Shaggy18VW: ENHC

[Shaggy18VW]

Having never played in Europe, I am unfamiliar with no hole card play. My wife and I were discussing it and she brought up a good question. Do they offer insurance? If so, when... after all hands have been played out?

[Geoff Hall]

> Having never played in Europe, I am
> unfamiliar with no hole card play. My wife
> and I were discussing it and she brought up
> a good question. Do they offer insurance? If
> so, when... after all hands have been played
> out?

Insurance is offered before any play of the hands and 'Blackjacks' are paid at even money (which is essentially the same thing) if a player wants to insure a 'Blackjack'.

However, in some countries i.e. United Kingdom, you can only insure a 'Blackjack' against a dealer Ace. This is supposedly to protect the 'ploppies' although it doesn't do a card counter any favours.

Also, remember the slight variations to your play, due to the ENHC rule :-

Do not double 11 vs 10
Do not split Aces vs Ace
Do not split 8's vs 10 or Ace

Enjoy Europe !

Geoff

http://www.blackjackswitch.com

[Shaggy18VW]

If insurance is offered before any hands are played, the dealer does not have his second card, correct?

This was merely a question, I am not going to Europe any time soon. But thank you for the courtesy Geoff.

[gambler]

> If insurance is offered before any hands are
> played, the dealer does not have his second
> card, correct?

It is fifty fifty. In some casinos, the dealer has the second card, in others, he has not and waits, until all the players have made their decision. But this doesn`t matter at all.

[Magician]

> Having never played in Europe, I am
> unfamiliar with no hole card play. My wife
> and I were discussing it and she brought up
> a good question. Do they offer insurance? If
> so, when... after all hands have been played
> out?

You're not alone. I've seen this question asked a few times by those who have never seen the no-hole-card game. Maybe it will help if I go through it from start to finish. This is my experience, no doubt there are some variations.

Once all bets are placed, the dealer will deal one card to each player and then one card to herself. If this card is an ace the dealer should call for insurance bets ("Dealer has an ace. Insurance is open") - and you should start thinking about whether you want to place one -while dealing a second card to each player (but not herself).

At this point the dealer is supposed to run her finger from one end of the insurance line to the other ("Any insurance?"), then announce "Insurance is closed" before proceeding. In practice (and especially if no one has been taking insurance) they may only pause for a briefly and mumble "Insurance?" before inviting the first player to play his hand. If you wish to place an insurance bet (anything up to half your original bet) or take even money on a blackjack (by tapping the table as if for a hit) you must do it before the next card is exposed - you will not be allowed to place insurance after that.

At this point the players play out their hands as usual. (Player blackjacks are not paid off yet, even if this is normal practice when a 2 through 9 is showing.) Players may split or double if they wish but under the ENHC rule they will lose everything in the event of a dealer blackjack (This increases the house edge by about 0.1%. Geoff Hall has already given the appropriate changes to basic strategy for this rule; indices for your count system may also change).

Once all the player's hands are completed there are actually three scenarios:

1. If all bets are settled, the dealer simply discards the ace.

2. If only insurance bets are unsettled, the dealer draws one card only. If it is:
a) a ten or picure card, the dealer pays 2:1 on the insurance bets.
b) a 2 through 9, the dealer collects the insurance bets.

3. Otherwise, the dealer first draws one card. If it is:
a) a ten or picture card, the dealer collects bets on all player hands except blackjacks then pays 2:1 on any insurance bets ("Blackjack, insurance wins").
b) a 2 through 9, the dealer collects any insurance bets before drawing additional cards as necessary to complete her hand. The remaining bets are then settled.

Finally, it's worth noting that no-hole-card effects penetration in two different ways. More cards are often used when the dealer has a blackjack and one fewer card is used when all players bust. In other words, you get more rounds than normal playing heads-up and fewer than normal at a full table.