Was just wondering what the bs play would be for a black jack againt the dealers ace. I haven't got to the counting yet so no clever stuff, my local game offers evens if you show a BJ and the dealers up card is a A. What do you do, take evens or play hoping the dealer doesnt flip a 10?
Cheers
Jim
There is an important exception to this discussion. For instance,
if suited bjs pay 2-1, then you are better off insuring and not
accepting even money. If the dealer has it, you get paid even mon
ey. If she doesn't have it, you receive 3-2 on your suited bj.
In this case there would be no such thing as even money. Even money IS insurance. "Even money" is only a nickname. The dealer is not supposed to be allowed to pay you even money if you are holding a suited BJ that pays 2:1. Since the amount given up in taking insurance and the dealer not having BJ is still 1/2 bet, I assume the index remains the same. Not positive though.
Krill the G
I kinda get what your saying about the insurance (being a nick for offering evens and also the gains being the same should the dealer draw a 10) but insurance is not offered by the house in any form also and I dont know how much effect this has on the play but the dealers second card is not dealt until all players have stuck on their hands.
The game is just straight bj, no suited bonuses. 3/2 for a bj (UK, ive seen these rules in a few casinos now).
Evens when the dealer shows an ace seems to me like a slightly better deal to insurance as there is no extra outlay to get paid 1/1 and no risk of pushing??? AP Beginner logic is that :)
Rio
Evens IS insurace. The reason it is even money is because whether the dealer has blackjack or not, you are still ending up with the same amout if you take insurance. This is why it is called even money but it is still just the insurance side bet. In other words, your casino offers insurance but only if you are holding a blackjack. If you are not counting cards this is a bad bet! DO NOT take even money! You will lose more in the long run.
Good luck,
Krill the G
Even money is taking the insurance side-bet. It "appears" like even money since you are holding a blackjack.
1) If the dealer has BJ, you will will be paid 2:1 on the side bet and push the regular bet, resulting in even money.
2) If the dealer does not have BJ, you will lose the side bet and be paid 3:2 on the regular bet, resulting in even money.
The only reason the dealer settles up right away before even looking is because the result will be the same, even money.
if insurance is taken & the dealer has BJ is your BJ a push & the insurance pays 2-1 you get even money. If the dealer does NOT have BJ then the net result is 1/2 your bet on the hand because you lose the insurance (1/2 bet) & get paid even money for your BJ.
up is SuperFun 21. In SF21 all BJs pay even money except Diamond-
suited BJs pay 2:1. But in SF21 BJs are automatically paid -- there
are no pushes. So, the same rule of thumb applies as noted by Krillion
and bond -- if you don't count, don't take insurance.
One added
wrinkle is that in SF21 you are allowed to ALSO make the insurance
side bet even if you have an auto-pay BJ. But many dealers don't know
this rule -- if the count is high and you encounter this situation,
you may have to get a ruling to be allowed to play your ins bet.
The casino would need to settle insurance in a normal manner instead of settling up front, which coined the term "even money". What you describe is correct and also the same for every other hand with insurance. No difference.
One added wrinkle is that in SF21 you are allowed to ALSO make the insurance side bet even if you have an auto-pay BJ. But many dealers don't know this rule -- if the count is high and you encounter this situation, you may have to get a ruling to be allowed to play your ins bet.
Pig Barber is correct. Superfun practitioners may want to copy the dealer information linked below and carry a printout with them.
From the link: The player may place an insurance bet, even if he/she has a blackjack. The player always wins on the blackjack, whether or not an insurance bet has been placed. The insurance bet is always a separate side bet, paying 2-to-1.
Unfortunately, if you have to use it, it will mark you as a player who has at least done some research. If enough money is at stake, though, you may want to go ahead and take your chances with being backed off after they pay the bet.
The Superfun game manual also states that The player may place an insurance bet, even if he/she has a blackjack. Each pit with a Superfun game should have the manual available to the floor supervisor. Same caveat, of course, if you decide to press the issue when the dealer and pit are either ignorant or trying to cheat you.
It is comical to note how they are asking the dealers to outright lie to an unsuspecting patron:
QUESTION - HOW DO THE ODDS COMPARE TO A REGULAR 21 GAME AND HOW DO I PLAY?
ANSWER - THE ODDS ARE THE SAME AS MOST BLACKJACK GAMES. YOU PLAY THE SAME WAY YOU ALWAYS DO EXCEPT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MULTI-CARD DOUBLES AND SURRENDERS.
LOL!
So it is not the only game where it might come into play
An informed dealer will offer a player holding a bj insurance even if the player is holding a BJ, which is automatically paid.
The Rio in LV has/had single deck games with even pay BJ and double only 10/11s.
I've played many 2:1 promotions that paid 2:1 on both suited and non-suited blackjacks...and the casino offers even money and loves for you to take it.
Of course, when you have a 2:1 paying blackjack, you should buy insurance, when the count calls for it, which guarantees a 3:2 payoff if the dealer doesn't have it or an even money payoff if the dealer has blackjack.
Even money vs Insurance is confusing to dealers and some floorman alike. I was playing a pitch game alongside a nebbie (negative expectation bettor) and the dealer turned an Ace up. The nebbie put up an insurance bet without looking at his cards. The dealer had BJ and started to collect the bets and cards, but it turns out our hero was sitting on a face-down natural. The dealer had never seen this happen and called over the floorman, who had never seen this before either. He said that their casino did not offer insurance on a natural and he ruled the bets a push. After ten minutes (and a probable discussion with a superior) he realized his mistake, returned and directed the dealer to pay "even money" for the bet.
I wonder how long it would have taken for them to sort it out had my buddy taken insurance for less!
..Most of us who subscribe to the CBJN are already aware of that one. The off the top house odds are worse then the single deck game elsewhere in Vegas that deals down to the last card....imagine that..
D
that even money is not insurance. That even money is a separate bet entirely. I had never thought this was the case. I think the casino you speak of is making an error. It happens all the time but it does not mean it is correct. In the cases of these casino errors, or variation of the rules, I agree with Gorgon that this needs to be considered.
Thanks,
Krill the G
& they deal down to the last card, double on any, DAS, resplit aces, BJ pays even money:
What are the house odds vs player odds on this game?
is a shortcut for insurance. In a normal 3:2 game even money is the same thing as insurance. For naturals that pay 2:1, taking even money means taking a lot less than what you would make by taking insurance. Every casino allows you to take even money as it makes them more money in a 2:1 game to let you do it.
Now, sometimes, a pitboss or dealer will warn you not to take even money as a bad bet during a 2:1 promo. But most dealers are not aware that you can buy insurance on a blackjack and not take even money. During the 2:1 promo at the IP in Biloxi a dealer refused to take a separate insurance bet on a blackjack and we had to appeal to the pitboss to get the bet made.
