even hitting certain hands, I take a chance and generally go against common wisdom. Therefore, my thoughts are that it isn't worth the extra trouble to learn the correct strategy. Rory B.

Someone once said: "the first rules of holes is when you are in one, stop digging." Rory, You've got one big shovel. In blackjack, or any casino game for that matter, the less you know the more you should deride the analysis of anyone who has the knowledge and takes the trouble to study the subject from a mathematical perspective. Depending on how you play blackjack, you can gain the designation of professional player all the way down to a "sucker on a stool." Using guesswork, your playing style doesn't put you in the professional category; more like a "dupe in action."

You still lose, just less often
Dear Mark, Every basic strategy card, blackjack book, and yes, you, recommend splitting eights against a dealer 10. Well, fear gets the better of me, and I depart from correct play and just hit instead of splitting the pair. So what should I do about a hand that always seems to haunt me? Hit, split or play the hunch? Scott N.

You're right, Scott, eights against a 10 is a phantasmal hand that stalks most players like Marley's ghost. As my readers know, blackjack is a game where the proper hit, stand, splitting and doubling decisions are necessary in order to cut the house edge down to a minimum. These proper decisions are called basic strategy and have been arrived at by computer simulations of millions of hands. But fallacious logic tells you that splitting this hand creates two losers. Seems every time you split those eights you get, at best, two 10s. Then the dealer always has a nine or 10 in the hole, and bang, the jingling you hear is not Marley's forged chains but all your money falling into the dealer's tray. So what happens to the average player? He starts deviating from basic strategy because FEAR sets in. The FEAR is actually False Evidence Appearing Real. FEAR camouflages the logic of computer studies. But according to basic strategy, the proper move is to split 8s if the game you're playing doesn't allow surrender. Why? Because you will lose more money in the long run if you hit instead of splitting. Mathematically, when you just hit the hand, you will lose $51 for every $100 wagered. However, if you split, you will lose $44 for every $100 bet. A seven dollar difference for every hundred dollars wagered. Granted, Scott, it's a character builder to come out of pocket with additional money, but the key behind basic strategy is: Win more money not necessarily more hands.

Dear Mark, Nothing irks me more than when two pit bosses in the same casino interpret the rules differently. I had a pit boss allow me to replay my hand (I didn't signal a hit and the dealer hit me anyway for a bust). Another pit boss instructed the dealer to take my wife's money on an identical error one hour later. Don't they play from the same rule book? David M.

Floormen, a.k.a. dealing referees, at times render contrary decisions. Calling a particular play differently ultimately confuses casino clientele. You, and yes, even the dealer, have a very legitimate gripe against management on inconsistent calls. Casinos where customer service prevails always side with the player unless the mistake is illegal or egregious. Why lose a customer for life over a $10 error? They realize the math is always on the side of the casino. Funny how it works, David. When the house lets you keep your mistake, they always seem to get it back on the next hand.

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Dear Mark, Recently on a blackjack game I was ahead by more than $400. The pit boss after a brief introduction comped me a pass to the casino buffet. After eating a so-so meal I came back and proceed to give back all my winnings. In hindsight, isn't the meal offering a way of making me play longer? Buddy C.

Yes, because Nevada Revised Statute176.387 does not allow casinos to use Crazy Glue on casino stools to keep players in bondage until they lose all their winnings. Seriously, Buddy, free buffets are used by casino management primarily to encourage additional gambling. FREE and FOOD are subtle weapons that give the casinos an added firearm in reclaiming what they believe is still their money. The pit boss is simply treating you to a buffet so you feel obligated to play longer. Long enough so that the buffet will cost you $400. It is much better to learn to win and walk, not stay and suffer (money loss and abdominal duress).

Dear Mark, Why is it that when so many dealers get halfway through the deck, they shuffle up? It really slows down the game. David V.

Because management has egg-shell nerves when it comes to players using their brains-card counters. This fallacious behavior is unjustified and to casino executives whose belief is that their quarterly reports are in jeopardy by cerebral thinkers I offer a personal challenge: Conduct time and motion studies of your blackjack games. What the stewards of gambling will find out is that blackjack becomes more profitable for the casino when the dealer's shuffle points are deeper. By allowing additional deck penetration, the dealers will pitch more hands per hour and the action will more than make up for an occasional loss by a card sharpie. Besides, they employ pit bulls to run off the counters anyway.

Dear Mark, What are your thoughts about the blackjack game where you see the dealer's hole card in advance? Vince R.

Stick with the old tried and true, Vince. This form of blackjack is not worth playing. Because you lose pushes and only receive even money on blackjacks, the house edge is 2% higher than normal blackjack.

Dear Mark, Twice in past columns you have stated unequivocally that casinos do not cheat customers. You also mentioned the possibility of a rogue dealer affecting my chances of winning. Could you please give me an example of something a dishonest dealer could do to change the odds in the casino's favor? Billy T. An example would be of an unscrupulous dealer who preferential shuffles. Here a dealer is counting the deck down (card counting) and is aware of all the cards that have been dealt. If a lot of high cards have been previously pitched, meaning the deck is now rich in small cards, creating an apparent disadvantage for the player, the rogue dealer keeps dealing. On the other hand, if many small cards have surfaced, allowing a positive expectation for the player, the dealer would shuffle. By card counting, the unethical dealer now has total control over any favorable situation the player might have had.

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