Most of these rule effects have been calculated by using data from Peter Griffin's Theory of Blackjack. Note that the last five rules show effects of 00.00% for basic strategy players. Also, when it comes to the "bonus" rules, such as 6,7,8 suited or 7,7,7 pays 2 to 1, the general rule is to never change your basic strategy to try for a bonus payout.

In some cases, when a specific dollar amount is awarded for the bonus hand, the value is dependent on the player's bet size. For instance, if 6,7,8 suited pays a $100 bonus, then the percentage will be quite different for a player who has a $2 bet and a player who has a $200 bet. The first player would receive a 50 to 1 payout on his hand, while the second player would receive only an extra half-bet. The $2 bettor would likely be right to hit his hand against any dealer upcard, if his hand contained two of the needed suited cards. The $200 bettor would usually be in error if he hit the hand in violation of his basic/count strategy.

The best source book for determining the value of weird bonuses, and how to adjust your strategy when appropriate, is Stanford Wong's Basic Blackjack. All players who travel frequently to foreign countries, where some of the more unusual rules are in play, should have this book in their libraries; it defines the esoteric rules at work around the world, and provides the strategies for playing them.

Returning to the chart, note the huge negative effect of "BJ Pays 6 to 5," a rule now common in many Las Vegas single-deck games. This rule is a killer, and it's worse yet when BJ pays 1 to 1 (even money), as is standard in all "Super Fun 21" games. All those other "good" rules that the "Super Fun" game allows do not make up for this single punitive one. Serious card counters should stick with the traditional "BJ Pays 3 to 2" games.

Effects in Percent
Common Rules 1-Deck 2-Deck Multi-Deck
Double on 10-11 only: -0.26 -0.21 -0.18
Double on 9-10-11 only: -0.13 -0.11 -0.09
Hits Soft 17: -0.19 -0.20 -0.21
No Re-splits: -0.02 -0.03 -0.04
Double After Splits: +0.14 +0.14 +0.14
Re-split Aces: +0.03 +0.05 +0.07
Draw to Split Aces: +0.14 +0.14 +0.14
Late Surrender: +0.02 +0.05 +0.08
Late Surrender (H softl7): +0.03 +0.06 +0.09
Less Common Rules
Double on 8-9-10-11 only: -0.13 -0.11 -0.09
Double on 11 only: -0.78 -0.69 -0.64
Double after Ace splits: +0.10 +0.10 +0.10
Double on 3+ cards: +0.24 +0.23 +0.23
No Ace Splits: -0.16 -0.17 -0.18
Early Surrender: +0.62 +0.62 +0.63
Early Surrender (H soft 17): +0.70 +0.71 +0.72
Early Surrender v. 10 only: +0.19 +0.21 +0.24
BJ Pays 6 to 5: -1.40 -1.37 -1.36
BJ Pays 1 to 1: -2.32 -2.28 -2.26
BJ Pays 2 to 1: +2.32 +2.28 +2.26
Suited BJ Pays 2 to 1: +0.58 +0.57 +0.56
21 Pushes Dir. 10-up BJ: +0.20 +0.20 +0.20
No Hole Card (European): -0.10 -0.11 -0.11
5-card21 Pays 2 to 1: +0.20 +0.20 +0.20
6-card21 Pays 2 to 1: +0.10 +0.10 +0.10
Suited 678 Pays 2 to 1: +0.01 +0.01 +0.01
7-7-7 Pays 3 to 2: +0.01 +0.01 +0.01
6 Cards Un-busted Wins: +0.10 +0.10 +0.10
No Insurance: 00.00 00.00 00.00
Multi-Action: 00.00 00.00 00.00
Over/Under: 00.00 00.00 00.00
Royal Match 00.00 00.00 00.00
Super 7s: 00.00 00.00 00.00

Let's walk through the "off the top" expectations in a more typical blackjack game. Consider a standard Atlantic City 8-deck game, which allows double after splits, but no re-splits. The basic strategy expectation is derived by adding together the effects of both the number of decks in play, and the rules being used (from the multi-deck column):

8 Decks: -0.57
Double After Splits: +0.14
No Re-splits: -0.04
House Advantage: -0.47%

• The Number Of Decks In Play (0)
• The Blackjack Rules (0)
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The second condition you must consider is the set of rules used in the game. Some rules, notably those that offer more options, favor the player, assuming he applies the correct strategy. Among those options are surrender, doubling after splitting allowed, and re-splitting aces allowed.

Those rules that limit the player's options, such as doubling down on 10-11 only, or no re-splits, are disadvantageous to the player.

Some rules neither limit nor offer options to the player, but alter the dealer's procedure. An example of one such rule would be dealer hits soft seventeen. That's disadvantageous to the player. An advantageous dealer rule, used occasionally in short-term special promotions, would be "blackjack pays 2 to 1."

Another set of rules that work in the player's favor are the "bonus" rules, such as "dealer pays $XXX bonus to player hand of 6, 7, 8 same suit." Most bonuses, due to the rarity of bonus hands, have very small dollar value to the player.

Earlier, most of the common rules were explained. In this chapter, we'll look at the approximate effect of each rule on your basic strategy expectation. By adding the effect of the number of decks in play to the effects of the rule variations, you will know the house advantage against basic strategy players. Card counters call this the "starting advantage," or the advantage off the top.

Most rules, to be sure, affect card counters differently than they affect basic strategy players. The house edge off the top, however, is always an important consideration, as that's what you're working to overcome. For instance, insurance has no value to a basic strategy player, since correct basic strategy is to never take insurance. If a casino disallows insurance, however, this hurts card counters, since they profit from their selective insurance bets. Likewise, the surrender option has little value to basic strategy players—less than one-tenth of 1% increase in expectation. For a card counter, however, surrender is, like insurance, very valuable.

In order to figure out the starting advantage of a game, you should begin by defining a benchmark game—i.e., a set of standard rules, which you can then add to or subtract from. Most authors define this benchmark game as Vegas Strip rules:

1. Dealer stands on soft 17.
2. You may double down on any 2 original cards.
3. You may not double down after splitting a pair.
4. You may split any pair.
5. You may re-split any pair except aces.
6. Split aces receive only one card each.
7. No surrender.
8. Dealer either receives a hole card, or the player's original bet only is lost if the player doubles down or splits a pair and the dealer gets a blackjack (and the extra amount bet is returned to the player).
9. Insurance is allowed up to one-half the player's bet, and pays 2 to 1.
10. Player blackjack is paid 3 to 2.
The effect of any other rules must be accounted for in determining your starting advantage. The chart below shows how these rules affect the game.

• The Number Of Decks In Play (0)
• The Blackjack Rules Part2 (0)
• The Number Of Players At Blackjack The Table (0)

First consider the effect of the number of decks shuffled together. All other conditions being equal, single-deck games would be the most profitable for card counters.

The more decks being used, the less profitable the game becomes, not only for card counters, but for basic strategy players as well. A single-deck Vegas Strip game (blackjack pays 3 to 2, double down on any two cards, and dealer stands on soft 17), is pretty close to being a break even proposition for a basic strategy player. With four or more decks in play, and the same set of rules, the house has about a 1/2% edge. Use this chart to estimate your basic strategy (dis)advantage due to the number of decks in play:

# Decks Advantage
l +0.02%
2 -0.31%
3 -0.43%
4 -0.48%
5 -0.52%
6 -0.54%
7 -0.55%
8 -0.57%

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• The Blackjack Rules (0)
• The Number Of Players At Blackjack The Table (0)