Card Counting
Card-counting is one of the hardest skills to learn in gambling. First off, if you have not learned the basic strategies of Blackjack, then please refer back to your prior newsletters and learn them well before continuing. Even experience card counters still play by the basic strategies for a large majority of the time. The basic strategies are the foundation of succeeding in Blackjack and there is no shortcut around building this solid foundation.
To be a winning card counter, you will have to be able to count down a deck quickly and remember large tables of numbers while looking as casual as the everyday player. Also, with today's new rules, a realistic advantage the counter will have is between 0.5% and 1.5%. There is no gradual increase or decrease when counting cards. Usually the winning and losing experiences rival those of the most exciting roller coaster rides. Only discipline and long runs at the table can ensure a better chance of winning.
Let's start off with the basic underlying principle in card counting, which is a deck rich in tens and aces is good for the player and a deck rich in small cards is good for the dealer. Just to give you a better understanding of why the richness of a deck matters, here are two examples of why a deck rich in tens and aces is good for the player: 1.) Blackjacks are more common which usually benefit the player more than the dealer and 2.) The probability of busting the dealer is greater.
Ken Uston's method of card counting assigns a value of . . . . to read more, Click Here to Subscribe!
Blackjack Strategies - How to Cheat by Avoiding Bad Strategies
Bad Strategies:
Never Bust - mimic the dealer and always assume there's a ten in the hole.
According to our analysis, this strategy does not allow the player to ever hit on a hard 12 or more based on all other decisions on fully realizing the potential of this strategy. As a result, the house edge increases to 3.91%.
Mimic the Dealer:
According to this strategy, I would always hit 16 or less and stand on 17 or more. The player, as well as the dealer, would have to stand on soft 17. Also, the player is never allowed to double or split as the dealer has the same restrictions. This gives the house an even higher edge of 5.48%.
Assume Ten in the Hole:
For this strategy, I first figured out the optimal basic strategy under this assumption. If the dealer had an ace up, I reverted to the proper basic strategy assumption of assuming the dealer did not have a ten. Then I went back and used the strategy under regular playing conditions. The results were that the house edge increased to an unbelievable 10.03%!
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