Playing two hands vs one hand in Blackjack

Posted:05.05.2010, 09:03

What is the advantage of using either two hands of lets say of a value at $30 and one hand of $60?

**Moderator**

BlackJackBob, Hi, It is a bit of a personal preference... you would not magically get better odds by playing 2 hands instead of 1. You get 2 chances, instead of 1, to make a good/bad hand, or to split/double/surrender/loose, ect. I guess it could be viewed as "hedging your bet", so you could be more likely to break even, and win one/loose one. It may not improve your winning odds, but could change the "probability" of winning/losing/breaking even. I am not a mathmatical genius, so I am not sure of the changes in probability.

Personally, if I was losing was on a losing streak with one hand, I may split my bet and start playing 2 hands to change things up.

Other people may decide to play multiple hands if the table is "hot". It just depends on the player.

UPDATE: I found this from a supposed blackjack/mathmatical expert:

Q: In blackjack, do you improve your chances by playing two hands at once for x each, versus 1 hand at a time for 2x?

A: The simple answer is no, it neither helps you nor hurts you. However you will have less bankroll variance by betting two hands of x as opposed to one of 2x. Card counters are an exception to the simple no, they may play multiple hands to draw more cards out of a deck rich in good cards, thus improving their odds.