Most House Ways will always ignore the pair for simplicity. One pair plus a straight/flush is another place you can improve upon the House Way. 17 points or more: Always split the pairs.įor example, if your hand was QQ66A74 most House Ways would be to put A7 on top though you're better off putting 66 on top.16 points or less: Keep two pair together if you can make Ace or better on top.

11 points or less: Keep two pair together if you can make King or better on top.

6 points or less: Keep two pair together if you can put a Queen or better on top.

You would split the pairs based on this strategy: For example, if you have a pair of Queens and a pair of Sixes, you would have a total of 18 points (12+6). For example, a pair of Fives is worth 5 points, a pair of Nines is worth 9 points, a pair of Queens is worth 12, and so on. Mike Shackleford's 'simple way' says to assign a point value to each pair. The most common improvements you can make on the House Way is splitting two pairs. Mike Shackleford provides three separate strategies (ranging from 'simple' to 'advanced') that lets you choose how much effort you want to put into memorization. You'd still be playing a negative-EV game because of the commission but you'd be shaving percentage points off the House Edge. You can learn a method of setting your hand that is superior to House Way. The House Way is overly simplified so that the every dealer can memorize it.

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