Multiple Action BJ

Has anyone tried this game? I tried it at the Taj Mahal in AC. You place three bets. The dealer has only one open card. He keeps the card and draws three times one for each bet. So if you have 15 or 16 v/s 10 you might not want to hit, hoping the dealer would bust at least once. If you bust, you lose all three bets. Also you don't lose your splits or doubles if the dealer gets BJ, since it's a no hole game.
I found the game interesting, and more so the penetration, which is usually better than in the normal game, accounting for the extra cards the dealer draws. You can increase your bets with the count, or play two min $10 bets when it gets slightly negative. I am planning to go there again in early January and would be interested in any feedback on this game, and variations on basic and count startegy I should adopt.

Multiple action has been around for years around the country. People erroneously believe that they need to deviate from basic strategy because they are making one decision for 3 hands. In fact, you play BS unless the count justifies a deviation. Think of it as having 3 seperate 15 vs. 10, you would hit it each time so you would hit it when playing the 3 15s together. Just as you may bust all 3 hands, you may also make 3 21s with a 6. So, the bottom line is that it is just a ploy to get more action on the table for the house. It seems to confuse people and make them play improperly.
The fact that the dealer takes no hole card has no effect on your EV because doubles and splits are returned.

Best of Luck,
BJcounter

Thanks bjcounter, but have there been any studies made on the subject? It's so easy to bust on 16, that if you have 3 chances, you might get the dealer to bust once or twice. What you say is very logical, and is exactly what the dealer told me, but I have seen another player win big playing two hands, hitting only up to 14 and staying on 15 and 16. same with 12 v/s 3. Of course this is not sufficient for a staistic. It seems to me the risk factor is less by not hitting, and you would need a lower overall bankroll by not hitting these borderline plays, as you are almost assured the dealer may bust on some of the hands. 15 and 16 are lousy cards, and if you are getting two more chances, would the percentage of winning even one hand out of three, outperform the low percentage that you might win all three hands? Of course I would always stay on 16 on positive counts and on 15 on TC>=+4, but what about slighly lower counts?

Whether you are playing your hand against three dealer hands at once, or are playing the same hand against three dealer hands in succession has no effect on the outcome. You still play the same way. Here is what I mean

If you were not playing multiple action, how would you play this three hand series?
Hand 1: Dealer 10 Player 16
Hand 2: Dealer 10 Player 16
Hand 3: Dealer 10 Player 16

If you are using Basic Strategy without counting you would hit.

Now, if you are playing multiple action, you will make three bets, and the dealer will draw three cards to his 10 to create three hands. But the effect is the same, you are still playing your 16 against the dealer 10 for three hands

Multiple Action
Player 16 Hand 1: Dealer 10 Hand 2: Dealer 10 Hand 3: Dealer 10

See what I mean?

Deeper Penetration? On the very last hand if the cut card comes out as the dealer is hitting, then the dealer may deal 5 or 6 cards deeper into the deck. Not sure there is much gain there.

Steve

Are you sure that you don't lose doubles or splits? What does dealer do on a blackjack? Take your original bet but let you keep the double??

the dealer gets only one card face up. he can't check for BJ before the players draw their cards. It's called a no-hole European game, but unilke the no-hole game, you don't lose your double or splits, just like in a normal game where the dealer draws himself two cards and checks for BJ. You can't even double or split if the dealer has BJ, so it's the same thing here.

You play your hand, maybe doubling or splitting, before the dealer draws a second card (to each of three hands). If he gets a natural he's gonna grab your doubled of split bet on the hand. (In Atlantic City but, I suspect, everywhere.)