Playing Deviations

[de314]

I have read BJA2's section on I18 + Fab4 using HI-LO. But I am a little curious as to how those 18 were selected.

1) How much do the table rules affect EV? E.g. H17 vs. S17?

2) Is there an extended lists similar to Don's table in BJA2 pg 62, i.e. average EV gained for each deviation? I think I saw that maybe Casino Verite can generate custom charts?

3) After mastering Sweet 16, Illustrious 18, and/or Catch 20, do experienced AP just keep learning new indexes? Or would it be better to play perfect BS + I18 + Fab4?

[Tetn1s]

In my opinion:

1. 3:2 of course. But surrender trumps all when it comes to table rules. While S17 lowers the initial house edge, surrender will greatly reduce your variance. HOWEVER, Your best bet is first penetration, then hands per hour (heads up play). Those matter way more than rules.

2. Can’t answer

3. There’s the catch 22 indices (google it), those will slightly increase your EV.

The reason why other indices aren’t important is because: (1) they are negative, you should be wonging out of negative counts, and the EV gain is from a minimum bet (this doesn’t apply to pitch games, learn the negative indices from -5 to 0, less opportunity to wong out); (2) if they are positive, they are +5 or higher , when a count is that high, you’ll see these +5 index hands less and less due to the abundance of 10s; (3) they don’t effect your EV much but increase your variance, lets take a look at doubling A6 v 2, the index is +1, however your EV from that play barely changes, even at a count such as +5, when you have your max bet out, therefore your variance increases at the expense of little EV gain.

Summarize: look for deep pen and heads up, learn catch 22. If you want more indices, I’d learn the surrender indices (ex: 14 v T), followed by standing with stiffs versus high cards (ex: 16 v 8) (if surrender isn’t available).

[Phoebe]

With CVData you can generate sheet as this one.
http://pokermenteur.free.fr/fichiers/gain.xlsx

But in my opinion except by curiosity it's not worth it

For 1) you have https://blackjackincolor.com/blackjackfirstcards5.htm

[RTR2021]

In my opinion:

...followed by standing with stiffs versus high cards (ex: 16 v 8) (if surrender isn’t available).

That play is a hit, always, under the Zen count indices in CV.

Makes me wonder if there's a better version for Zen out there.

[SkinnyBJplayer]

z
z

In the masterful and inexpensive paperback, Peter Griffin's "Theory of Blackjack"
one can find the value of varying the PLAY of your hands. You can see that there
is a set of playing variations, e.g. Insurance, 12 vs stiffs that are extremely
valuable and many that have very little value. Thus, the "Illustrated 18."

The 6th (and final) edition includes a table for multi-deck, although interpolation
of the original single deck metrics was never hard to calculate with a sharp pencil
and a scrap of paper.

Failing to read this wonderful magnum opus is a huge oversight, even if one's numeracy
is non-optimal. There is so much to learn here to truly understand the game of Blackjack.
z
z

[BoSox]

1) How much do the table rules affect EV? E.g. H17 vs. S17?

"H17 rule alone: 1deck -0.195, 2Decks -0.204, 4decks -0.212, 6 decks -0.215, 8decks -0.217". All of these examples are taken from BJ Attack 3 by Don S.

[Freightman]

"H17 rule alone: 1deck -0.195, 2Decks -0.204, 4decks -0.212, 6 decks -0.215, 8decks -0.217". All of these examples are taken from BJ Attack 3 by Don S.

It’s the combination of rule effects that accumulates to a specific number which reflects house edge. The lower the house edge, the more attackable it is.

For myself, anything at or under .5 he on shoe is highly attackable.