No Hole Card Blackjack

Travel the world of casinos all over the globe and you'll come across a huge number of blackjack variations. But the main difference is between the US and Europe. Here in Europe, we play the no-hole-card rule. This rule of the gameplay will actually decrease the house odds for the player, even if only by less than 1 percentage point. Playing this rule along with the surrender/no. It terms of house edge, no-hole card blackjack has no advantages. The exception is, when the casino specifies a rule 'Player loses only original bet against dealer BJ', which is quite rare in European no-hole card blackjack. But if such rule is present, it makes the game essentially the same thing as regular blackjack.

NO-HOLE-CARD BLACKJACK

by Henry Tamburin

Henry Tamburin is the author of the 'Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide,' (www.888casino.com/blog/blackjack-strategy-guide/), editor of the Blackjack Insider Newsletter, and host of www.smartgaming.com. He also teaches blackjack and video poker courses in Las Vegas.

I often get ideas for my articles from questions posed by players. This was the case when a blackjack player emailed me this question: 'Do the odds change if the dealer doesn't receive his hole card until after all the players have completed their hands?'

First, let me briefly explain how the cards are dealt in blackjack. In U.S. casinos, the dealer will start a round of blackjack by dealing two cards in sequence to each player and two cards to herself. Before the players act on their hand, the dealer has both of her cards in front of her on the layout ─ one card is face up and the other is face down tucked under the face-up card (the face down card is also known as the dealer's hole card). If the dealer has an Ace face-up card, she will peek at her downcard, and if it's a ten, the dealer has blackjack and all players' wagers automatically lose, unless they, too, have a natural, in which case, it's a push. (In some casinos, the dealers will also peek at their hole card when their upcard is a ten-value card, but this is the exception rather than the rule.)

In many casinos outside the U.S., the dealer does not take her second card until after all the players have completed their hands. This is known as the 'no hole card' rule. Some players mistakenly believe that the casino gets an extra advantage when the dealer receives her second card after players complete their hands (i.e., they believe the dealer is less likely to bust when the cards are dealt consecutively, rather than when the dealer's second, and possible additional draw cards, are dealt after the players have drawn their cards). Mathematically, it makes no difference in the long run whether the dealer takes her second card before players act on their hand, or she waits and takes the second card after the players act. The no hole card, per se, has no effect on the odds of the game, or on the basic playing strategy (so if you hold a 16, you play it the same way regardless if the dealer has a hole card or not).

What does affect your odds and your playing strategy in no-hole-card games is when a player loses both wagers made on splitting and doubling when the dealer's second card gives her a blackjack. The latter is known as the European No Hole Card rule (abbreviated ENHC), and this does require a slight change in playing strategy.

To be clear, let me give you an example of what happens if you are dealt a pair of eights in a U.S. casino vs. a non-U.S. casino that has the ENHC rule. Suppose you're on U.S. soil, you wager $10, and are dealt a pair of eights with the dealer showing a ten. You follow the basic playing strategy and make another $10 wager and split the eights (yes, that's the correct play). You receive a picture card to one eight, and another picture card to the other eight, and you stand on both 18s. Your fellow table players complete their hands, and then the dealer turns over her downcard, which unfortunately is an Ace, giving her a blackjack. Her blackjack beats both of your 18s. However, the dealer takes only your initial $10 wager, and the second wager you made when you split is a push (you still own it). Your net loss on this hand is $10.

Now let's suppose you get that same hand in a casino that has the ENHC rule. After you split your eights, the dealer's second card is an Ace giving her a blackjack. In this case, you lose your initial $10 wager, and also the second $10 wager that you made when you split. Your net loss on the hand is $20. Get the picture?

The ENHC rule increases the house edge by about 0.11 percent (rule dependent). It also requires a modification to the basic playing strategy. The following table shows the strategy differences for a multi-deck ENHC game (dealer hits soft 17 and players can double after pair splitting), compared to an American game with the same rules (courtesy of Dan Pronovost; for details, see issue # 97 Blackjack Insider Newsletter at www.bjinsider.com). Essentially, the strategy changes occur when the dealer shows a 10 or Ace and include: hitting a hard 11 against a 10; hitting a pair of Aces against the Ace; and hitting a pair of eights against 10 and Ace.

The above modification to the playing strategy for ENHC assumes surrender is not offered. If a casino has ENHC, and offers the players the option to surrender their hand when the dealer shows a ten upcard, then you should surrender 8-8 against a dealer 10 (rather than hit). (But that's not the only hand you should surrender vs 10. If you can surrender with the ENHC rule, you should also surrender all 14s, 15s, and 16s, whether pairs or not.)

Being able to surrender with ENHC is actually quite a favorable rule because you can surrender a poor hand even if the dealer winds up with blackjack. This surrender (known as early surrender) is quite different than the surrender offered in U.S. casinos where you can't surrender your hand if the dealer has a blackjack (remember in U.S. casinos, the dealer peeks, and if she has a blackjack, all the players' initial wagers on hands other than a natural automatically lose, and the round is over). Bottom line is that early surrender against a dealer 10 decreases the house edge by about 0.24 percent (rule dependent), which more than compensates for the slight increase in house edge caused by the ENHC rule. (Note: Besides being able to early surrender against a 10, some casinos will also allow you to early surrender against an Ace.)

To recap: it's no big deal if the rules don't allow the dealer to take a hole card, but it is a big deal if the casino takes both wagers on splits and doubles when the dealer has a blackjack. If the latter is the case, you need to modify your playing strategy (per the above table), and also take advantage of early surrender if it's allowed.

In card games, hole carding is the obtaining of knowledge of cards that are supposed to be hidden from view. The term is usually applied to blackjack but can apply to other games with hidden hole cards, like three card poker and Caribbean stud poker. So long as it does not involve the use of a device like a mirror or actions like touching the dealer's cards, in most jurisdictions hole carding is a legal form of advantage gambling in casino table games. In other games, like stud poker, casinos normally have rules against rubbernecking or having a confederate stand behind an opponent to signal hole cards.

Blackjack players must usually make playing decisions based on only seeing one of the dealer's cards (the upcard). But if the dealer's hole card is spotted, a player who plays correctly has a theoretical advantage of up to 13% instead of the normal player disadvantage of around 0.5%. A hole-card player will often choose not to make certain plays, such as hitting a hard 19 against a dealer 20, so as not to reveal that he can see the dealer's hole card.

This technique is not applicable in most games outside of the United States where the second dealer card is normally not dealt until all players have played.

Strategies[edit]

A normal blackjack strategy has ten columns, for an ace through dealer ten value card. Strategy tables for hole carding differ from normal blackjack tables as they include a column for each possible total dealer hand instead of simply the visible card. Below is a sample hole card hit/stand table for six decks, stand on soft-17. The columns are based on the dealer hand and the rows based on the player hand. Green denotes a hit.

First-basing and spooking[edit]

Printable Blackjack Card

One method of hole carding is to peek at the card when the dealer checks the hole card for blackjack. This is called 'first-basing'.^[1] A modification called 'spooking' refers to a partner with a better view peeking at the hole card in the same circumstance and communicating the information to the player. Peeking devices have made these methods largely obsolete.^[2]

Front-loading[edit]

No Hole Card Blackjack

Front-loading refers to observing the hole card as it is slid under the upcard.^[3] Newer methods of hole-carding concentrate on observation before the down card is placed under the upcard. This provides information about the card even if the dealer upcard is not a ten or an ace. The advantage varies depending on the rules, the percentage of cards seen, and the strategies used.

Partial information[edit]

Henry Tamburin is the author of the 'Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide,' (www.888casino.com/blog/blackjack-strategy-guide/), editor of the Blackjack Insider Newsletter, and host of www.smartgaming.com. He also teaches blackjack and video poker courses in Las Vegas.

I often get ideas for my articles from questions posed by players. This was the case when a blackjack player emailed me this question: 'Do the odds change if the dealer doesn't receive his hole card until after all the players have completed their hands?'

First, let me briefly explain how the cards are dealt in blackjack. In U.S. casinos, the dealer will start a round of blackjack by dealing two cards in sequence to each player and two cards to herself. Before the players act on their hand, the dealer has both of her cards in front of her on the layout ─ one card is face up and the other is face down tucked under the face-up card (the face down card is also known as the dealer's hole card). If the dealer has an Ace face-up card, she will peek at her downcard, and if it's a ten, the dealer has blackjack and all players' wagers automatically lose, unless they, too, have a natural, in which case, it's a push. (In some casinos, the dealers will also peek at their hole card when their upcard is a ten-value card, but this is the exception rather than the rule.)

In many casinos outside the U.S., the dealer does not take her second card until after all the players have completed their hands. This is known as the 'no hole card' rule. Some players mistakenly believe that the casino gets an extra advantage when the dealer receives her second card after players complete their hands (i.e., they believe the dealer is less likely to bust when the cards are dealt consecutively, rather than when the dealer's second, and possible additional draw cards, are dealt after the players have drawn their cards). Mathematically, it makes no difference in the long run whether the dealer takes her second card before players act on their hand, or she waits and takes the second card after the players act. The no hole card, per se, has no effect on the odds of the game, or on the basic playing strategy (so if you hold a 16, you play it the same way regardless if the dealer has a hole card or not).

What does affect your odds and your playing strategy in no-hole-card games is when a player loses both wagers made on splitting and doubling when the dealer's second card gives her a blackjack. The latter is known as the European No Hole Card rule (abbreviated ENHC), and this does require a slight change in playing strategy.

To be clear, let me give you an example of what happens if you are dealt a pair of eights in a U.S. casino vs. a non-U.S. casino that has the ENHC rule. Suppose you're on U.S. soil, you wager $10, and are dealt a pair of eights with the dealer showing a ten. You follow the basic playing strategy and make another $10 wager and split the eights (yes, that's the correct play). You receive a picture card to one eight, and another picture card to the other eight, and you stand on both 18s. Your fellow table players complete their hands, and then the dealer turns over her downcard, which unfortunately is an Ace, giving her a blackjack. Her blackjack beats both of your 18s. However, the dealer takes only your initial $10 wager, and the second wager you made when you split is a push (you still own it). Your net loss on this hand is $10.

Now let's suppose you get that same hand in a casino that has the ENHC rule. After you split your eights, the dealer's second card is an Ace giving her a blackjack. In this case, you lose your initial $10 wager, and also the second $10 wager that you made when you split. Your net loss on the hand is $20. Get the picture?

The ENHC rule increases the house edge by about 0.11 percent (rule dependent). It also requires a modification to the basic playing strategy. The following table shows the strategy differences for a multi-deck ENHC game (dealer hits soft 17 and players can double after pair splitting), compared to an American game with the same rules (courtesy of Dan Pronovost; for details, see issue # 97 Blackjack Insider Newsletter at www.bjinsider.com). Essentially, the strategy changes occur when the dealer shows a 10 or Ace and include: hitting a hard 11 against a 10; hitting a pair of Aces against the Ace; and hitting a pair of eights against 10 and Ace.

The above modification to the playing strategy for ENHC assumes surrender is not offered. If a casino has ENHC, and offers the players the option to surrender their hand when the dealer shows a ten upcard, then you should surrender 8-8 against a dealer 10 (rather than hit). (But that's not the only hand you should surrender vs 10. If you can surrender with the ENHC rule, you should also surrender all 14s, 15s, and 16s, whether pairs or not.)

Being able to surrender with ENHC is actually quite a favorable rule because you can surrender a poor hand even if the dealer winds up with blackjack. This surrender (known as early surrender) is quite different than the surrender offered in U.S. casinos where you can't surrender your hand if the dealer has a blackjack (remember in U.S. casinos, the dealer peeks, and if she has a blackjack, all the players' initial wagers on hands other than a natural automatically lose, and the round is over). Bottom line is that early surrender against a dealer 10 decreases the house edge by about 0.24 percent (rule dependent), which more than compensates for the slight increase in house edge caused by the ENHC rule. (Note: Besides being able to early surrender against a 10, some casinos will also allow you to early surrender against an Ace.)

To recap: it's no big deal if the rules don't allow the dealer to take a hole card, but it is a big deal if the casino takes both wagers on splits and doubles when the dealer has a blackjack. If the latter is the case, you need to modify your playing strategy (per the above table), and also take advantage of early surrender if it's allowed.

In card games, hole carding is the obtaining of knowledge of cards that are supposed to be hidden from view. The term is usually applied to blackjack but can apply to other games with hidden hole cards, like three card poker and Caribbean stud poker. So long as it does not involve the use of a device like a mirror or actions like touching the dealer's cards, in most jurisdictions hole carding is a legal form of advantage gambling in casino table games. In other games, like stud poker, casinos normally have rules against rubbernecking or having a confederate stand behind an opponent to signal hole cards.

Blackjack players must usually make playing decisions based on only seeing one of the dealer's cards (the upcard). But if the dealer's hole card is spotted, a player who plays correctly has a theoretical advantage of up to 13% instead of the normal player disadvantage of around 0.5%. A hole-card player will often choose not to make certain plays, such as hitting a hard 19 against a dealer 20, so as not to reveal that he can see the dealer's hole card.

This technique is not applicable in most games outside of the United States where the second dealer card is normally not dealt until all players have played.

Strategies[edit]

A normal blackjack strategy has ten columns, for an ace through dealer ten value card. Strategy tables for hole carding differ from normal blackjack tables as they include a column for each possible total dealer hand instead of simply the visible card. Below is a sample hole card hit/stand table for six decks, stand on soft-17. The columns are based on the dealer hand and the rows based on the player hand. Green denotes a hit.

First-basing and spooking[edit]

Printable Blackjack Card

One method of hole carding is to peek at the card when the dealer checks the hole card for blackjack. This is called 'first-basing'.^[1] A modification called 'spooking' refers to a partner with a better view peeking at the hole card in the same circumstance and communicating the information to the player. Peeking devices have made these methods largely obsolete.^[2]

Front-loading[edit]

No Hole Card Blackjack

Front-loading refers to observing the hole card as it is slid under the upcard.^[3] Newer methods of hole-carding concentrate on observation before the down card is placed under the upcard. This provides information about the card even if the dealer upcard is not a ten or an ace. The advantage varies depending on the rules, the percentage of cards seen, and the strategies used.

Partial information[edit]

At times the player will see a corner of the hole card, but not enough to determine the exact card. For example, if there is no pip in the corner, the card may be an ace, 2 or 3. Or, if there is a pip in the corner, it is a 4-10, but not a face card. To make use of this additional information, a different set of strategy tables must be used depending on the set of possible cards in the hole.^[4]

Below is a sample blackjack, partial hole card hit/stand table for two decks. The columns are based on the dealer upcard and the rows based on the player hand. Partial hole card tables contain ten columns as the dealer's total hand is not known with complete certainty. A different set of tables must be used depending on the information acquired from the hole card. In this table, the hole card is a six or seven. Green denotes a hit. One might note that this table bears little resemblance to standard blackjack strategy.

Next card play[edit]

Hole carding generally refers to knowing the dealer's hole card. Next card play refers to knowing the next card to be dealt. If a round has not started, and a player knows what his or her first card will be, one can simply alter one's bet depending on the value of that card. In a game like blackjack, if the dealer has already dealt a player's first two cards, and the player knows the next card to be dealt, it becomes possible for playing decisions to be altered to include this additional information.^[4]:255 Strategies are significantly more complex as there exists a different strategy table for each possible next card. Strategies may also differ depending on a player's position in the dealing rotation:

• First Seat – If the player does not take the known card, another player gets it.
• Last Seat – If the player does not take the card, the dealer may draw it. This also applies in a situation where no player to one's left is likely to draw a card.
• No hole card – In a no-hole-card game, if the player does not take the card, it may become the dealer's second card.

Other methods[edit]

• Warped cards – In a casino where a blackjack dealer bends the hole card to check for a blackjack, the cards can become warped. The warps can be later used to determine the value of a face down card. This method is largely obsolete as most casinos use devices instead of bending cards to determine dealer blackjacks, and cards are regularly replaced with new decks.^[5]
• Dealer tells – When a blackjack dealer checks for a blackjack, some dealers may give clues as to the value of the down card, akin to poker tells. Again, most casinos now use devices to check the down card, rendering this obsolete in most casinos.^[6]
• Peeking at other players' cards – Depending on the game and casino, this may or may not be acceptable and may aid player decisions.
• Counting by inference – In blackjack where player cards are dealt face down, the actions of other players can provide clues as to their hidden cards. This is less valuable in modern casinos due to the fewer number of single-deck games and reduction in penetration (how deeply the dealer deals before shuffling.)

Notes[edit]

1. ^Blaine, Rick. Blackjack blueprint : how to play like a pro-- part-time. Huntington Press. p. 154. ISBN0-929712-16-1.
2. ^Snyder, Arnold. The big book of blackjack (1st ed.). Cardoza Pub. p. 311. ISBN1-58042-155-5.
3. ^Uston, Ken. Million dollar blackjack (6th rev. print ed.). Gambling Times. p. 197. ISBN0-89746-068-5.
4. ^ ^abGrosjean, James. Exhibit CAA : beyond counting (1st ed.). South Side Advantage Press, LLC. p. 279. ISBN0-9790061-4-7.
5. ^Humble, Lance; Cooper, Carl. The world's greatest blackjack book (Rev. ed.). Doubleday. p. 141. ISBN0-385-15382-1.
6. ^Snyder, Arnold (2005). Blackbelt in blackjack : playing 21 as a martial art (3rd ed.). New York: Cardoza Pub. ISBN978-1580421430.