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Value of a Free Ace
Introduction
Sometimes a casino will offer a coupon which can be redeemed for a free ace in blackjack. Other times the dealer will start to deal and you can see the first card, before she pauses because you forgot to put out a bet. The following tables shows the value of each initial player card, accross whether the dealer hits (H17) or stands (S17) on a soft 17. The table is based on an infinite number of decks. In Basic Blackjack in table 32 (page 124) author Stanford Wong also gives the value of each initial player card based on six decks. The most Wong and I disagree is 0.3%, probably due to the number of decks.
Free Card Value
| Card | S17 | H17 |
|---|---|---|
| ace | 0.504019 | 0.501844 |
| 2 | -0.132947 | -0.133987 |
| 3 | -0.153950 | -0.154469 |
| 4 | -0.176969 | -0.177029 |
| 5 | -0.196529 | -0.196668 |
| 6 | -0.209834 | -0.209714 |
| 7 | -0.180796 | -0.182900 |
| 8 | -0.084058 | -0.090196 |
| 9 | -0.009417 | -0.013236 |
| 10 | 0.143489 | 0.140328 |
For example if you had a free ace coupon for a $10 bet, and the dealer stands on soft 17, then the value of the coupon would be $10 × 0.504019 = $5.04.
Internal Links
- Blackjack Side Bets
- Introduction to Card Counting
- The Hi-Lo Count
- The Wizard's Ace-Five Count
- When to Surrender in Blackjack
- Value of a Free Ace
- Dealer Exposes Both Cards
- Splitting Strategy for the Back Players
- Double after Splitting Aces Allowed
- Continuous Shuffling Machines
- Cut Card Effect
- Variance in Blackjack
- 678 and 777 Bonuses in Blackjack
- Risk of Ruin in blackjack
- Total Dependent vs. Composition Dependent Basic
- Expected Returns with Infinite Decks
- Dealer Odds in Blackjack under U.S. Rules
- Dealer Odds in Blackjack under European Rules
- Effect of Card Removal in Blackjack
- Blackjack Expected Values
- Estimating Number of Decks in Online Blackjack
- Composition-Dependent Strategy for Single Deck and Dealer Stands on Soft 17
- Composition-Dependent Strategy for Single Deck and Dealer Hits on Soft 17
- Composition-Dependent Strategy for Double Deck and Dealer Stands on Soft 17