There are certain topics that are of the utmost importance but when the “literature” is dissected have not been fully addresses. Case in point: chips. What is more important to win chips or to not lose chips? While to some this may seem like the same thing, in reality it is a very different subject and it is a subject that is unique to TBJ and not regular BJ. Why? With regular BJ you, the player, are going up against the house. There is an expected value present and with BJ it is a negative value. Because of the rules of BJ if one were to play using perfect “basic strategy” (BS) you would expect to lose a certain percentage of your bankroll (BR) per hour. While playing TBJ there is no “perfect basic strategy”. Why? You are not competing against the house but against other players and the goal is not to maximize your winnings but to be ahead of the other player(s) by a minimum of a chip. In addition this has to occur over a very short period of time (20-30 hands). So, when a player has a hand totaling 12-18 a decision has to be made. Is it better to hit the hand in attempt to have a higher total than the dealer and risk busting or is it better to simply surrender the bet and to only lose ½ of the chips bet. Now on the final 2 or 3 hands this becomes critical to finishing in the money. For example in a case where the first player hits and busts you must now decide, is it possible to simply surrender and get a “lock” on your opponent, regardless of you hands total. We’ve all seen examples of this occur and I do not feel a need to rehash this. However, what about on hand 15 of 30? What about when you have 1000 chips bet (min bet 500 & max bet 25,000) and have a 15 versus a dealer 9, 10 or Ace? Well we can fall back to BS which says to surrender and feel pretty comfortable with that decision. But what about when you have 13 or 14 versus the dealer’s up card being a 10? Basic strategy says that you should hit the 13 &/or 14 versus the 10 (assuming that you aren’t counting cards). But what if you need the extra chips? When you have a 1,000 bet it is better to surrender the 500 or to hit the stiff and hope for a win?
doppelganger I asked a similar question a few weeks back and although I'm sure you've read the thread I'll post the link http://www.blackjacktournaments.com/bb/showthread.php?t=3550 Cheers Reachy
