Newby: Splitting 4's

[Newby]

Sorry, newby question...

My index number for splitting 4,4 vs. 6 (DAS) is -3. My doubling index for 8 vs. 6 is +2.

Below -3, I'll obviously hit. From -3 to +1, I'll split, but is it correct to double above and beyond +2? I'm thinking the split wins out due to the fact that drawing a "double-able" hand is still a possibility.

How's my logic?

[Magician]

> Sorry, newby question...

> My index number for splitting 4,4 vs. 6
> (DAS) is -3. My doubling index for 8 vs. 6
> is +2.

> Below -3, I'll obviously hit. From -3 to +1,
> I'll split, but is it correct to double
> above and beyond +2? I'm thinking the split
> wins out due to the fact that drawing a
> "double-able" hand is still a
> possibility.

> How's my logic?

From an EV-maximising point of view, you are correct. Splitting 4s is better than doubling if DAS is allowed.

From a risk-averse point of view, there is another index (around +8) above which you should double (if you can double a total of 8), not split. In practice, this is too rare an occurence to worry about.