The other 2 rules are: ‘Blackjacks’ pay even money Dealer Hits ‘Soft 17’ So take the ‘switch’ challenge and prepare yourself for enjoyable and stimulating decisions where you control the order of the cards. Super Match: This is an optional bet which does not have to be the same amount as the ‘Blackjack Switch’ wager. I put the Blackjack Switch rules in my blackjack analyzer program, which found the best switch decision and combined EV for each 4-card starting hand (100x more hands than standard BJ). I calculated the value of each 2-card hand assuming the other 2-card hand hadn’t yet played out (a simplifying assumption to make calculations practical).

Blackjack Switch

Ok, I just spent way too much time working out a Blackjack Switch strategy. At first, I just wanted to calculate the EORs for Blackjack Switch, to see if it was more countable than regular blackjack. (The EORs are about the same as regular blackjack, so it’s probably not more countable.) Then I got carried away making a switching strategy, trying to keep it simple and intuitive (i.e., real). Hopefully, this post will save someone the bother of going through all this again.

House Edge

I put the Blackjack Switch rules in my blackjack analyzer program, which found the best switch decision and combined EV for each 4-card starting hand (100x more hands than standard BJ). I calculated the value of each 2-card hand assuming the other 2-card hand hadn’t yet played out (a simplifying assumption to make calculations practical). For a 6-deck shoe and Las Vegas rules (H17, DAS, re-split all pairs up to 4 hands, no LS, no BJ after switch), I got a combined return of -1.00% for both hands, which is a house edge of 0.50% per hand.

• Blackjack Switch Rules Since the goal of Blackjack is to get to 21, a score of 22 results in an automatic push against all hands that are not over 21. Thereafter, blackjacks pay even money instead of the normal 3:2 payout for a natural blackjack. Six or eight card decks are used and the dealer deals the cards faced up.
• Blackjack Switch Rules. Since the goal of Blackjack is to get to 21, a score of 22 results in an automatic push against all hands that are not over 21. Thereafter, blackjacks pay even money instead of the normal 3:2 payout for a natural blackjack. Six or eight card decks are used and the dealer deals the cards faced up.
• A Concise Introduction to the Enticing Blackjack Switch. Known to be a luring, appealing, intriguing and challenging card game, blackjack is one of the casino or gambling games that players can try if they want to enjoy their free time with the plan of improving their financial state.

Effect of Removed Cards (EORs)

The sensitivity of the game’s EV to the removal of a given card rank is called the “effect of removal” (EOR). If Blackjack Switch was highly vulnerable to counting, you’d see it in the EORs. This is the first place to look. The table below lists the effect on the optimal EV of the game by removing one card of a given rank from a 6-deck shoe.

The EORs are very similar to those of regular blackjack. The sum of the 2-6 EORs is about 0.45% in both cases. However, the Ace is half as powerful compared to regular blackjack. In Blackjack Switch, an Ace plus a Nine is comparable to an Ace in regular blackjack. You could probably use your normal counting system for BJ Switch, but note that it’s overestimating the power of Aces, and underestimating the power of Nines.

I also broke out separate EORs for the switch EV (the nominal 9.25% advantage obtained through the player switch option). If these values were large, it’d indicate an exploit through an indexed switch strategy. However, these switch EORs are very low, about 5x lower than the overall EORs. So an indexed switching strategy would not yield much benefit.

Basic Strategy

Basic strategy for Blackjack switch consists of the initial switch decision, and the post-switch basic strategy table.

Switching Strategy

Blackjack Rules Chart

Blackjack Switch has a pretty big following, and probably no one follows any published strategy. I’ve played about 6 hands of this game IRL, and when I hit my 12 against a dealer deuce upcard, the other player at the table repeatedly pleaded with me, asking (rhetorically) “Why would you hit that?!”.

Judging by the game’s popularity, people don’t have any problems making their switch decisions. The analysis shows a handful of intuitive rules returns almost all the switch advantage, and is suboptimal by only 0.13% (per hand). The table below summarizes the prioritised switching strategy, with the frequencies and costs for each rule for a 6-deck shoe.

¹Or improves one hand without hurting other. See hand rankings defined below.
²Desired hands are defined by Cindy Liu, as (in descending order): BJ, 21, 20, 19, AA, 11, 10, 9, 8/18, and 8-8 vs. 2-6 upcard.
³Strong hand = desired hand with last digit of total greater than dealer upcard. For splits, use split card value.
⁴Non-Weak hand = desired hand with last digit of total greater than or equal to dealer upcard.
⁵Weak hand = desired hand with last digit of total less than dealer upcard.
⁶Non-bustable = stand, or hand that won’t bust on next card (splits, totals <= 11, soft-totals).

The hand ranking used for comparing two candidate hands against a fixed upcard is as follows. Hands in the same level are equal, except for sub-ranks in parenthesis.

1. Desired hand. (Compare two desired hands by their rank.)
2. Split hand.
3. Any soft total.
4. any hard total <= 7
5. 17 vs. 2-6
6. 12+ hitting hard total (lower is better)
7. standing hand

Hopefully, the switching strategy is intuitive enough to understand without any detailed description of the rules. I’ve posted a whole bunch of example hands of the switching strategy that should clarify how it works in practice.

Blackjack Switch Strategy

Post-Switch Strategy

Dealer Rules For Blackjack

Here’s the basic strategy for playing your hand after the switch. The strategy is auto-generated by my blackjack analyzer program for a 6-deck shoe game.

The Switch blackjack variation has the advantage of having a low house edge. Playtech and Grand Virtual are responsible for offering this product. The play can be a bit slower than normal but that means that you are not in danger of frittering away all your winnings within a matter of seconds. This is a game where you can take the time to see how your strategies are developing. That is a unique position that you should not lose that easily. The tactic of switch decisions can work well with the Switch blackjack variation. In each round the player hands two cards to the multi hand blackjack. The players can then place two bets of equal size on each hand. The deal is then sent back but the regular blackjack can see the dealer’s hand.
Finding the twist in the Switch blackjack variation

There is a twist in the Switch blackjack variation. Before playing the hands the player could switch the top cards between the hands. The player will then hand in both hands according to the standard rules. This leads to a double down or a split of the hands. There are ways in which the dealer can get round this problem. First of all they put the advantages in their favor right from the start so that there is no question of being upstaged by the other players. They will then push the number 22 instead of the blackjack. Likewise the blackjack is paid on a proportionate playing field as if it were a normal winning hand. Alternatively the dealer might decide to hit the soft 17 in order to put off all those players that have designs to make life hard for them.
There are six decks that are put forward for this Switch blackjack variation. The Grand Virtual version uses eight decks. The doubles are an important feature in the way that the game is organized at this stage. The re split is used to keep the wins under control. You need to look at the optimal strategies for getting the issues resolved. The switch decision might also be put into practice to help you with the various elements in the game. The correct decisions have to move between the different priorities. The up card will then be used to ensure that the Switch blackjack variation is not being unfair to the players. The player strategy consists of following the rules and finding the loopholes where they can increase the amount of money that they earn.

Switch Blackjack Rules

Assessing the Switch blackjack variation

Switch Blackjack Rules Games

In general terms, the Switch blackjack variation is an improvement. Of course the original game is formidable competition but this version also has its benefits. Some players find it difficult to get round the ambiguity in the hand. They prefer to have consistent rules where they can play according to the original settings in the game. Under this version there is some discretion and the player can even secure advantage through changing hands. You get the chance to win back all that money that the dealer has.