| Most casinos will allow us not only to split all pairs, but to resplit pairs other than Aces once more for a total of three hands, or twice more for a total of four hands. A few allow no resplits. If you're dealt a pair of 8s, split and receive another 8, you must play the hand as a 16, with the options to hit or stand. We're better off if the casino allows resplits--the more, the merrier. For non-card counters, figure that if it's the right play to split the initial pair, it's right to resplit subsequent pairs, too. In a multiple-deck game in which the player is permitted to double down after splitting pairs, that means always splitting Aces and 8s, and never splitting 5s and 10s. Split 4s only if the dealer shows a 5 or 6. Split 2s, 3s, 6s and 7s if the dealer shows a 2 through 6, and split 9s if the dealer shows 2 through 6, 8 or 9. If doubling down after splits is not allowed, do not split 4s at all, do not split 2s or 3s against a dealer's 2 or 3, or 6s against a dealer's 2. LATE SURRENDER: Some casinos allow players to surrender half their bets instead of playing out the hand and risking losing the full wager. If the surrender is allowed before the dealer checks to see if he has a blackjack, it's called "early surrender." If the dealer checks for blackjack first, and collects losing bets if he does, it's "late surrender." Early surrender is so favorable to the player that it's rarely seen. I know of no casino in the United States that currently offers early surrender. Late surrender is another matter. It's not exactly common, but it can be found. The idea when using surrender is to cut your losses on hands in which you are at an extreme disadvantage. In a multiple-deck game in which the dealer stands on all 17s, we surrender with hard 16 if the dealer's face-up card is a 9, 10-value or Ace, and we surrender with hard 15 if the dealer's up card is a 10-value. If the dealer hits soft 17, we surrender just slightly more often. We still surrender hard 16 against a 9, 10-value or Ace, but we surrender on hard 15 if the dealer has either a 10-value or an Ace. Internet gambling is not my cup of tea, for many reasons. If I'm going to play, I prefer it to be in a social situation rather than alone on a computer. Too many online casinos are either unregulated or barely regulated, leaving the question of whether the games are random. Internet gaming remains illegal in the United States, and well-regulated jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man exclude U.S. gamblers. There's also some anxiety over collecting winnings long-distance rather than walking to the cashier's cage. It's that last problem that has become the stickler for David Lyell, a California player who e-mailed me with a problem. He'd been playing at 1casino.1cnp.com and tried to cash out $459. He'd cashed out winnings a couple of times before, but this time it wasn't going to be so easy. When 20 days passed and he had neither a check nor an explanation, he sent me an e-mail describing the situation. |
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