Here are all the comments posted on the site, with the most recent discussions listed first. To participate in any of these discussions, you can reply on the article page.
Is Basic Strategy only for your initial hand? Does it change or stay the same when you’re sitting on a 3, 4, or 5+ card hand? For example, Say I have 7 (5, 2) against dealer 9, I hit, 5 comes out, now I’m sitting on 12 (5, 2, 5) do I follow BS still? Hit a 12 against 9? I hit, 4 comes out, now I’m sitting on 16 (5, 2, 5, 4) against dealer 9. BS says to hit again… So my questions is does BS change when you have hands like these? Or do you always play BS, no matter how many cards in your hand? (let’s just ignore variation when counting, I just mean true BS)
The hit and stand advice of basic strategy applies no matter how many cards are in your hand. Splitting, doubling, and surrender are only available with two-card hands, so they obviously are a special case. Just use your total hand to look up the correct decision.
I read the following in the Casino Verite Software: “A perfect side count for Insurance purposes would count Tens as -9 and all other cards as +4”. But it doesn’t explain how to use this indicator. Can you help me with this?
It’s easy to see why this is a perfect count for insurance, but to use it you would need to determine the correct starting count for each number of decks. I’ll instead refer you to QFIT’s page that discusses it and recommends a much more practical unbalanced count from Wong. Here’s the reference: https://www.qfit.com/blackjack-side-counts.htm
Thank you for the reference. It is very interesting.
There you can find: “Tens are counted as -2 and all other cards as +1. Insure if the count is greater than four times the number of decks”. Questions: 1) when he said the count it means the running count? 2) when he said the number of decks is the remaing decks in the shoe or the total decks of the game?
1) Yes, use the running count for the decision. (This works because of the unbalanced nature of the count.) 2) Base the index on the total number of decks in the game. In a six-deck game, insure at +24, regardless of how many decks have been dealt or remain to be dealt.
Ken, I just jumped on the trainer after a few months absence. Started reading the comments and noticed that you will be launching a revised version. Any idea of the approximate launch date? Looking forward to the new version. Thanks again for a great strategy trainer!
I was originally targeting June for a launch, but I’ve had a major life change interrupt development. I’m preparing to move my family from Mississippi to Texas, and that stopped development in its tracks over a month ago. I will resume development in August, so I now expect a launch in the fall at the earliest. So, it’s a long wait, but I think worth it.
the rules are 17s , early surrender alowed (except vs A) , and double down 9 , 10 , 11.Now the true count are -4 , 16 vs 10 , are that surrender or hit ? and are the basic strategy varation important for a “good” game ?.. for example split 10s never.. or ounly if the count are true count are (exampel) +5..etc.
The advanced cards do not include surrender indexes, to keep them manageable. So, given the advice on the card, you should surrender 16vT. If you cannot surrender, if the true count is 0 or better, you should stand. If it is negative, you should hit.
Now, I can add to that an additional piece of information. The “surrender index” for 16vT is -4. So, if the true count is -4 or better, you should surrender. If the true count is -5 or worse, you should just hit, even when surrender is allowed.
You ask how important strategy variations are to the game. Most of your edge comes from bet variation, and only about 1/4 of your edge comes from changing strategy. I always recommend getting completely comfortable counting with just basic strategy before you start to add index plays to your toolbox.
I am using your cards to learn my index numbers, are they base on truncate, floor, round or statistical round of true count? Also I see some variances in what people say the illustrious 18 is and what the index numbers are, what are the index numbers that I should use for I 18? I see different numbers for 12 v 2, 12 v 3 and 10 v A. I really want to learn to play perfectly.
The card indexes are generating by flooring the true count. Just to refresh everyone’s memory, floor(2.9) = 2, floor(-2.9) = -3.
The exact index numbers depend on many different details, so it is not unusual to see small differences in published indexes. The indexes on my cards are very good, the result of many hours of fine-tuning. And as you will notice, the indexes for some of the plays you mention are highly dependent on the number of decks and whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17. So you will see variations in the index numbers among the various cards in the set.
Ken….I play weekly at a small casino that gives all players 40 chips. The minimum bet is 2, and the max is all-in. It is a single deck, with 6 players a table, and the dealer deals 2 hands and then shuffles. There are 40 players. I have been lucky using your advice. They play 20 hands. Everyone is conservative at 2 chips a hand for the first 17 or 18 hands. I discovered that by betting 3 chips instead of 2, I can get an advantage heading into the final couple hands. I am a counter, and occasionally when the deck is rich, I’ll make a big bet. Question: Any advice on tournament strategy when playing 2 hands from a single deck?
Splitting tens can be an appropriate play, but only if you know that the deck is rich (by counting cards.) You need something like a +6 adjusted count for this to be the case, and this doesn’t happen that often. So in general, splitting tens is not a good move.
Thank you, Ken. People who think that the bad play of others can somehow affect their outcomes in the long run deserve to lose their shirts. They don’t understand the game and therefore should just stay away, for their own good.
Luck. I can’t wait until I launch the new version of the trainer. If prior history is repeated, I will be inundated with emails asking why I made the game so much harder to beat, along with an equal number asking why I made it so much easier to beat!
Is Basic Strategy only for your initial hand? Does it change or stay the same when you’re sitting on a 3, 4, or 5+ card hand? For example, Say I have 7 (5, 2) against dealer 9, I hit, 5 comes out, now I’m sitting on 12 (5, 2, 5) do I follow BS still? Hit a 12 against 9? I hit, 4 comes out, now I’m sitting on 16 (5, 2, 5, 4) against dealer 9. BS says to hit again… So my questions is does BS change when you have hands like these? Or do you always play BS, no matter how many cards in your hand? (let’s just ignore variation when counting, I just mean true BS)
Thanks 🙂
The hit and stand advice of basic strategy applies no matter how many cards are in your hand. Splitting, doubling, and surrender are only available with two-card hands, so they obviously are a special case. Just use your total hand to look up the correct decision.
Hi Ken,
I read the following in the Casino Verite Software: “A perfect side count for Insurance purposes would count Tens as -9 and all other cards as +4”. But it doesn’t explain how to use this indicator. Can you help me with this?
Thanks.
It’s easy to see why this is a perfect count for insurance, but to use it you would need to determine the correct starting count for each number of decks. I’ll instead refer you to QFIT’s page that discusses it and recommends a much more practical unbalanced count from Wong. Here’s the reference: https://www.qfit.com/blackjack-side-counts.htm
Thank you for the reference. It is very interesting.
There you can find: “Tens are counted as -2 and all other cards as +1. Insure if the count is greater than four times the number of decks”.
Questions:
1) when he said the count it means the running count?
2) when he said the number of decks is the remaing decks in the shoe or the total decks of the game?
Thank you in advance.
1) Yes, use the running count for the decision. (This works because of the unbalanced nature of the count.)
2) Base the index on the total number of decks in the game. In a six-deck game, insure at +24, regardless of how many decks have been dealt or remain to be dealt.
I know i m off topic but i don t know where to post.
I had a new idea to count down cards.
Is there anyone who can give me an help please?
my mail is federico.betti90 @ gmail.com
Ken, I just jumped on the trainer after a few months absence. Started reading the comments and noticed that you will be launching a revised version. Any idea of the approximate launch date? Looking forward to the new version. Thanks again for a great strategy trainer!
I was originally targeting June for a launch, but I’ve had a major life change interrupt development. I’m preparing to move my family from Mississippi to Texas, and that stopped development in its tracks over a month ago. I will resume development in August, so I now expect a launch in the fall at the earliest. So, it’s a long wait, but I think worth it.
the rules are 17s , early surrender alowed (except vs A) , and double down 9 , 10 , 11.Now the true count are -4 , 16 vs 10 , are that surrender or hit ? and are the basic strategy varation important for a “good” game ?.. for example split 10s never.. or ounly if the count are true count are (exampel) +5..etc.
The advanced cards do not include surrender indexes, to keep them manageable. So, given the advice on the card, you should surrender 16vT. If you cannot surrender, if the true count is 0 or better, you should stand. If it is negative, you should hit.
Now, I can add to that an additional piece of information. The “surrender index” for 16vT is -4. So, if the true count is -4 or better, you should surrender. If the true count is -5 or worse, you should just hit, even when surrender is allowed.
You ask how important strategy variations are to the game. Most of your edge comes from bet variation, and only about 1/4 of your edge comes from changing strategy. I always recommend getting completely comfortable counting with just basic strategy before you start to add index plays to your toolbox.
thanks for your answer !
i hope in a near future we can talk about startegy vaiations etc.
I am using your cards to learn my index numbers, are they base on truncate, floor, round or statistical round of true count? Also I see some variances in what people say the illustrious 18 is and what the index numbers are, what are the index numbers that I should use for I 18? I see different numbers for 12 v 2, 12 v 3 and 10 v A. I really want to learn to play perfectly.
The card indexes are generating by flooring the true count. Just to refresh everyone’s memory, floor(2.9) = 2, floor(-2.9) = -3.
The exact index numbers depend on many different details, so it is not unusual to see small differences in published indexes. The indexes on my cards are very good, the result of many hours of fine-tuning. And as you will notice, the indexes for some of the plays you mention are highly dependent on the number of decks and whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17. So you will see variations in the index numbers among the various cards in the set.
Ken….I play weekly at a small casino that gives all players 40 chips. The minimum bet is 2, and the max is all-in. It is a single deck, with 6 players a table, and the dealer deals 2 hands and then shuffles. There are 40 players. I have been lucky using your advice. They play 20 hands. Everyone is conservative at 2 chips a hand for the first 17 or 18 hands. I discovered that by betting 3 chips instead of 2, I can get an advantage heading into the final couple hands. I am a counter, and occasionally when the deck is rich, I’ll make a big bet. Question: Any advice on tournament strategy when playing 2 hands from a single deck?
Splitting tens can be an appropriate play, but only if you know that the deck is rich (by counting cards.) You need something like a +6 adjusted count for this to be the case, and this doesn’t happen that often. So in general, splitting tens is not a good move.
Thank you, Ken. People who think that the bad play of others can somehow affect their outcomes in the long run deserve to lose their shirts. They don’t understand the game and therefore should just stay away, for their own good.
Luck.
I can’t wait until I launch the new version of the trainer. If prior history is repeated, I will be inundated with emails asking why I made the game so much harder to beat, along with an equal number asking why I made it so much easier to beat!
See Sonny’s informative reply in this thread:
https://www.blackjackinfo.com/knowledge-base/blackjack-card-counting/one-big-bet-vs-two-hands/
I dont think it can be explained any better sir