City

The recently opened Encore Boston Harbor casino is situated just 14 minutes away from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, home of the famous MIT blackjack team. The team has been out of operation for nearly 20 years, but that location begs a question: What would the world’s most famous card counting syndicate have done with a new casino in such close proximity? “We would have played it until we got kicked out and couldn’t play it anymore,” Andy Bloch told 888.com.

Here’s your chance to find out how much you really know about the game of blackjack. Give yourself one point for every statement that you get right. Then subtract the number of wrong answers from the number of right answers for your final score.

By using the basic playing strategy, a player can reduce the house edge to less than 1% (rules dependent). Most blackjack players understand the logic behind the majority of the basic strategy plays; for example, why you shouldn’t hit a 16 when the dealer’s upcard is a 6 or why you should split a pair of 8s when the dealer’s upcard is a 6. However, some of the basic strategy is not so apparent: like hitting a 12 against a dealer’s 3, or splitting a pair of 9s against dealer’s 9.

For the most part, doubling down for less is not a smart play. Notice I said “for the most part.” There are exceptions, which I’ll explain shortly. But first, let me address the issue of doubling down for less in a traditional blackjack game.