Since I started playing CW 2 years ago, I latched onto Blackjack as a game to play. I know how to card count and have played in Casinos, but what I like about CW blackjack is the game, if played properly, favors the player. And you can play 250M coins at a time (single player x 5) which helps quickly cash in big charms.
The rules that help the player compared to casinos:
2 to 1 on Blackjack instead of 1.5 to 1
automatic win with 5 cards, not busting
very friendly pair splitting rules on aces.
Using this basic strategy, and no card counting, there is a slight edge to the player, about 4%, or 10M for every 250M played.
There is a high risk to this strategy in the short run - I had a bad streak where I lost almost 20B (without charms). For the geeks out there, I created a 5 sigma table, which shows how much you would win playing various numbers of rounds anywhere from -5 to +5 standard errors above the expected value. Keep in mind that 95% of the time, your result will be within 2 standard errors of the expected value.
Other assumptions are a random shuffle. I was told that blackjack is 3 decks reshuffled after all cards are dealt. I usually try counting and switch between classic and hula if the deck is unfavorable. However, you don’t have to count to use the basic strategy.
I love it, it’s downright beautiful. Once someone gets the hang of the charts, it’s a great teaching tool. Blows what I used to post as tips out of the water. Very impressive.
@Elanor Thank you for sharing your strategy. I follow most of these guidelines but a couple I can try the next time I play.
I am not sure what the term 3H and 4H mean. So if you have a hard 14 and dealer has a hard 14, it would be Hit with 4 cards, otherwise Stand. So is that saying you should take a hit up to 4 cards on that particular hand dealt to you? Sorry as I’m sure it is a simple answer that I am missing.
4H means you already have 4 cards. For example you have 2-3 and hit and get 4 and hit again and get a 5. You have 4 cards that total 14. So you hit against dealer 4 because not busting with 5 cards is an automatic win.
Most of the chart I already know, but I do have one question. On double 10’s. I normally will split if the dealer shows under 5. Besides the its more likely that a 20 will beat the dealer, is there a reason for not splitting? Sadly I see the dealer with 21 too often; worst was around to 10 hands in a row. wiped out 1.8b that day.
Unless you’re counting, the math says never split 10’s. The reason is the expected gain from not splitting is greater than the expected gain from splitting.
If you are counting and the deck is rich in tens and aces, there are opportunities to split 10’s, but never with the basic strategy.
Great job, Elanor! Your strategy closely aligns with the one I’ve been using, which is calculated based on CW’s rules. The main difference seems to be splitting pair 4s against a dealer’s 5. Also, don’t forget you can reset your game up to 20 times per month.
Here are some key differences between CW’s Blackjack and typical casino Blackjack:
You can split aces multiple times.
Double down on any two cards, including split aces.
It makes me feel better that we have essentially the same strategy. Like you said the only difference is Splitting 4-4 against a 5 and some small changes regarding soft 18. Probably so close to indifference that are simulations came up slightly different, but I think I may rerun it.
And yes, I use my 20 mulligans wisely.
I left the soft 21 row off my table, because CW does not let you hit a soft 21. If they did, it would always be an advantage to hit a 4 card soft 21.
I thank Elanor and Night Guy for their tips in helping with my black jack game. Another big advantage when playing blackjack in CW versus real casinos is that there are no jerks around who gets pissed with you when they lose a hand.
Coin bet refund doesn’t work on the one armed bandits as far as I can tell. Using the arrow exit from a game; mahjong, fringo, bingo…all will refund the initial bet, you get mail saying they are refunding the intitial bet etc…; glad to know refresh works as well, thanks
i see way too many players splitting 10’s. although the win rate is pretty good… in the long run splitting 10’s is never a good idea due to the math, and logic that a 20, is hard to beat. i never split 10’s and only loose on occasion. Abet i see players splitting 10’s out 4H and winning… but i see that they lose more often than winning.
@Elanor, I love charts and yours is great. Simple and easy to read and understand. I play most games on instinct and do ok that way, but I’m sure this chart will help me do even better in blackjack. I’m going to print it out so I can refer to it while playing. Thanks so much for providing this tool to help us make better and more strategic decisions when playing CW blackjack.
@Elanor I used your chart for the first time tonight and was truly amazed and very pleased at how much my win rate immediately increased, although I don’t have any exact numbers. Ty again so much for all the work you put into figuring this out and sharing it with us.
One question for you. I have usually only played 3 bj hands at a time on here, because when I first joined I seemed to get more wins with 3 as opposed to 5 hands. Using your system should I always be playing all 5 hands?
Ty Elanor. I’ve been experimenting and playing only three hands seems to give me better results, however I usually only play bj for challenges. Then if I’m doing well I’ll play a few more rounds, but never long sessions, so that may be the difference.
