[email protected]: Playing 2 hands vs 1 Hand

[[email protected]]

I was reading the Ace prediction book the other and it was suggested that when you know an ace is coming, but you don't whether it will wind up for the dealer or on your hand, it's better to play one hand instead of 2 because a dealer getting a blackjack will wipe out both your hands doing twice the damage.

Doesn't this situation also happen during high counts? Does this mean we're at a slight(or maybe even high) disadvantage when we play 2 hands?

[Don Schlesinger]

> Doesn't this situation also happen during
> high counts? Does this mean we're at a
> slight(or maybe even high) disadvantage when
> we play 2 hands?

No, not at all. When you play two hands you have the advantage. If you would normally bet $100 on one hand, you can bet about $75 on each of two hands for the same risk of ruin. Of course, you also use up more cards, so playing two hands works best when you aren't alone at the table.

Of course, if the dealer has a natural, you may lose both hands, but so what? The dealer has a natural about 5% of the time in good counts. We need to be more concerned with the other 95% of the time, when he doesn't!

Don

[[email protected]]

Thanks for your response.

> No, not at all. When you play two hands you
> have the advantage. If you would normally
> bet $100 on one hand, you can bet about $75
> on each of two hands for the same risk of
> ruin. Of course, you also use up more cards,
> so playing two hands works best when you
> aren't alone at the table.

> Of course, if the dealer has a natural, you
> may lose both hands, but so what? The dealer
> has a natural about 5% of the time in good
> counts. We need to be more concerned with
> the other 95% of the time, when he doesn't!

> Don

[Sun Runner]

I'm a long way from an expert.

Don's advice on straight counting and betting two hands at 150% of your one hand max is one thing .. your betting with the TC and the bet ramp that it calls for.

If you are an 'Ace Predictor' and you KNOW an Ace is coming to you, you'd spread to two hands to catch it with a signifigantly larger % bet out than in Don's example.

But if you are an 'Ace Predictor' and you know an ace is in the neighborhood but not positive about getting it, then the dealers chance of a BJ on that hand just went up dramatically more than 5% .. and therefore your signifigantly larger bets probably get lost.

To me that is why if prediciting Aces and you are not positive about receiving it, don't drop the larger than life bets out on two hands at once.