Blackjack Switch is one of blackjack variations which is offered at quite a lot of casinos as well as online today to players. The game is quite enjoyable and interesting. The game offers the lowest house edge when compared to the other types of blackjack games. However, the strategy which has to be used in the game is quite complex when compared to the other types of blackjack games because of the switch decisions.
Rules of Blackjack Switch
After the player is dealt the first two cards for every hand, the player then would have the opportunity to swap the top card between both of the hands. There are a few additional rules which favor the dealer in exchange for the benefit which is given to the player.
A dealer 22 is not treated in the game as a bust. It is counted as a push against all of the hands except for the blackjack made by the player. The blackjack would pay at 1:1 and the dealer has to hit on a soft 17.
With the right strategy, the house edge with six decks would only be 0.16% at most online games while with eight decks the house edge would be 0.18%.
Bet size and variance
The standard deviation of the game is quite complex to understand. When the player plays a single hand without the switches the rules including the 1:1 payout for the blackjack, the deviation per hand is at 1.06. however, if a player decides to switch the hand, it could be done in two ways:
- The hands which do not have any optimal strategy for a split or double would often have a very high EV so the switch decision would tend to favor the splits and doubles over the other options. Switch decisions can actually increase the rate of the doubled bets at about 40% and the standard deviation would be increased to 1.10 per hand while the average bet size would increase to 1.12.
- When there are multiple player hands in the game, the switch would have a lower correlation between the hands when compared to the normal blackjack game since the switch decisions generally improve one hand while they worsen the other. There is an estimated standard deviation of 1.25 per round.
Blackjack Switch can be quite an interesting game if the player knows how and when to switch and when not to take that option. Switching could lead to either a really good win or it could even mean a terrible loss if not played with the right strategy. With the right strategy and wise decisions, blackjack switch can be one of the most profitable blackjack games since the house edge in this game is the lowest in comparison to the other types of blackjack games.
Players who are interested in exploring other types of blackjack games and want to try new strategies can try the blackjack switch since it is quite exciting and offers the best odds to the player if good strategy is used.
