Blackjack Switch Strategy

Blackjack Switch is a very exciting variation on the game of blackjack, where you are dealt two hands, and you actually get to make the decision to switch the second card you've been dealt between each hand, in order to improve it, before having to make any strategy decisions of your own. In fact, you then make your Basic Strategy decision based on the "new" hands you have constructed for yourself.

There are some things that have to be noted, however. In an unusual twist, when the dealer gets a hand of 22, that is going to constitute a "push" or tie with any hand you are holding, with the exception of a two-card 21 (i.e., a natural). Some of the other rules are the same as you would find in a regular game, including doubling down on any two cards and doubling down after splits, but the dealer also customarily hits soft 17. Also, blackjacks pay off at even money instead of the usual 3-to-2. It is obvious that you are required to play two hands at the same time in this game.

What is critical in this game, then, is being able to determine when it makes sense to make a switch. Some of the situations are patently obvious; for example, if you are dealt a 5-9 on one hand and a 10-6 on another, it makes perfect sense to switch the nine and the six to create a doubling situation on the one hand and a "pat" hand on the other. In other cases, it's a little more subtle.

You're going to evaluate the strength of the dealer's hand based on the upcard. The best upcards, obviously, are the ones where the dealer can make a pat hand (a standing hand) with a ten-value card. Those are anything from the seven through the Ace. The upcards of three through six are weak dealer upcards because they create busts more than the others (5 and 6 are especially bad for the house). The two is an upcard that is very dangerous for the player to go up against, even in normal circumstances, but in Blackjack Switch, it can be especially bothersome because unlike regular blackjack, the dealer does not bust out with two tens but achieves 22, which as mentioned, pushes anything except your two-card 21.

The general rule is that you are certainly going to want to switch in situations where you can improve the chances of both hands to beat the dealer, and this may include taking "stiff" hands that could be improved just a little, as long as they give you a shot to win, as opposed to keeping hands that have a much lesser chance. There are a number of principles you can put into play, many of which have a strong basis in blackjack logic. One you've switched, you will plug into the basic Blackjack Strategy for the most part.

Using the correct switching techniques in Blackjack Switch will reduce the house edge to about 20%-50% of what it would be otherwise, which means that the perfect Basic Strategy player will be even closer to a dead-even game with the house. It goes without saying that while online, many of the sharp players prefer to engage in Blackjack Switch over the other conventional blackjack games.