What does insurance mean in blackjack? Insurance is a special side bet the dealer offers when they're showing an ace. Basically, it's a bet on them getting a blackjack and pays out 2 to 1 if you win.

casinoflea
The casino I frequent has recently changed their rules on blackjack switch. The rule used to be hard total of 22 for the dealer was a push on all remaining hands. It has been changed to ALL 22 are a push. So if the dealer gets A-5-6 it's a push!
My question is how does this change the house edge? Is it better for me or the house? As far as I can tell I think it would be better for me. But that is purely a hunch on my part.
dwheatley
No, I think 12 is a bad hand for whoever has it. It's more likely to bust than to make a hand, and always has -EV as a player hand. I think this rule is good for the house.
Wisdom is the quality that keeps you out of situations where you would otherwise need it
pacomartin

What Does Push Mean To Blackjack Game

But that is purely a hunch on my part.

What is A-A-3-7 ? Is that a soft 22? If it is only 3 card soft 22's, then it won't make much of a difference.

Blackjack Push Means

Your hunch cannot be right. A 12 is a losing hand, so the casino is better off taking a push.
Blackjack Switchweb page says under the standard Las Vegas rules, with six decks, the dealer hits a soft 17, and a switched blackjack counts as 21 points, the house edge is 0.58%, assuming optimal strategy.
Perhaps the Wizard will add a note as to the actual change in house edge with this rule variation when he does the calculation
casinoflea
Dwheatley and pacomartin thanks for the help. Any hand that could be 12 OR 22 is a soft 22. I fear you both are correct in saying my hunch was wrong. All other rules are the standard lv rules you quoted from. Would this change basic strategy? Im very curious how much the house edge changes here.
pacomartin
It shouldn't change by much, as the soft 22 is pretty infrequent. I would also be surprised if it changed strategy. But there is no way to know without running the computer program.
ams288
Does Switch know about this?
Seems like an odd rule. What if the dealer is showing an ace and they flip over another ace in the hole. That's it? They stop and call it a push?
dwheatley
That's what it sounds like, but that is probably the one situation where it favours the player, because I think in a soft 12 may actually be an ok hand against the average player hand.
Wisdom is the quality that keeps you out of situations where you would otherwise need it
geoff
I'm not sure where everyone is getting their math, but 12 is more likely to make a hand than it is to bust. Particularly if you were to consider that busting at 22 would give the push anyway.
chrisr
my intuition is that hit on soft 22 favors the dealer.. i'm thinking the ratio of the dealer making_hand:bust:push would be around 3:1:2
DJTeddyBear

I'm not sure where everyone is getting their math, but 12 is more likely to make a hand than it is to bust. Particularly if you were to consider that busting at 22 would give the push anyway.


That's what I was thinking, but I don't have the math to back it up.
But does that mean the edge goes up or down?
Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁 Note that the same could be said for Religion. I.E. Religion is nothing more than organized superstition. 🤗

If you believe in the saying “time is money” then watching a three-hour football game only to get your money back is one of the most frustrating things to do. However, depending on how that result came to be, a push could be a positive result if your team pulled off the back-door cover.

What Does Push Mean?

When you hear someone use the term “push” they are referring to the result of game or event that ends right on the listed point spread or finishes in a draw. Pushes are the most common in sports that use the point spread like basketball and football. However, a push can also happen when betting on certain run lines in baseball or spreads in soccer.

How Does a Push Work?

A push isn’t the worse thing in the world since you get your money back if your game happens to land right on the listed point spread. The most frustrating thing about a push is the time spending watching the game only to break even. Fortunately for bettors, sportsbooks don’t penalise you for making a bet that “pushes”, so you do receive all of your wager back.

Let’s use an NCAA basketball game as the first example. If your looking over the card and decide to bet the Baylor Bears -2 over the Oklahoma Sooners, this means that in order for you to cash your ticket, the Bears would need to win by three or more points. A 52-49 win would be just as good as a 90-87 win. If the Bears won by a mere two points (90-88, 52-50, etc.), your bet would be a push and you would receive your money back. If you like the underdog Sooners, a two-point loss would result in a push as well.

The second example comes in the form of a parlay. Obviously if you bet more than one game with a listed spread as a whole number, the chances of more than one game pushing are high. This is where you need to be careful and do your due diligence to understand how sportsbooks treat “pushes” on a parlay.

What Does Push Mean Blackjack

Some books simple reduces the number of teams in a parlay when there is a push – say you have a four-team parlay and one game pushes, your parlay simply becomes a three-team parlay that’s still in play. Other sportsbooks will treat that entire parlay as a loss.

Knowing how sportsbooks operate and understanding their unique set of rules is crucial to avoiding costly and unexpected losses.

How to Avoid a Push

One way to avoid the possibility of a push is to bet lines with a hook. A hook is the extra half point sportsbooks add to ensure there is a winner and a loser on both sides (also to attract balanced action). Another way to avoid a “push” is to move the line buy buying a half point up or down depending on which side you are backing. In football, moving a line from -3 to -2.5 has the ability to win you more money over time should the favorite actually win the game. The best times to move the line in football to avoid the push is when the point spread is -3, -4 or -7. These are the three most common margins of victory so getting a half point either way will turn your pushes into potential wins.

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