Blackjack Triple Down
Triple 7 ranks among the most popular blackjack variations out there because it combines the rules of the traditional casino-banked card game with a progressive side bet that can reward players with a massive jackpot.
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Doubling Down Rules in Triple 7 Blackjack The rigidity of the rules also affects the doubling down decisions players can make in Triple 7. You are allowed to double down but only on starting hands that consist of two cards for a total of 9, 10, and 11. Players are dealt only one extra card following a double down. A question for the AP's: Are there marginal circumstances where a double down would still be the most appropriate play, even if triple down is allowed? No, for the same reason that it is never correct to 'double for less.' From my blackjack appendix 5 every correct doubling play has a positive expected value. For that reason, you should want to. Blackjack pays 3 to 2 Early surrender for any hands except the situation dealer shows Ace Split three times to make 4 hands Split aces to 1 time (dealer gives only one card to splitted Aces) And also when you make double down whenever you want you can make one more double after got the third card (They call extra double).
Creating this blackjack variation was a smart move on behalf of software providers. Gambling operators are well familiar with the fact the vast majority of blackjack players are not concerned with advanced techniques like card counting, neither do they incorporate optimal strategy while at the tables.
In a way, the introduction of variations like Triple 7 allows casinos to increase their take from the blackjack tables they operate. This variant of the game is mostly available at online casinos although a number of landbased establishments have also made it available to their customers. Online you can typically find it at websites that use the Microgaming software.
Basic Rules and Payouts in Triple 7 Blackjack
Triple 7 Blackjack is a shoe game that normally uses five full decks of cards. When you play it online, the decks are reshuffled automatically by the software at the end of each round. The objective is again to beat the dealer with a stronger hand total without going over 21.
Once the cards have been dealt at the start of a round, the players act on their hands and can make the standard decisions in blackjack, i.e. hitting, standing, doubling, or splitting pairs. When the dealer’s exposed card is an Ace, players are offered to buy insurance by making another bet that amounts to half their initial stake. If the dealer indeed has a natural, the insurance bet pays at a ratio of 2 to 1. If not, the player automatically loses their insurance.
Dealers of Triple 7 Blackjack must stand on all totals of 17, both soft and hard. A player blackjack offers the standard payout of 3 to 2. The other winning hands pay out even money unless you hit one of the combinations of 7s listed below, in which case you earn a higher payout.
Additional Payouts in Triple 7
In order to qualify for the additional payouts awarded on hands that contain one or more 7s, the player is expected to contribute an extra side bet, typically to the amount of $1. In Microgaming’s online version of this game, these side bets are automatically subtracted from your balance each time you play a hand. This makes the game very expensive to play even with a sufficiently high bankroll.
On the positive side of things, the side bet can earn you a tasty payout. How much you get depends on the number of 7s you have in your hand. Side bets pay as follows:
- 5 to 1 for one 7 regardless of its suit
- 25 to 1 for two 7s of any suit
- 50 to 1 for two suited 7s of spades, clubs, or hearts
- 250 to 1 for three 7s of any suit
- 1,000 to 1 for three suited 7s of spaces, clubs, or hearts
- The entire progressive jackpot for three 7s of diamonds
Note that these are the payouts in Microgaming’s online variation of the game. The ratios may differ at landbased tables where players usually get 2,000 to 1 or even 5,000 to 1 for three suited 7s. Other than that, you get the extra payouts for qualifying hands even if they result in the loss of your main bet.
Splitting Pairs in Triple 7 Blackjack
The splitting rules in Triple 7 are less favorable than those in standard variations of blackjack. Players can split a single time only to a maximum of two hands as resplitting is not an option here.
Also, you can split ten-value cards but only if they are identical like J-J, K-K, Q-Q, or 10-10. Aces can also be split but if you happen to catch a ten-value card, the hand is not considered a blackjack. Instead, it is treated as a regular 21 and returns even money. Drawing to split Aces is not an option, either.
Doubling Down Rules in Triple 7 Blackjack
The rigidity of the rules also affects the doubling down decisions players can make in Triple 7. You are allowed to double down but only on starting hands that consist of two cards for a total of 9, 10, and 11. Players are dealt only one extra card following a double down. Doubling after a split is not permitted here, which increases the house edge of the game even further.
House Edge and RTP
The unfavorable rules of Triple 7 Blackjack yield a higher house edge for your main bets but this gets even higher on the side bets that qualify you for winning the progressive pot.
Each side bet contributes to the progressive pools. Once a player wins the jackpot, the pools are reset and the pot starts accumulating all over again. In the Microgaming version, the pot starts seeding at the amount of $10,000. It pays around $74,000 on average and hits roughly once per year.
We only mention these figures because most players mistakenly assume making the side bet every time is worth it because it can eventually earn them the progressive payout. Unfortunately, the odds of winning the jackpot are minuscule. What adds insult to injury is the fact the pools are reset to the above-specified minimum each time somebody does win, which gives the house a huge edge of around 38%.
The edge is reduced by 3.5% for each increment of $10,000 that is pooled. Respectively, the side bets start yielding a positive expectation once the pools reach $109,000, which rarely happens since the pot drops at $74,000 on average.
Triple 7 Strategy and Tips
The basic strategy moves for this variation are almost the same as those for traditional blackjack games but there are several exceptions. These concern primarily one’s splitting decisions for pairs of 7s.
The basic strategy normally recommends players to split paired 7s against dealer upcards deuce through 7. However, this move is no longer optimal here. You should always keep your 7s together because drawing a third 7 can earn you an extra payout of 250x your side bet if unsuited or 1,000x your side bet when suited.
Last but not least, playing the side bet becomes a smart move only once the jackpot has reached $109,000 in Microgaming’s version of the game. We suggest you wait until this happens before you take a shot at winning a massive payout.
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New to this forum - but joined based on this thread. Got the promotion info from the Sun and curious what the word was out there. I have confirmed the rules from the player's club people. They said you can triple (not quadruple) down on any hand from 6am Thursday until 6am on Friday. And it did seem like the max bet was $250 (and thus you can slide an extra $500 in for the 'triple down'.
Another bonus - they are having auditions for American's Top Model down the street at MGM Grand at 10am. It is tough to leave the tables, but for a nice break it could be worth it. Plus my guess is they will be hanging out tonight there.
I am not sure how crowded it will be - I tend to disagree that there will be a line for seats at 6am on a summer Thursday morning. Yes, I will be there, along with a crew. But there is still some volatility here. And that leads me to my question...
QUESTION: If one were to play the full 24 hours, perfect tripling strategy, 60 hands/hour, what are the chances of leaving down Friday morning? I believe it to be around 25%.
I'm no math wiz, but I believe you have to state the percentage of your backroll you are flat-betting for someone to answer the question. Edit: On second thought, no you don't. See the 'no math wiz' statement. Duh!
I'm no math wiz, but I believe you have to state the percentage of your backroll you are flat-betting for someone to answer the question. Edit: On second thought, no you don't. See the 'no math wiz' statement. Duh!
Correct, you don't. But there is a very real chance of losing, and losing very big. You should be concerned with your Risk of Ruin.
This promotion is far from a sure thing - the edge is very small, and the variance is around 50% higher than regular blackjack, so the swings will be absolutely enormous; this may be what they're counting on. This promo is really only for those with a very strong stomach, and a VERY large bankroll.
I wouldn't object if someone wanted to run the numbers for N hands though. It might bring all the hype back to reality a little bit.
Assume you are flipping a coin with p=50.75% you win, p=49.25% you lose (a 1.5% player advantage).
stdev = sqrt (# hands * 50.75% * 49.25).
Assume 60 hands/hour for 24 hours (1,440 hands).
So stdev = 19, and expected wins is 731
Breakeven is 720 wins = 11 away from expected. 11/19 = .569 standard deviations.
A normal distribution will hit .569 standard deviations from mean 28.4% of the time, and so you can expect to be down 28.4% of the time by Friday at 6am.
Confirmation? Wizard?
I've played twelve of these so far and have won two. Since the player risks nothing, it's a good deal for those betting table minimum, but probably meaningless to the purple chip player at a $10 table. Come to think of it, it will mean a heck of a lot to the purple chip players and here's why: Be prepared for play to come to a grinding halt every hour on the hour as the players ask the same questions over and over and the floorperson painstakingly explains it over and over and over.Hands per hour will take a dive on the day of all days that you want them to increase. I went into this much detail in hopes that all who read this will have a heads up and will just go with the flow rather than having to ask questions upon seeing those white chips suddenly appear. The casino was dead at 11:00 this morning but that will soon change.
Good luck to everyone heading to Uncasville. I'll be right there with ya.
Assume large enough bankroll so no risk of ruin.
Assume you are flipping a coin with p=50.75% you win, p=49.25% you lose (a 1.5% player advantage).
stdev = sqrt (# hands * 50.75% * 49.25).
Assume 60 hands/hour for 24 hours (1,440 hands).
So stdev = 19, and expected wins is 731
Breakeven is 720 wins = 11 away from expected. 11/19 = .569 standard deviations.
A normal distribution will hit .569 standard deviations from mean 28.4% of the time, and so you can expect to be down 28.4% of the time by Friday at 6am.
Confirmation? Wizard?
Where is the variance accounted for? In regular blackjack, it's 1.3, in this game, it's about 1.9.
From qfit:
Assuming 1440 hands, with a win rate of 1.5%, stdev=1.4:
50% of the time you'll end between -15 and 60 units
75% of the time you'll end between -41 and 90 units
Let's see, for a $250 bet, betting full kelly would require a bankroll of about (K=BR*EV/VAR) $30k. But that leave a (lifetime) risk of ruin at 13.5%, which is a bit high for my taste!
Where is the variance accounted for? In regular blackjack, it's 1.3, in this game, it's about 1.9.
The variance is part of the standard deviation calculation.
Btw, what all of this says is we should be teaming up...
Wednesday night fireworks are cancelled. Bummer.
The $500 limit is the limit on the 'triple down' portion of the bet. So, if you bet $700, you can double for $700, and then your triple is limited to $500 more.
This was the example in the email and seemed pretty clear. No clarity on what happens to the limit if there is a split involved, but that is a smaller issue anyway. Also no clarity on whether players will be limited to one hand - they might. She seemed pretty certain the promotion would last the full duration - though she would not swear to it of course.
So, there you go. The promotion is twice as good as most of us thought, and if you are going to maximize, be ready to flat bet $500.
Now, in return for this service I have provided the board, I would like to ask for a service from the Wizard (with whom I have never corresponded, but for whom, I'd just like to say, I have tremendous admiration). Wizard, I was grateful to have your table of exact MS triple down basic strategy and I have committed it to memory. Any chance you can provide a table of high low indices? Or, at the least, the indices on common triple down decisions. Or, at the least, the indices on the new triple downs, like 8 v. 6. I am going to have to play through some negative counts and I don't want to be betting an additional grand on 8 v. 6 if it isn't a good play.
Thanks.
The $500 limit is the limit on the 'triple down' portion of the bet. So, if you bet $700, you can double for $700, and then your triple is limited to $500 more.
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So, there you go. The promotion is twice as good as most of us thought [...]
Blackjack Triple Download
If true this is pretty sick. I wish I had the bankroll to bet the max.Blackjack Triple Dot
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