Free Forum - Blackjack attack table percentage for all errors?

Drannith

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Feb 13, 2020, 7:15:14 PM

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I have been reading Black Jack Attack by Don Schlesinger and came upon a table that listed conditional penalties by percentage if you deviated from basic strategy. Using this to create a sort of "map" of cover plays to pick and choose how much I am willing to give up I had a question. Are the percentages the sum of all the mistakes you could make on a specific hand or is it based on the "next best decision"? An example would be not doubling A6 v 6, the percentage listed I am assuming is if you stood on the hand but what if you instead hit the hand?

Don Schlesinger

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Feb 13, 2020, 7:40:02 PM

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"I have been reading Black Jack Attack by Don Schlesinger"

Blackjack Attack.

"and came upon a table that listed conditional penalties by percentage if you deviated from basic strategy. Using this to create a sort of "map" of cover plays to pick and choose how much I am willing to give up I had a question. Are the percentages the sum of all the mistakes you could make on a specific hand or is it based on the "next best decision"?"

Next-best decision.

"An example would be not doubling A6 v 6, the percentage listed I am assuming is if you stood on the hand but what if you instead hit the hand?"

The percentage (13%) is certainly not if you stood on the hand, which is not the next-best decision. You NEVER stand on A,6 under any circumstances. You either double (almost always the best choice) or you HIT, which is the next-best decision. So the chart tells you that doubling is 13% better than hitting, in this situation.

Don

Drannith

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Feb 13, 2020, 7:56:24 PM

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Thank you for the quick response Don! I got a little overzealous with the space bar

A few more questions came to mind after reading your response:

Was surrender the "correct" option and hitting or standing the deviation and if not how would that change the 16 v 9/10/A or 15 v 10 on the chart?

Would there be any merit in doing the "third best" decision if there were multiple options available?

Don Schlesinger

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Feb 14, 2020, 11:26:02 AM

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"Was surrender the "correct" option and hitting or standing the deviation and if not how would that change the 16 v 9/10/A or 15 v 10 on the chart?"

No, sorry, I didn't include surrender in the chart. So, there's no way to tell, if surrender is the correct first choice, how much you give up from what the chart is actually assuming is the first (non-surrender) choice. But, see below.

"Would there be any merit in doing the "third best" decision if there were multiple options available?"

Only if that third choice were very close to the second, which rarely would be the case. To get absolutely perfect answers to all of the above (to six decimal places!), you should use the Appendix A charts and just scan horizontally across any holding to see all the plays with all of their e.v.s.

Don

barry

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Feb 23, 2020, 6:04:57 PM

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Oh my, how the tides have certainly changed from yesteryear. Back in the day of single-deck stand 17 any two,
the picking flowers days, one was on his own not having anyone 2 pick his brain...... only Lawrence Revere was there to answer my question..... had to figure things out for one's self
now it's like a complete 180 degree turn...... games are barely beatable, and the newcomers have the graciousness of Don Schlessinger to problem solve.
way back in the day I never ever thought California would have more opportunities than Nevada for me!!

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Blackjack attack table percentage for all errors?