One of the Ultimate Gambit rules is to always insure blackjack. I am a little confused. Does this mean always insure my hand whenever the dealer shows an ace (No matter what 2 cards I have?)?
Or does it mean always insure my own blackjack when the dealer shows an ace (Even money?)?
...but disagree on this one especially, for several reasons. My first reason is that I hate to give up the money, even with a one unit bet, by constantly taking even money just for the sake of trying to look like an inexperienced player (Anderson's Ultimate Gambit). Besides, if you are a regular player in a particular casino you are not going to fool anyone. Secondly, and just as important, I for one, and I think most card counters, get a lot of personal satisfaction out of correctly calling the "even money" play as well as the insurance play. Anyway, it always brings a smile to my face :).
However, if you feel you still want to use Anderson's ultimate gambit, it refers to even money only. using it for both insurance and even money would be a very costly. Remember, if I recall correctly, Anderson's objective is to fool the pit at as small a cost as possible.
Cobbson
In Arnold Snyder's last BJ book, "The Big Book of Blackjack" he presents a logical argument in favor of insuring all of one's BJ's ("taking even money"); and that is as a flux-decreasing tactic - for those of us who wish to pad our Risk-Aversion.
This is an approach that I agree with, especially IF one's Risk of Ruin is already too high due to a less than admirable bankroll or overly aggressive (non-optimal) bet-sizing.
My compromise is to take the "chicken money" often but not always.
What I do is I take "even-money" if i am anywhere remotely near my Insurance Index.
If I was a Hi-Lo player, I would use +1 or better in any shoe game - not +3.
The Ultimate Gambit says always take insurance. I'm going to give two scenarios here. You tell me which scenario is the one they are talking about. In which scenario do I take insurance according to the Ultimate Gambit?
1. I have a 3 and 5 showing, the dealer is showing an ace.
OR
2. I have a natural (blackjack) the dealer is showing an ace.
john getley,
Andersen's "Ultimate Gambit" calls for always taking "even money"...if you insured EVERY TIME the dealer had an Ace, regardless of your hand total, you'd be giving up a TON of EV.
Sorry about the flip remark in my previous post, that you should always insure when the dealer has a BJ... if we knew that, then insurance would be a huge moneymaker for us!
Dog Hand
