One blackjack hand that always draws attention, but can provide good value for the player if done under the right circumstances, is splitting tens. A while back I was playing at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas when I had the opportunity, and the good fortune, to split tens. The True Count was +7 at the time, which means I had approximately a 3% advantage over the house. That doesn’t sound like a lot to a casual blackjack player, but keep in mind that multibillion dollar Vegas casinos are built on fractions of a percentage, and it is actually very good.
I was playing two hands. My first hand was a Jack-Ten, and my second hand was a King-King. The dealer’s up card was a Six. I was trying to play by myself under the radar, and had wagered $600 on each hand. Basic Strategy – the mathematically correct way to play your hand versus the dealer’s up card – says to stand in this situation. Being a skilled player, I made a Numbers play, which is a deviation to Basic Strategy based on the count. As you know more information about the cards remaining to be played (as a skilled card counter does), then you can make adjustments to Basic Strategy called Numbers plays. The correct Numbers play is to split tens against a dealer’s Six if the True Count is greater than +5.
As soon as I said “Split” two things happened in rapid succession. First, the entire table groaned their displeasure. And second, the dealer shouted over his shoulder to the Pit Boss that I was “Splitting Tens!” So much for under the radar. I pulled an Ace (for a Jack-Ace) and another Ten (for a Ten-Ten). A few choice words were lobbed my way when I spilt the Ten-Ten a second time. I pulled a Seven (for a Ten-Seven) and a Nine (for a Ten-Nine). On my original King-King hand I stayed put. Of course, even this “correct” play caused some exasperated hand gestures and eye rolls from other players because now I wasn’t being consistent, according to the other players at the table. I already split tens twice, so why not the third time, their logic goes? To them, the only thing worse that not playing Basic Strategy is to play inconsistently. But I was playing consistently, consistently making the correct play!
So why didn’t I split the King-King? The answer is that when you split tens the Number increases by 1 every time. The first time the number is +5 (i.e., if the True Count is greater than +5, which it was, then split the tens), the second time it is +6, and so on. In order to split tens a third time, the True Count would have had to be greater than +7. By that point, it had decreased to less than that so I followed Basic Strategy, instead of the Numbers, and stood pat. One of the biggest myths in blackjack is that how one player plays his hand can determine the fate of the entire table. If only the player at third base had stood on his 16 and not taken the dealer’s bust card. If only that moron had not split his 10’s and screwed up the flow of the cards for everyone. This type of thinking is nonsense and a big waste of time and energy. Gamblers tend to have very selective memories and focus only on the bad bets. In the long run the decisions that other players make, no matter how bad, have no effect on whether you win or lose. The only player you should be concerned with is yourself. How well you play determines whether you win or lose. Not hunches. Not superstitions. Not other players.
I almost hesitate to tell you what the dealer had and the outcome of my hands (but I will), because that defeats the purpose of being a skilled blackjack player. A Professional Blackjack player is concerned with one thing: making correct decisions, every time. The actual win or lose is secondary. If you make the correct decision every hand, then the money will take care of itself. In any event, the dealer turned over a ten (for a 16), and then pulled a ten and busted. All told, I won my four hands for a quick $2,400. The best part was that all the other players at the table left in disgust so I had the table all to myself and made another $3,800 before the cut card came out. By this time I was getting some heat from the Pit Boss, and decided not to press my luck – there is always another casino right down the street. So I collected my chips, hit the road, and dropped back under the radar.
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