Soft 17

[dbarry]

I am going on the Mariner soon and I'm trying to sharpen up my basic strategy for black jack. Could someone tell me if the dealer stands or hits a soft 17?

thank you so much!
Darlene

[Kuki]

I just came off of a Princess cruise. They stayed on soft 17, so would think that's true of all Carnival Corp. ships.

However I don't specifically recall if the policy is the same on RCI. You could call and ask for their casino dept.

[dbarry]

Originally Posted by Kuki

I just came off of a Princess cruise. They stayed on soft 17, so would think that's true of all Carnival Corp. ships.

However I don't specifically recall if the policy is the same on RCI. You could call and ask for their casino dept.

Thank you, Kuki, I will do just that. I'm not sure that there was much of a difference "basic strategy-wise", but my memory just isn't what it used to be. That should make playing blackjack so much more interesting!

Darlene

[Russell in MD]

RCCL hit S17 the two times Ive been on EOS. Carnival/Princess no.

Hitting of S17 and the 8 deck shoes really cranks up the odds in favor of the casino.

See here http://www.qfit.com/blackjack-odds-calculator.htm

The odds go from -0.207% to -0.424% just by the dealer hitting S17 on an 8 deck shoe, which is what cruise ships commonly use.

There is a sliver of hope. There may be a single deck game on your ship. If so exploit it.

As far as changes in BS for dealers hitting S17 there is none that I know of. Contemporary BS has been honed down on super computers over the last fews years to a point where there is a basic generic one that is pretty much used for all situations/playing conditions. The % advantage gained by situation specific BS is almost microscopic and would be unoticable.

R