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Twin blackjack is a variation of the game of blackjack. I saw the game at the Stardust in August, 2001.
Each position has two betting spots. If the player makes a bet in both of them he will play out two hands against the dealer's up card. In the event the player gets two blackjacks (called twin blackjacks) they both shall pay 2-1. If the player gets two identical blackjacks (called identical twin blackjacks) both shall pay 4-1.
The following table shows what this is worth to the player.
Event | Probability | Pays Extra | Return |
---|---|---|---|
Twin BJ | 0.002142 | 0.5 | 0.001071 |
Identical twin BJ | 0.000025 | 2.5 | 0.000062 |
Total | 0.002167 | 0 | 0.001133 |
The lower right cell in the table shows the twin blackjack rules add about 0.1133% to the players return. However, as usual with novelty games, you give more than you get back. In this case, the player may NOT double after a split and the number of splits per hand is lowered from 3 to 2. Under the normal Stardust 6-deck rules the house edge is 0.4066%. Under these rules, not including the twin blackjack bonuses, the house edge is 0.5527%. Overall the house edge is 0.4394%, 0.0328% higher than the conventional rules.
To use the basic strategy, look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer's up card along the top. In both cases an A stands for ace. From top to bottom are the hard totals, soft totals, and splittable hands. There are two charts depending on whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17.
Other basic strategy rules.
Ideally, the basic strategy shows the play which, on average, will result in the greatest win or the least loss per initial hand played. The way I usually go about this is to look at the initial 2-card hands only. Generally, this will result in the overall best play. However, soft 18 against a dealer ace when the dealer stands on soft 17 provides the only known exception that I am aware of for any number of decks. As my blackjack appendix 9 shows, a 2-card soft 18 vs A has an expected value of hitting of -0.100359, and of standing -0.100502. So with two cards it is very slightly better to hit. However, not all soft 18's are composed of two cards. The more the cards in the player's hand the more the odds favor standing. Simulations show that if forced to always hit or always stand, it is better to stand. I would like to thank Don Schlesinger for bringing this unusual play to my attention.