If you ever play the fine game of blackjack, this is one of the most common tips you would get from the pros. Doubling down is a high-risk move in the game – if the card doesn’t fall in your favor, you cannot hit again.
But as Vince Vaughn’s character Trent keeps telling his friend Mike (John Favreau) in the comedy-drama Swingers (1996), you always double down on 11. When you hit 11, and the dealer is showing a card lower in value than 10, doubling down is an excellent move.
In the movie, Trent and Mike are out of luck actors heading to Vegas to make Mike feel better about himself. But since he is a novice, cue comic scenes, like the one where he buys-in for $300, at a high roller table with a $100 minimum bet!
Think “fish out of the water” and you have what John Favreau’s eyes looked like when Trent (Vince Vaughn) tells him to double down. Imagine having to double down at $100 minimum table when all you have is chips worth $300! That premise alone is comedy gold!
Predictably, it doesn’t end well for our duo, but in real life, doubling down works out more often than not in your favor.