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Ask The Wizard #436

In your regular blackjack practice game, I had 6♠ 3♥ against a dealer 6♦. Basic strategy says to double, but the game offered only Hit and Stand.

I also noticed the problem with a pair of fives against a dealer 4 or 9, although I did not capture those hands. I later sent screenshots and confirmed that I was playing the regular blackjack game. Why was doubling unavailable?

Anthony

The screenshots explain what happened: the game requires enough chips in your remaining bankroll to match your original bet before it offers Double.

  • In the first screenshot, you had bet $1,000 and had $562.50 remaining. Doubling required another $1,000.
  • In the second screenshot, you had bet $500 and had $0 remaining. Doubling required another $500.

Your strategy was correct for the hands shown in those screenshots: double a total of 9 against a dealer 6, and double a total of 9 against a dealer 3. The unavailable button was caused by the remaining bankroll, not by a basic-strategy error.

To retain enough chips to double an unsplit hand, keep your initial bet at no more than half of your bankroll before placing the bet. Splitting and later doubles can require additional funds.

We have added a note to the blackjack practice page explaining why Double and Split may be unavailable when the remaining bankroll is insufficient.

Your 3x Ultimate Texas Hold’em chart looked as though it referred to suited pocket jacks, which is impossible. How should I read it, and why is the 3x strategy different from the 4x strategy?

I have also seen tables allowing a 3x raise at Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, West Virginia, and at Soaring Eagle in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The Hollywood game included a bad-beat bonus on the Blind bet. At Soaring Eagle, the 3x game exposed one card before the initial betting decision. Both casinos also had 4x tables.

The games with these variations used different names rather than “Ultimate Texas Hold’em.” Do those additional rules affect which strategy applies?

Rob

Reading the chart. Pocket pairs occupy the diagonal of the 3x strategy chart. The J-J cell is marked “Y,” meaning always raise. The nearby yellow “S” in the jack row refers to J-10 and means raise only when suited. It does not describe suited pocket jacks.

The 4x chart on the main page uses a different layout, with pocket pairs listed separately. We added a note explaining how to read the 3x chart and corrected a reference above it that said “4X” instead of “3X.”

Why the strategies differ. When all other rules and payouts are the same, the option to raise 4x makes an immediate raise worthwhile with some borderline hands for which a 3x raise is insufficient. Checking retains the same later opportunities to raise 2x on the flop or 1x on the river.

For example, K-2 and K-3 suited, Q-6 and Q-7 suited, and J-8 and J-9 suited are worth a 4x preflop raise under the analyzed rules but should be checked when the maximum is 3x. Every hand that raises in the analyzed 3x game also raises in the corresponding 4x game.

The casino games you described. The Hollywood game, with a 3x maximum and a bad-beat payment on the Blind, sounds like Heads Up Hold ’Em. That is a different rule set from simply reducing the maximum preflop raise in Ultimate Texas Hold’em.

A game that exposes an extra card or changes the payout table also requires a strategy matched to those rules. Your description alone does not establish the exact Soaring Eagle game. Consequently, the maximum raise by itself is not enough to compare the value of those casino offerings or choose the correct chart.