European No Hole Card (ENHC)
If the dealer takes no hole card and the player loses double down and split bets to a dealer Blackjack, the player must double-down and split less often. It is simply too risky to double or split when the dealer may take the extra bet on a Blackjack. The exception is a pair of aces against a dealer ten. You will still split this hand since you have two aces, reducing the chance that the dealer has a Blackjack. The following hands are not doubled or split with ENHC:
|
ENHC No Splits or Doubles |
|
11 vs. 10 |
|
11 vs. Ace |
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Ace,Ace vs. Ace |
|
8,8 vs. Ace |
|
8,8 vs. Ten |
Early Surrender vs. Ten (ES10)
Some of the casinos that use ENHC also use a variation of surrender called Early Surrender vs. Ten (ES10). This is a good rule that allows a surrender when the dealer has a ten up, even if the dealer has Blackjack. This is not allowed in the typical American late surrender game. The following additional hands are surrendered with ES10.
ES10 Surrenders |
|
14 vs. 10 |
|
7,7 vs. 10 |
|
8,8 vs. 10 |
Early Surrender (ES)
Full early surrender, allowing surrender against a dealer ace even when the dealer has a Blackjack, is a very valuable, but unfortunately rarely available rule these days. Atlantic City originally played by this rule, but dropped it. It can be found in a few casinos in Vancouver and Africa, and it was available in Moscow. Surrender against a dealer ace with 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 7, 6, 5 and any pairs that add to those totals. Also with a pair of 2s against an ace if the dealer hits soft-17.
© 2009 Norman Wattenberger
