N0

[CHAM]

Noteworthy:

You get an average of 2.7 cards per hand. Playing one hand against the dealer removes 5.4 cards.
If you play 2 hands 8.1 cards are removed.
If you bet $150 X 2 = $300 you are getting $300 into action and divided by 8.1 = $37.04 per card.
If you bet $200 on one hand you are getting your money into action divided by 5.4 =$37.04 per card
Thus the shoe's depleted cards increase by 50% but the action per card or hand or round is unchanged.
RISK is what goes down, BUT you are using up extra cards in an advantageous situation.
So ... this is a trade-off.

Playing heads-up ...

I prefer playing multiple hands for small amounts to "eat cards" in poor counts; while

"spreading vertically" with a good situation, meaning I put my money on one hand.

The above applies to heads-up play. With others at the table I employ the converse strategy.

I bet multiple hands unless the count suggests that I have no advantage, and 1 hand is superior.

Thank You ZMF! Thanks for chiming in, I know that in Wong's & Don S book they both talk about when playing heads up that 1 hand in the optimal play, but if other Players are sitting at the table then 2 hands becomes the optimal play.

I also enjoyed the math break down on cards per round.

[stopgambling]

why is it i read somewhere that playing 2 hands with an advantage increase my EV slightly as compared to 1 hand?

[Norm]

Well, there are such situations. Last round at a positive count for example, assuming you know this won't trigger a shuffle. There are a lot situations that can alter EV that aren't commonly discussed. There was a recent post that said there was no change in EV by number of players that I didn't bother to respond to. Of course, there is a change. If you are at third base, effective penetration is usually higher with more players. Suppose the cut card is at 75%. That means the start of the round is in the first 75% of the shoe. But, the end of the round will be later the more players at the table. And, penetration is very important. Actually, more players effectively decreases penetration for betting purposes and increases for playing purposes. Of course speed is also affected. Point is that there exist a lot of nuances.

Incidentally, this is one of the numerous reasons that combinatoric analysis or any form of pure math will not accurately simulate blackjack as played in casinos. You must use simulation.

[stopgambling]

I am glad I didn't get it wrong as more people hurts my betting advantage . Likely affect my win rate and score by 10 % or higher.