Well, if anything, I learned my lesson.. As gut clenching as it might be, double down always if it's the correct strategy, is the way to go.. If I HAD double downed I would have had a 19 on hand #1, the second hand a 20, the THIRD hand I would have taken the dealers 5 for a 13 and then I had the fourth 8 which I would have taken another card for ( which I will never know what it was since I left the game after the dealer making 21 ). So as Don pointed out, if I had played it correctly, I would have either won ( I don't think that there were that many 5's left in the deck ) or pushed or split some hands rather than losing all 4. The math is always right its' the human element and learning from mistakes like this so you never make them again is the hard part. I appreciate the guidance on this Don so much so I went out and bought 3rd edition.... Better to lose it the right way then always second guess yourself and ask what if's..