Playing multiple hands

What are the benefits of playing more than one hand?

What are the benefits?

Does it have any effect of the dealer hand?

The primary benefit is that you can play more hands per hour, plus between the multiple hands, you can get more total money on the table while maintaining the single hand RoR,  e.g, 1.5x your normal one handed bet when you bet 0.75x on each of two hands.

With multiple hands a round, player may bet multiple amounts on side bets when the situation is advantageous. For example, player may bet 0.5+0.5 unit on the insurance side bet when playing two hands a round  This makes it possible for more exploitation of countable side bets. 

For positive counts, multiple hands deplete cards.  In positive counts it is better to bet vertically than horizontally. Much written about covariance of multiple hands but is fact it's better to bet 1 hand in high counts.  For negative counts, multiple hands will eat cards, getting to shuffle earlier.

Sorry, but your analysis is incorrect. See BJA3, pp. 24-26 for a thorough discussion of the concept.

Don

Really?  Only have your second addition.  It just makes logical sense not to dilute positive counts by diversifying over multiple hands.  By maximizing 1 hand, one gets more rounds in positive sotuations.  Appreciate your response.

If you have only the second edition, you only have about half a book! In any event, when you play alone, it makes no difference if you play one hand (with the dealer) and bet x or you play two hands (plus the dealer's) and bet a total of 1.5x. Do you see that using 1.5x more cards (three hands vs. two) but also betting 1.5x as much (0.75x on each of two hands) as when you play one hand amounts to the same dollar profit per hands used? 

However, the minute you have other players at the table, it becomes obvious that playing two hands is better. Do the math!

Don