From cptbanjo@aol.com Fri Feb 25 14:07:02 CST 2005 Article: 368269 of sci.math Path: news!news.niu.edu!news.illinois.net!attcg1!attcg2!ip.att.net!news.binc.net!news-out.cwix.com!newsfeed.cwix.com!news.xnet.com!nntp-out.monmouth.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!newsfeed.icl.net!newsfeed.fjserv.net!newsfeed.freenet.de!newsfeed00.sul.t-online.de!t-online.de!border2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!wns14feed!worldnet.att.net!199.218.7.141!news.glorb.com!postnews.google.com!o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail From: "cptbanjo" Newsgroups: sci.math Subject: Re: Blackjack Date: 21 Feb 2005 12:35:55 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Lines: 41 Message-ID: <1109018155.519395.291200@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com> References: <1108726543.569469.326720@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <1108740453.620360.106060@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: 65.67.179.3 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" X-Trace: posting.google.com 1109018161 7287 127.0.0.1 (21 Feb 2005 20:36:01 GMT) X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 20:36:01 +0000 (UTC) In-Reply-To: User-Agent: G2/0.2 Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com; posting-host=65.67.179.3; posting-account=7osSbAwAAACz_1gOQwIADKSBZWTZiTOR Xref: news sci.math:368269 John Schutkeker wrote: > Who has published a readable, modern derivation of the "basic strategy"? > > "cptbanjo" wrote in news:1108740453.620360.106060 > @l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com: > > > The "mimic-the-dealer" playing strategy is terrible -- the house's edge > > will be over 5%. Instead, you should play what is called basic > > strategy, which has been proven to be the optimum way to play > > (excluding selected situations where the player is counting cards). > > But even if you play basic strategy, the house edge will usually vary > > from .14% to .7%, depending on the number of decks being dealt, the > > options offered the player regarding doubling down, pair splitting, and > > surrender, and whether the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17. The > > edge can even increase to around 1.4% in one-deck games where a player > > blackjack is paid at only 6:5 instead of the normal 3:2, but nobody in > > his right mind should ever play such a game. > > > > For purposes of your calculation, try a house edge of around .35%, > > which translates into a probability of winning of .49825. There are several, but try these for starters: http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bjbse.php http://www.wizardofodds.com/blackjack http://www.bjmath.com/main.htm (go to the Table of Contents link on the left, then navigate to "Basic Strategy") The latter site should appeal to those who are interested in the mathematical analysis of the game. It contains a link to the seminal 1956 paper that was the first approximation to basic strategy.