Quote Originally Posted by DSchles View Post
Upon double checking, it would appear that what I wrote above is wrong. Although there are more cards that can help your double than not (i.e., you would win your double more than you'd lose it), the benefit from being able to hit more than once outweighs the value of the double. Sorry about that!

Don
Yes, I was also wondering why you should double in this situation and had in mind that the optimal play for 10 and 11 versus 17-20 is to hit. As a general rule, these optimal hole card strategy tables (e.g. from WizardOfOdds) say that doubling is never favorable against a dealer pat hand. The only situation which might be different is when the dealer has soft 17 and the H17 rule applies. I have not seen any HC strategy table addressing the S17 versus H17 issue, so I am not sure if there are any differences. Also, the surrender rule is often not addressed but I read that surrendering stiff hands versus 10,11 and 19,20 is favorable.