[00:00] A couple weeks ago, I made a video about the Blackjack variant called the Double Down Madness. And to my surprise, I got an email within a couple days from, I guess, the maker of it.
[00:12] And so he wanted me to read this and kind of give you some information about that game. I will let you decide your thoughts after it. I'm not going to say a whole lot. I'm not trying to get sued here.
[00:25] But anyway, it goes like this. It says, A1 Blackjack. I wanted to reach out personally and introduce myself. My name is Matt Booth, and I'm the table game designer behind Double Down Madness.
[00:37] So apparently this guy made this game or invented it or whatever. He said, I've been following your content for a while. Really appreciate the value you bring to the industry. In a recent video, you mentioned that Double Down Madness carries a house edge of about 2%.
[00:50] I wanted to offer a quick clarification. The house edge depends on the pay table, as casinos can adjust it. The optimal pay table, which pays suited blackjacks 2 to 1 and all other blackjacks 3 to 2, produces a house edge of approximately 0.9% when played out with optimal strategy.
[01:12] When the game is offered as 3 to 2 across the board, the house edge does rise to around 2%. I just wanted to ensure players understand that the game is designed to be fair when the recommended pay table is in use,
[01:28] especially since, like you, I view 6-5 blackjack as unfair to players. If possible, I'd really appreciate any clarification you can share with your audience
[01:40] so players know how to look for the 2-1 suited blackjack pay table, which reflects the intended design and intended house advantage of the game. My goal for the game is to be fair, transparent,
[01:53] and enjoyable for everyone, especially since I'm a big fan of Blackjack in its entirety. Feel free to reach out anytime if you have questions. And so I also, as GLI approved, which I looked into I think that a gaming board that approves slots table games and things like that All right so I responded and said
[02:15] Hi, Matt, thanks for the email. I appreciate the clarification. That makes sense that the House Edge can change depending on how Blackjack's are paid out. I'd love to share your email with my audience and possibly the basic strategy chart you mentioned as well.
[02:30] I asked if I'd have permission to do that. and if he'd mind sending you that chart. So I'll show that here in a little bit. Additionally, could you clarify how blackjacks are paid, which he's also going to do here in a little bit.
[02:43] And I said, I'm glad we're on the same page about 6 to 5, blackjack being a scam. And I asked if he knew if any double down madness tables are currently 6 to 5 or not and if there's any extra info that he might want to share with my audience.
[02:57] So I thought it was interesting that the maker of this game kind of reached out. So this is what he responded back. This is kind of last email here. But anyway, it's interesting. The normal 6 to 5 blackjack pays or has about a 0.5% house edge.
[03:12] And even with the better rules, he's saying this one is 0.9. So I'll let you guys decide for yourself what you want to play. Sorry, Vance, for the long email, but it has a lot of useful information. Please see the information below.
[03:25] These figures were calculated in accordance with GLI standards and reflects the expected hold for both 6-deck and 8-deck configurations. Please note that the theoretical house edge is approximately 0.9% when using optimal strategy.
[03:38] I've also included the basic strategy charts. My goal is to help educate players about the game, especially as house advantages for many table games have increased in recent years. For example, 6-5. You and I both agreed to stay away.
[03:52] Please emphasize the value of seeking out preferred pay tables where suited blackjacks pay 2 to 1 and unsuited pay 3 to 2. In Las Vegas, this pay table can be found at properties such as the El Cortez, MGM Grand,
[04:04] and New York, New York. When the game is offered as 3 to 2 across the board, the house edge increases roughly to 2 like in the video you posted However by sharing this information players may be able to encourage casinos to offer suited Blackjack versions more consistently for the better edge
[04:24] To answer your question about how Blackjacks are paid, when you double on ace or ten, and when you don't double, here is a copy and paste from the GLI posted on Nevada Rules of Play.
[04:36] If you hit, the player receives an additional card. The player hits when they have a single ace. The player is dealt a single card and is forced to stand. Stand. The player indicates their actions are complete.
[04:51] Double down. The player places an additional wager of value less than or equal to their current wager amount. Note that the player can continue taking actions after doubling down. The player can double down with even three or more cards.
[05:06] The only exception is if they double down with a single ace in which the player is dealt a single card and is forced to stand. The player repeatedly chooses from the actions above until they choose to stand, or their hand busts with a score of over 21.
[05:26] If the player busts, they lose their main wager and any additional wagers made from doubling down. If the player has a blackjack from hitting or doubling down, they immediately win.
[05:38] The pay for winning with a blackjack is dependent on the chosen pay table, like mentioned above. In other words, if a player makes an initial wager of $25, results in ace, and chooses to double down, their total wager becomes $50.
[05:52] If the hand results in a suited blackjack, the entire wager receives 2 to 1 payout, $100 in winnings, plus the return of the original $50 wager, for a total of $150 payouts.
[06:08] I have a couple issues with that, but that's okay. Your initial wager shouldn't necessarily be considered a win, but again, I'm not trying to get sued here. Alright this also works if the player has a 10 valued card and receives an ace Automatic payout if it is suited or unsuited blackjack For a single ace you can think of the ace getting just one card The same way it works in regular blackjack when aces are
[06:34] split, each one still only gets a single card. To make the overall math work, we incorporated the push 22 feature. While it's not my personal favorite, it allowed us to achieve a house edge
[06:47] of roughly 0.9%, which is both fair and comparable to the traditional 3-2 blackjack house edge of approximately 0.5%. Again, I'll let you guys take a look at these numbers for yourself.
[07:01] I'll let you decipher what you think is best. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out, and then he goes on to talk about that, and he said, of course, feel free to mention me by name and write and wonder if you like.
[07:13] That's the company he works for. here is the six deck and eight deck house edge theoretical and simulated as well as which interesting those are different as well as the basic strategy chart that he gave me
[07:28] for the reason it did cut off a little bit but this is from that Matt Booth and he did say to mention his by name and here is his email if you guys would like to contact him about this
[07:42] particular game. So I thought it was interesting that the creator of this game reached out to me. I don't know. I didn't think my channel was all that popular, but it's interesting that that guy reached out and wanted to have a conversation about me kind of dogging on his
[08:00] game. Again, I'll let you guys read into these numbers for yourself. Regular Blackjack, just reminder, does, if you play perfect basic strategy, does have a house edge of around 0.5%, whereas this one even with that suited blackjack is 0.9%
[08:15] so I'm just trying to educate you as to what is the best games out there and of course how you can beat it with card counting if you'd like to learn more about card counting and how to beat regular blackjack
[08:27] you can check out the video on the screen