Understanding "DDAS" in Blackjack

DDAS is not a new government agency or a communicable disease, although it sound like it could be. Actually, it's an option that can be employed in the game of online blackjack.

It stands for Doubling Down After Split, and if it is permitted in the game you're playing, it can be one of the more powerful weapons at your disposal. Knowing how to use it can easily add something to what you are doing.

Doubling Down After Split means just that - it happens after you have been dealt a pair, and then you receive a card to one of those split hands that would demand, according to Basic Strategy, that you double down, which means you are going to drop down a bet that is equal to the original. So if you have been dealt a pair of threes, and you receive and eight to one of them, which makes a total of eleven (11), you want to take that opportunity to double down. Many blackjack variations you play will allow you to do this, but some won't. Obviously, the objective would be to find those that do.

You are always better off if you can expand your options, and DDAS is part of that. It lets you further exploit a situation that is already advantageous. This is especially important to mention because in many cases, the dealer is going to have a weak upcard if you have made the decision to split in the first place.

According to Ken Uston's book "Million Dollar Blackjack," which did some good work in analyzing the benefit of player options, DDAS can add .13% to your game. That makes it better than having the surrender option at your disposal.

Please note that when this rule is permitted, it is going to affect the splitting decisions you make as part of your Basic Strategy, if that is what you are following in the game (and you should be). When you have DDAS available, you are going to split pairs of two's and threes when the dealer is showing a two (2) through seven (7) as the upcard. You would split fours (4's) against the dealer's five (5) or six (6), and you would split sixes (6's) against the dealer's 2 through 6. If DDAS was not allowed, you would split 2's and 3's against a dealer's 4 through 7, sixes against a dealer's 3 through 6, and you would not even bother splitting fours.

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