Boss Media: Composition Dependent Blackjack Strategy

Last Update: Sep 15, 2006

This appendix shows the composition dependent strategy when a single deck is used and the dealer stands on a soft 17. As far as I know the number of land casinos in the world with these rules is zero. However they can be found at both Boss Media and Microgaming casinos on the Internet. Following are the specific rules follows.

Boss Media single-deck rules.

• Single deck
• Dealer stands on soft 17
• Dealer peeks for blackjack
• Double after split allowed
• Player may split only once
• No surrender
• Split aces get one card only

Microgaming classic blackjack rules.

• Single deck
• Dealer stands on soft 17
• Dealer does not peek for blackjack. Player will lose total bet against a dealer blackjack, including on doubles and splits.
• Double after split not allowed
• Player may split only once
• No surrender
• Player may draw to split aces

Using the ordinary total-depenendent basic strategy the player advantage under the Boss Media rules is 0.11%, and under the Microgaming rules the house edge is 0.13%. These strategies can be found in my Boss Media and Microgaming reviews. The total dependent basic strategy shows the best play based on the total of the player's cards. However sometimes, especially in single-deck, there are exceptions according to the exact cards in the player's hand. For example, all things considered it is better to stand than to hit a 13 against a dealer 2. However with a 10 and 3 against a dealer 2 it is better to hit. The following tables are the composition dependent basic strategy, which is the best play based on the exact composition of the player's hand. With three or more cards the strategies are the same. Using the composition dependent strategies on this page will lower the house edge by 0.04%, or to be specific under the Boss Media rules the player will have an 0.1541% advantage.

The following tables are appropriate for the Boss Media rules. They may also be used under the Microgaming rules, except the player should not double on 11 or split eights, against a 10 or ace, because the dealer does not peek for blackjack under the Microgaming Classic Blackjack rules. Microgaming also does not allow doubling on 8.

Acknowledgements

Several player through the years have found some omissions in my charts. Here are some I can remember.

• "Tank"
• Scott E. (Scott claims the player edge is only 0.1531% under the Boss Media rules)
• Don Schlesinger

Links:

• Boss Media review
• Microgaming review
• Version 2 review.
• Casino index. List of sites that use Boss Media software.
• www.bossmedia.com.Official Boss Media web site.