No hole-card
June 23rd, 2010
In most non-U.S. casinos, a ‘no hole card’ game is played, meaning that the dealer does not draw nor consult his second card until after all players have finished making decisions. With no hole card, it is almost never correct basic strategy to double or split against a dealer ten or ace, since a dealer blackjack will result in the loss of the split and double bets; the only exception is with a pair of A’s against a dealer 10, where it is still correct to split. In all other cases, a stand, hit or surrender is called for. For instance, holding 11 against a dealer 10, the correct strategy is to double in a hole card game (where the player knows the dealer’s second card is not an ace), but to hit in a no hole card game. The no hole card rule adds approximately 0.11% to the house edge.
In some places, such as some casinos in Australia and New Zealand, if the dealer is later found to have blackjack, the player loses only his original bet but not any additional bets (doubles or splits). This has the same basic strategy as the hole card game, and the same advantage.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
