If you play
regular Blackjack, you don't know what you're missing.
Blackjack is
one of the most popular games in the world. Chances are
you know
how to play it.
But chances also are that you don't know how to play it correctly. If you're a Blackjack fan,
then you've heard about
Basic Strategy, the universal strategy that
minimizes the house edge to the point where a skilled counter
can actually overcome the edge. But for some strange reason,
very few people know about a very simple variation of Blackjack,
called Blackjack Switch, that,
when played correctly, yields a Perfect Strategy that can
give you the edge. Let me ask you this, did you know that
Blackjack Switch existed? Part of the reason for why few people know
about this variation is because most Casinos don't offer it.
There's a reason for that: Casinos are in the business to make
money and this variation of Blackjack, when played correctly,
actually gives the player the edge. The casinos that do offer it
are betting that you don't know how to play it correctly.
Blackjack Switch could not be
simpler: it allows you to play 2 Blackjack hands
simultaneously. To the lay person, this
variation seems more complicated and the Basic Strategy less
obvious Yet this variation allows you to do what is normally
considered a classic cheating maneuver:
trading cards between those two hands. The only catch is that a
dealer 22 results in a push and Blackjack pays even money. If
you're confused, don't worry, you don't need to understand any
of this to win. And if
the benefit of this type of switching does not seem obvious to you, then consider
the following: say your two hands dealt are a 10,10 and an A,A.
A simple switch of the cards and you have A,10 and A,10, two
Blackjacks paying you even money each! The magic lies in knowing
WHEN to switch. That's where Blackjack Wizard comes in to play,
an advanced new program that makes you play every hand using
Perfect Strategy so you start winning consistently at Blackjack
while showing you where Blackjack Switch is offered so you can start winning today.
Blackjack Switch Rules (the
technical stuff)
In Blackjack Switch, you are
dealt two Blackjack hands against the same dealer card with the
option of switching the 2nd card of each hand before any other
cards are dealt. The following rules are
followed in Blackjack Switch:
- All rules are based on
conventional blackjack unless otherwise noted.
- Six decks are used.
- Dealer hits a soft 17.
- The player must make two
bets of equal size.
- Cards will be dealt face
up.
- The player may switch the
2nd card dealt to each hand. For example if one hand has
5,10 and the other has 10,6 the player may switch the 10 and
6 to have two hands of 11 and 20. The player may also switch
cards to form a blackjack.
- Player may double on any 2
cards.
- Player may double after a
split.
- Player may only split
once.
- Winning player blackjacks
pay even money.
- A dealer total of 22 will
push against any player total of 21 or less. A player
blackjack will still beat a dealer 22.

Blackjack Switch Basic
Strategy (this is easier than it looks)
The Blackjack Switch Basic
Strategy is a bit different from regular Basic Strategy due to
the Dealer Push on 22 rule. This Basic Strategy chart tells you
exactly how you should play every hand and depends on the cards
you AND the dealer were dealt (player cards on the left, dealer
cards on the top):

A Simple
Example
What do you do
if you are dealt a 3,6 against a Dealer 5?
|
Dealer Card |
|
 |
|
Your Hand |
 |
|
3
+ 6 =
9 |
To find out
what to do, first look at the dealer card,
in this case a 5. Now you will concentrate
solely on the 5 column in the Basic Strategy
card above. To find out which row to look
at, simply add your cards up, 3
+ 6 = 9, so we will look at row 9. If
you confer with the card above, you will
notice that the cell in column 5, row 9 has
a 'D', which stands for "Double if allowed,
otherwise Hit." That's exactly how we play
that hand. This Basic Strategy is applicable
at all times, regardless of how many cards
have been dealt.
The Player's Advantage: To Switch or not to Switch
(the hard part)
The Blackjack
Switch Basic Strategy is not enough to give you an edge. You
still need to know when to switch, and THAT'S where the player's
advantage lies, if done correctly and used in conjunction with
the Basic Strategy outlined above. The switch decision is
complicated, however. Most of the time it will be obvious, but
at critical times, it will be next to impossible to guess what
to do without thoroughly calculating and comparing your options.
To help you out, I have provided a table with the Expected
Return of each and every single possible combination of hands.
The Expected Return is based on every single possibility that
could occur with that hand. The player hand is along the left
column and the dealer's up card along the top column. To figure
out when to switch, simply add the expected values by not
switching and then by switching and play the pair of hands with
the greater expected value.
|
Blackjack Switch Switching Strategy |
|
Dealer |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
A |
|
Player |
|
5 |
-0.2699 |
-0.1888 |
-0.1506 |
-0.1108 |
-0.0711 |
-0.1565 |
-0.2214 |
-0.2975 |
-0.3952 |
-0.5506 |
|
6 |
-0.284 |
-0.2009 |
-0.1624 |
-0.1225 |
-0.0807 |
-0.1894 |
-0.2523 |
-0.3253 |
-0.4185 |
-0.568 |
|
7 |
-0.2556 |
-0.1723 |
-0.1342 |
-0.0938 |
-0.0546 |
-0.1166 |
-0.2561 |
-0.3268 |
-0.4105 |
-0.5802 |
|
8 |
-0.1696 |
-0.0882 |
-0.0516 |
-0.0152 |
0.0195 |
0.0351 |
-0.1047 |
-0.2526 |
-0.3466 |
-0.5216 |
|
9 |
-0.0719 |
0.0084 |
0.0399 |
0.0752 |
0.137 |
0.1253 |
0.0539 |
-0.0956 |
-0.2578 |
-0.4256 |
|
10 |
0.0616 |
0.2242 |
0.2827 |
0.343 |
0.3977 |
0.2728 |
0.171 |
0.0723 |
-0.0944 |
-0.3164 |
|
11 |
0.1752 |
0.3341 |
0.3885 |
0.4441 |
0.4959 |
0.337 |
0.2295 |
0.1151 |
-0.0104 |
-0.2657 |
|
12 |
-0.3561 |
-0.3002 |
-0.2778 |
-0.2524 |
-0.2104 |
-0.2488 |
-0.3064 |
-0.3734 |
-0.454 |
-0.5945 |
|
13 |
-0.4027 |
-0.3436 |
-0.2981 |
-0.2542 |
-0.2106 |
-0.3027 |
-0.3562 |
-0.4126 |
-0.4927 |
-0.6229 |
|
14 |
-0.4389 |
-0.3435 |
-0.2987 |
-0.2544 |
-0.2106 |
-0.3534 |
-0.3973 |
-0.4549 |
-0.5292 |
-0.6497 |
|
15 |
-0.438 |
-0.3434 |
-0.2987 |
-0.2549 |
-0.2116 |
-0.3939 |
-0.4402 |
-0.4941 |
-0.563 |
-0.6748 |
|
16 |
-0.4385 |
-0.3443 |
-0.2993 |
-0.2555 |
-0.2134 |
-0.4331 |
-0.4759 |
-0.5259 |
-0.5906 |
-0.6954 |
|
17 |
-0.3079 |
-0.2174 |
-0.176 |
-0.1378 |
-0.0988 |
-0.1737 |
-0.4451 |
-0.4788 |
-0.5155 |
-0.7004 |
|
18 |
-0.0414 |
0.0405 |
0.0709 |
0.1024 |
0.1313 |
0.3341 |
0.0437 |
-0.2427 |
-0.2912 |
-0.4994 |
|
19 |
0.2266 |
0.2983 |
0.3179 |
0.3441 |
0.3616 |
0.5508 |
0.5313 |
0.2264 |
-0.0672 |
-0.212 |
|
20 |
0.4829 |
0.5459 |
0.5587 |
0.5752 |
0.5874 |
0.7074 |
0.7304 |
0.6995 |
0.3847 |
0.0757 |
|
A,2 |
-0.09 |
-0.021 |
0.0106 |
0.0441 |
0.0774 |
0.075 |
0.0103 |
-0.0725 |
-0.2059 |
-0.4075 |
|
A,3 |
-0.1231 |
-0.0449 |
-0.0116 |
0.0224 |
0.0573 |
0.0332 |
-0.0238 |
-0.109 |
-0.2368 |
-0.43 |
|
A,4 |
-0.1471 |
-0.0663 |
-0.0338 |
0.001 |
0.0371 |
-0.0056 |
-0.0665 |
-0.1477 |
-0.2688 |
-0.4542 |
|
A,5 |
-0.1681 |
-0.0869 |
-0.0534 |
-0.0184 |
0.0242 |
-0.0474 |
-0.1066 |
-0.1855 |
-0.3022 |
-0.4786 |
|
A,6 |
-0.147 |
-0.0653 |
-0.0319 |
0.0105 |
0.0769 |
0.0039 |
-0.1184 |
-0.1904 |
-0.2961 |
-0.4926 |
|
A,7 |
-0.0394 |
0.045 |
0.0767 |
0.1203 |
0.1796 |
0.3369 |
0.0479 |
-0.1426 |
-0.2486 |
-0.4511 |
|
A,8 |
0.2276 |
0.3028 |
0.3226 |
0.3474 |
0.3638 |
0.5519 |
0.536 |
0.231 |
-0.07 |
-0.2178 |
|
A,9 |
0.484 |
0.5494 |
0.5606 |
0.5772 |
0.5887 |
0.7092 |
0.7308 |
0.7027 |
0.3858 |
0.0683 |
|
A,10 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0.9255 |
0.6922 |
|
A,A |
0.1841 |
0.3435 |
0.3982 |
0.4539 |
0.5083 |
0.3538 |
0.2471 |
0.1303 |
-0.0734 |
-0.3834 |
|
2,2 |
-0.2548 |
-0.175 |
-0.1386 |
-0.0809 |
0.0076 |
-0.1122 |
-0.1925 |
-0.2712 |
-0.3723 |
-0.5341 |
|
3,3 |
-0.2841 |
-0.2022 |
-0.1619 |
-0.108 |
-0.0167 |
-0.169 |
-0.2524 |
-0.3251 |
-0.4185 |
-0.568 |
|
4,4 |
-0.1693 |
-0.0882 |
-0.0508 |
-0.0136 |
0.0219 |
0.0367 |
-0.1036 |
-0.2524 |
-0.3459 |
-0.5206 |
|
5,5 |
0.063 |
0.2255 |
0.285 |
0.3488 |
0.4064 |
0.2775 |
0.1719 |
0.0718 |
-0.0946 |
-0.3163 |
|
6,6 |
-0.3573 |
-0.3001 |
-0.2592 |
-0.172 |
-0.0792 |
-0.2536 |
-0.3102 |
-0.3758 |
-0.4564 |
-0.5964 |
|
7,7 |
-0.4363 |
-0.2908 |
-0.2082 |
-0.123 |
-0.0375 |
-0.2061 |
-0.4026 |
-0.4611 |
-0.5367 |
-0.6551 |
|
8,8 |
-0.3168 |
-0.1276 |
-0.0523 |
0.0195 |
0.0952 |
0.0965 |
-0.1984 |
-0.5056 |
-0.5906 |
-0.6952 |
|
9,9 |
-0.0395 |
0.0432 |
0.0948 |
0.1642 |
0.2286 |
0.3362 |
0.1104 |
-0.1926 |
-0.2881 |
-0.4991 |
|
10,10 |
0.4829 |
0.5459 |
0.5587 |
0.5752 |
0.5874 |
0.7074 |
0.7304 |
0.6995 |
0.3847 |
0.0757 |
A Simple
Example
You are
dealt a 2,6 and a 4,8 against a Dealer 9, with the option of
switching the 6 and 8, as shown below:
|
Dealer Card |
|
 |
|
Hand 1 |
|
Hand 2 |
 |
|
 |
|
2
+ 6 = 8 |
|
4
+ 8 = 12 |
The
questions is: what is better, an 8 hand and 12
hand, or two 10 hands against that 9.
To find the Expected Return of NOT switching,
we add the cells of the table above
corresponding to the 2,6 x 9 and the 4,8 x
9. To find those cells, we simply add the
cards, 2+6 = 8 and 4 + 8 = 12, so we add the
8 x 9 and 12 x 9 cells together: -0.2526 + -0.3734 = -.626
(confer above in the table). In other words,
you have two losing hands each with a negative expected
return at this point which, together, have
an even lower Expected Return. Now, if we switch the
6 and the 8,
we get a 2,8 and 4,6 both equaling 10:
|
Dealer Card |
|
 |
|
Hand 1 |
|
Hand 2 |
|
|
 |
|
2
+ 8 = 10 |
|
4
+ 6 = 10 |
In order to
find the Expected Return of Switching, we
add the 10 x 9 cell twice since we have two
10 hands: 0.0723 + 0.0723 = 0.1446. In other
words, you now have two winning hands each
with a positive expected return, which
together give you an even bigger Expected
Return. Since the Expected Return of
switching is higher, you would switch the
cards in this case.
You just went
from having a very bad losing game to having a winning one!
To an
experienced player, the switch decision in
the previous example may have been obvious since a 10
hand against a 9 is "clearly" better than
either an 8 or 12 hand due to the
possibility of getting Blackjack. But what about
a 2,8 and 10,9 against a dealer 2? It
would take a very experienced and
mathematically-gifted player to calculate
that one without looking at the table (the
answer is NOT to switch).
Blackjack Switch Perfect
Strategy (putting it all together)
So we've seen
the Basic Strategy for playing the Blackjack Switch rules and
now know how to calculate whether to Switch or not. Either
of these alone is not enough to make us win, though. Putting these
two together, however, gives us an amazing edge over the house! All you have to do to
keep winning consistently at Blackjack Switch is:
1) Determine
correctly whether to switch or
not at the beginning of every game as per the table above.
2) Play each hand according to the
Blackjack Switch Basic Strategy given before.
Doing this will give you the most Perfect Strategy that exists
today for Blackjack! Think about it. With Blackjack Switch
you get to play two hands simultaneously, so it's twice the fun.
You get to Switch cards, which gives you twice the advantage.
And now, you can play the Perfect Strategy, which gives you
twice the wins! There is absolutely no reason you would
ever want to play any other Blackjack game at a Casino that
offers Blackjack Switch as it is the ONLY Blackjack game that
gives the player the edge without having to count cards.