122:, the dealer then consults each player in turn, initially asking them whether they wish to "switch" their top cards. For example, if the player is dealt 10-5 and 6-10, then the player may switch to transform the two hands into 10-10 and 6-5. After a player has made a decision whether or not to switch, the dealer offers him the chance to
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of a kind, 8 to 1 for two pairs and 40 to 1 for four of a kind. This seems to mitigate the adverse effect on the player of the case where the two top or bottom cards are identical, which robs the player of a meaningful switching decision, although, like most side bets, playing it increases the house edge.
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Blackjack Switch tables typically allow a side bet, called Super Match, which rewards pairs, three-of-a-kind, two-pairs or four-of-a-kind among the four initial cards comprising the players two hands. For a 6-deck game, the Super Match bet pays out 1 to 1 if there a pair is present, 5 to 1 for three
190:
Basic strategy for playing out blackjack switch hands, after the switching decision has been made, is tabulated below, for a game in which the dealer hits soft 17 and peeks for blackjack. Compared to traditional blackjack, in
Blackjack Switch there are fewer occasions where doubling or splitting is
129:
When all players have been consulted, the dealer plays out his hand according to blackjack-style drawing rules, with the difference that a dealer hand of 22 is not a bust but a push (a tie) against any surviving player hand; the only exception is a player blackjack which has not been obtained by
161:
The correct decision regarding whether to switch is sometimes obvious, particularly when there is the largest difference in advantage. However, borderline and counter-intuitive cases are relatively common, and switching strategy is hard to summarize. While an often-quoted
54:
at the time - became frustrated at being dealt 2 weak hands when playing
Blackjack that could be improved dramatically if the top two cards were allowed to be switched. Hall then developed this idea and exhibited the game at the
117:
In the initial deal, the dealer puts one card face up on each box of each playing position starting from his left, deals a face-up card to himself, and then a further card to each box left to right. After resolving any
126:, firstly for the hand on the player's right-hand box, then for the one on the left. As in blackjack, a player hand which exceeds 21 is "bust"; its cards are removed and its backing wager acquired by the house.
174:
dealer 7, 8 or 9. The correct switching choice depends on the dealer card in a significant minority of cases. Near-optimal schemes which can be learnt have been developed by several authors:
153:
The strategy of
Blackjack Switch covers both the switch decision and the subsequent decisions of whether to stand, double, or draw a further card which are familiar from blackjack strategy.
34:, but differs in that two hands, rather than one, are dealt to each playing position, and the player is initially allowed to exchange ("switch") the top two cards between hands.
114:
in these two boxes must be identical. However, each corresponds to a separate hand; during play they may be doubled and split independently, and are resolved separately.
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which are found in blackjack are also found in
Blackjack Switch, such as whether the dealer must stand or hit on soft 17 (a hand totalling 17 but containing an
67:
in
February 2001. After this Hall modified the game to include the ‘Push on 22’ rule in 2003. This modification led to the game being installed in
178:
presents a protocol for switching decisions based on four categories of hand, "winner", "push", "loser" and "chance" which he claims reduces the
191:
rewarding, and more occasions where it is correct to hit at the risk of going bust. The differences originate from the push-on-dealer-22 rule.
182:
to 0.25% under his ruleset. Cindy Liu presents a scheme based on assigning a point value to the dealt hands and those produced by switching.
79:
casinos. Further games developed by Hall that are found in Las Vegas casinos include Free Bet
Blackjack, Zombie Blackjack, and Zappit.
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is to choose the option that forms or preserves the best single hand, this is unreliable; sometimes it is even correct to break up a
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is offered, whether a player may double after a split, and whether a player may hit split aces.
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is used. Each playing position has two betting boxes, rather than one, and the initial
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in
December 2003. The game has since become widely available in offline casinos in
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1174:"CasinoReviews Interviews – Geoff Hall – The creator of Blackjack Switch"
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111:
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39:
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in
October 2000. Blackjack Switch was installed in Harvey’s Casino in
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27:
23:
64:
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38:
blackjacks are paid 1:1 instead of the standard 3:2, and a
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Blackjack Switch was conceived after Hall - who was a
133:
The small variations in dealer drawing rules between
141:counted as 11. A-6 or A-3-3, for example), whether
106:A semicircular card table with a similar layout to
87:Blackjack Switch is played with four, six or eight
75:and around the world and is offered online only by
42:hard 22 pushes all player hands except a natural.
1213:. New York: Cardoza Publishing. pp. 229–45.
170:by switching, for instance in the case AT + T
95:together. The shuffled cards are dealt from a
8:
1189:"Blackjack Info Interview with Geoff Hall"
26:gambling game invented by Geoff Hall and
193:
186:Basic strategy after the switch decision
1142:
7:
14:
1234:Shackleford, Michael (May 2011).
1172:CasinoReviews (30 January 2024).
1299:Wizard of Odds: Blackjack Switch
1:
1330:
735:
521:
236:
199:
1211:The Big Book of Blackjack
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30:in 2009. It is based on
130:switching or splitting.
1209:Snyder, Arnold (2006).
200:Dealer's face-up card
1187:Michael Shackleford.
1236:"Switching decision"
143:even money/insurance
124:hit, stand or double
16:Casino gambling game
1150:Norm Wattenberger.
157:The switch decision
1257:"Blackjack Switch"
1152:"Modern Blackjack"
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1280:. Retrieved
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522:Soft totals
237:Hard totals
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97:dealing shoe
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52:card counter
49:
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18:
1277:"Blackjack"
69:Four Queens
1282:2021-07-21
1262:2011-04-28
1194:5 November
1138:References
180:house edge
91:which are
1314:Blackjack
1157:7 January
561:A,8, A,9
108:blackjack
73:Las Vegas
61:Las Vegas
32:blackjack
1308:Category
1129:Side bet
1116:= Double
1055:2,2 3,3
701:A,2-A,4
149:Strategy
120:side bet
93:shuffled
77:Playtech
28:patented
1124:= Split
1100:= Stand
168:natural
135:casinos
46:History
36:Natural
1241:May 8,
1217:
810:10,10
736:Pairs
277:14-16
242:17-20
112:wagers
40:dealer
24:casino
1108:= Hit
1091:Key:
775:A, A
99:or a
22:is a
1243:2011
1215:ISBN
1196:2018
1159:2012
1020:4,4
985:5,5
950:6,6
915:7,7
880:8,8
845:9,9
666:A,5
631:A,6
596:A,7
487:5-8
83:Play
65:Iowa
1073:SP
1070:SP
1067:SP
965:SP
962:SP
959:SP
933:SP
930:SP
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924:SP
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767:10
553:10
417:10
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347:12
312:13
229:10
172:vs.
139:ace
57:G2E
1310::
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