Blackjack Match Play

Posted : admin On 4/10/2022

Definitions

Blackjack Match The Dealer Payouts
How Does Blackjack Match Play Work
Play Blackjack For Fun
Blackjack Match Play
Match Play 21
Blackjack Match Play
Free Match The Dealer Blackjack

Ace/King Blackjacks Matching Suits: Player and dealer have A-K, all 4 cards of the same suit. Matching Suited Blackjacks: Player and dealer identical blackjacks, all 4 cards of the same suit. Three Aces: Player A-A and dealer up-card is Ace. Three Kings: Player. Less serious players like to play free online blackjack for fun, enjoying the fact that there’s no need to make a deposit, register for an online account or hand over any personal information. Beat the dealer! Make your bet, and you're dealt two cards. If you think you can get closer to 21 without going over, have the dealer give you another. Do you feel lucky? Click chips from your bank.

This page shall address the value and optimal usage of promotional, match-play, and non-negotiable chips. Before going further, let me define what each of these chips are.

Match-Play Chips

Blackjack Match The Dealer Payouts

These are the same as promotional chips, except the player must match the match-play bet with real money. They are often not chips at all, but coupons found in fun books. Usually, the player will keep a match-play chip, in the event of a push. Rules can get complicated with blackjack. A blackjack will always pay 3 to 2 on the cash bet, but may only pay even money on the match-play portion. I believe that paying 3 to 2 on both is the norm. If the player doubles or splits, usually the player will only match the cash wager portion, but sometimes the player must match both portions. Match-play chips are usually restricted to even money bets, including blackjack.

Promotional Chips

Promotional Chips are for one bet resolved only. These chips are sometimes offered in mailers to existing players, as an incentive to return to the casino property. Win or lose, the promotional chip is taken from the player after the bet is resolved. If the player wins, he keeps the winnings only. On a tie, the player usually keeps the chip. In blackjack, the player may double or split with real chips or cash. Usually, promotional chips may only be used on even money bets, which include blackjack.

Non-Negotiable Chips

Sometimes called a 'non-neg,' these act like real chips, except the player may not cash them in. Any winnings generated from these chips are paid in cashable chips, and the player keeps the non-neg chip. There are usually no restrictions on how these can be played. In Macau, these are ubiquitous in high limit baccarat rooms, sometimes known as 'dead chips.'

The following table shows the value of each kind of chip in various games and bets. The values are expressed as a percentage of the face value of the chip. The table assumes the player keeps any chip in the event of a push. For blackjack, the other rules assumed are as follows.

Six decks
Double after split allowed
Resplitting aces allowed
Surrender not allowed
Blackjack pays 3 to 2 on all chips
On a match play, player may double or split only cash portion of wager.

Chip Value Table

Game	Bet	Match-Play	Promotional	Non-Neg
Baccarat	Banker	46.98%	48.15%	97.63%
Baccarat	Player	47.95%	49.32%	97.31%
Baccarat	Tie	61.77%	76.12%	84.13%
Big Six	1	33.33%	44.44%	80%
Big Six	2	38.89%	55.56%	76.92%
Big Six	5	42.59%	64.81%	74.47%
Big Six	10	55.56%	74.07%	80%
Big Six	20	51.85%	74.07%	76.92%
Big Six	Joker/Logo (40 to 1)	50%	74.07%	75.47%
Big Six	Joker/Logo (45 to 1)	68.52%	83.33%	84.91%
Blackjack	46.2%	51.4%	99.15%
Craps	Pass	47.88%	49.29%	97.21%
Craps	Don't Pass	47.9%	49.3%	97.23%
Craps	Place 6,8	51.52%	53.03%	97.22%
Craps	Place 5,9	52%	56%	93.33%
Craps	Place 4,10	53.33%	60%	90%
Craps	1-way Hop	69.44%	83.33%	85.71%
Craps	2-way Hop	72.22%	83.33%	88.24%
EZ Baccarat	Banker	48.27%	49.42%	97.72%
Roulette (double-zero)	Even money	42.11%	47.37%	90%
Roulette (double-zero)	Column	57.89%	63.16%	92.31%
Roulette (double-zero)	6-way	73.68%	78.95%	93.75%
Roulette (double-zero)	5-way	71.05%	78.95%	90.91%
Roulette (double-zero)	4-way	78.95%	84.21%	94.12%
Roulette (double-zero)	3-way	81.58%	86.84%	94.29%
Roulette (double-zero)	2-way	84.21%	89.47%	94.44%
Roulette (double-zero)	1-way	86.84%	92.11%	94.59%
Roulette (single-zero)	Even money	45.95%	48.65%	94.74%
Roulette (single-zero)	Column	62.16%	64.86%	96%
Roulette (single-zero)	6-way	78.38%	81.08%	96.77%
Roulette (single-zero)	4-way	83.78%	86.49%	96.97%
Roulette (single-zero)	3-way	86.49%	89.19%	97.06%
Roulette (single-zero)	2-way	89.19%	91.89%	97.14%
Roulette (single-zero)	1-way	91.89%	94.59%	97.22%

How Does Blackjack Match Play Work

Strategy

Match-Play Chips

If restricted to even money bets, then the player will get the most value betting Match Play chips on the Banker bet in EZ baccarat, at 48.27% of face value. If that game isn't an option, then the second best bet to use a Match Play chip is the Player bet in baccarat, at 47.95% of face value. If unrestricted, then the player should make a long-shot wager, preferably on a single number in roulette.

Play Blackjack For Fun

Promotional Chips

If restricted to even money bets, then the player will get the most value betting promotional chips in blackjack, at 51.2% of face value, give or take depending on the table rules. If unrestricted, the player should make a long-shot wager, preferably on a single number in roulette.

The following basic strategy table is for promotional chips, under the rules above. If the player is faced with a real money only decision, as a result of splitting, he should revert to conventional basic strategy. The row for a soft 21 is for a 2-card soft 21 after splitting tens, not a blackjack.

Non-Negotiable Chips

Whether restricted or not, the player should bet these in blackjack, where the value is 99.6% of face value, give or take depending on the table rules. If restricted to baccarat, as is the case in Macau, they are best used on the banker bet. I have in-depth coverage of the non-negotiable chips in Macau on my companion site, Wizardofmacau.com.

Other Coupons

The free ace coupon may be used as an ace, in lieu of the first card dealt, in blackjack. According to my blackjack appendix 14, the expected value of an ace as the first card is 50.4% of the amount bet, assuming liberal six-deck rules (dealer stands on soft 17, double after split allowed, re-splitting aces allowed). These statistics are on a per hand basis, and include pushes. The probability of a push in blackjack is 8.5%. I have not calculated the conditional probability of a tie, given the first player card is an ace. Assuming the push probability is still 8.5%, and the player keeps the coupon on a push, the value of a free ace is 55.1% of face value, under the same liberal rule assumptions.

First Winning Blackjack Pays 2 to 1

The probability of a winning blackjack is 4.53%, in a six-deck game. On average, they come along once in 22.06 hands. The house edge under liberal six-deck rules is 0.29%. So, the player can expect to lose 22.06 × 0.0029 = 0.064 bets waiting for a blackjack. The coupon obviously is worth half a bet. So, the value of a 2 to 1 blackjack coupon is 50% - 6.4% = 43.6% of the amount the player may bet per hand.