Memorizing the playing deviations is great, but unless you know what they mean, it’s worthless. I recently received this question from a premium member on our site, and thought I’d share it with you guys in case anyone else has had the same question:
“I need to know what the correct play deviation is for two different scenarios. One is a hard 12 against a dealers 2. What does the play become at a true count of 3. And the other is a hard 12 against a dealers 3 at a true count of 2. Thank you.”
Here’s my response:
“With both a 12 v. 2 and 12 v. 3, you are going to follow basic strategy, which would be to HIT, until it reaches the indicated count. At the indicated true count (3 and 2, respectively), you will deviate, which in this case is STAND. The theory behind it, is that when there are that many extra 10’s left, you will not want to risk busting your hand, and the dealer has that many extra 10’s to bust his hand with. Hope that helps.”
Deviations are tricky, because they all have different meanings. So make sure you understand both the Basic Strategy decision for each hand, then what the deviation for that hand means.
I recently scoped out a potential target casino near my home. I just wanted to extend my gratitude. If not for the information you guys demonstrated I may have made some very costly mistakes. Right now it’s a gradual process, but I am improving everyday.
what colin neglected to mention is that when you are playing at some hole in the wall casino in some no name village in Austria make sure you double your hard 12’s because they actually play 22 not 21. once i was with colin and i forgot to.
Hey i cannot read the Deviation chart for my life!.. If you could just break down the rules for me and the keys because i think i understand it. ..if there is a number on the chart stating that i have a 12 and the dealer . .well let say he has a 10 . ..if the TC is 4 and the chart shows a number 4 on it as well. .do i hit on that or no?. ..and what are the red ones about too? Please write back as soon as you can. .thanks!
Peter,
Unfortunately, there isn’t a really simple way to break down the chart. But the idea is, follow basic strategy until the you reach the true count of the deviation for that hand. At that point, you are going to deviate from basic strategy. But as far as HOW to deviate, it depends on the situation. For splitting, obviously, you will split at that count. For Soft hands, it typically means that you will double down at that count or higher. For Hard hands, like 16 and 15, it typically means that you will Stand at that count or higher. For 9 and 10, it means you will Double down at that count or higher. If there are specific hands you’re confused about, I could explain it.
The Red ones are the most valuable deviations to know. So if you’re only going to learn 20 of them, learn the red ones.