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.
Ken,
I play at a casino on regular basis at the no-mid shoe entry $25 min with 8 decks hitting on soft 17’s.
They also have a high limits room $50 min. with 6 decks and they stay on soft 17.
Is it better to play with fewer people? There are 5 spots on all the tables and it seems to me that I do the best when there are only 3 or less of us at a table.
And what are your thoughts of one on one against the dealer?
The number of other players at the table has virtually no effect on your results per hand. However, more players at the table means the game moves a bit slower. Unless you are counting cards and have an advantage, slower is better. So as a basic strategy player, you will do better in the long run at a full table than one with fewer players. In particular, when you play with just you and the dealer, the game moves really fast so you should avoid that if possible. (For a card counter, it is just the opposite. Playing heads up means more hands per hour, and more profit.)
But the presence or absence of other players makes no difference in your likelihood of winning any particular hand. Any anecdotal evidence you have to the contrary is just luck.
Is there a way to calculate your risk of ruin to include expenses? So for example, if my expenses account for 10% of the EV gained how do I incorporate this knowledge to calculate my true risk of ruin?
Ken, your site has helped me bloom into a top advantage player and it’s also where I send anyone looking to learn. Thanks so much for offering this wonderful site and strategy trainer, and for free at that!
Hi. I got into learning the KO counting and tried it out in the Casino Vérité Blackjack program and got really good at it and i now feel ready to try it out online. The problem is, it says to increase the bet at -6 BUT in the online casino i play at (unibet.dk) they change the shoe midway, so it often doesn’t even come down to -6, it’s stays around -10 to -16 most of the time. Is there a good way to know with the KO when to bet higher even if the TC isn’t down to -6??
You also mentioned that this is an 8 deck game. An 8-deck game that deals only 4 decks will rarely get positive. That’s what the KO count is telling you.
There is not a good time to bet other than when the count reaches the target count. Card counting online is rarely worth the effort. Most games shuffle every hand anyway, so it’s not possible. The few games where they do not shuffle every hand are very poor penetration, or exceedingly slow in the case of live dealer games.
To really get a chance to play profitable blackjack via counting, you will need to find a land-based game.
Yeah that was kind of what i was “afraid” for. Is there a way to beat the online casino like counting in a land-based casino, or is the only way to try and beat it, by lower the dealers chance to win by using a Basic chart? I just feel like, using the chart as i did before i learned how to count cards, it wasn’t very profitable. I lost a 100, won a 100 and so on, but never a bigger win?
Ten years ago, online casinos were a fantastic opportunity, because of the generous bonus offers and promotions. They have been exploited so frequently that this opportunity is pretty much gone, due to much more restrictive wagering requirements. Since I am in the US (and not usually in New Jersey), I don’t have recent experience with any alternatives for beating casinos online. My guess is that you are unlikely to find much of an edge.
Your comment about trying to beat the game by using basic strategy is a little misguided, although I realize you may not mean it quite literally. If you play a negative expectation game long enough, any good luck that you happen to experience will not be enough to keep you ahead of the game. It’s just a matter of time. In games like this, if you are entertained by playing, then it may be reasonable for you to play. (And basic strategy will reduce your expected cost to a small amount.) But don’t expect to create a profit.
Hi!
I’m guessing the increased benefit for card counters is due to the fact that surrendering when we’ve got a big bet on the table is going to save us proportionately more money (high count, larger bet). Are there any other variants that we need to be aware of?
Thanks again for the site and help
Ben
Sam vaughn was my first cousin, over the years I had lost contact with him. I only knew that he had moved to Phoenix. I have not have contact in years.
Thank you.
I found different values for the case of infinite number of decks and dealer stand’s on all 17, too.
Please note, that all columns should yield 100 % in sum. But this is not true for the last two colums (tens and aces) of the diagram! I’ve got identical values for the columns 2 to 9 but different ones for 10 and ace.
I work at the El Cortez and can confirm that as of today we are still a 3:2 payout (and I don’t think it’s going to change any time soon). The mentality at the LV strip seems to be that you aren’t here for winning, you are here to spend.
Ken,
I play at a casino on regular basis at the no-mid shoe entry $25 min with 8 decks hitting on soft 17’s.
They also have a high limits room $50 min. with 6 decks and they stay on soft 17.
Is it better to play with fewer people? There are 5 spots on all the tables and it seems to me that I do the best when there are only 3 or less of us at a table.
And what are your thoughts of one on one against the dealer?
The number of other players at the table has virtually no effect on your results per hand. However, more players at the table means the game moves a bit slower. Unless you are counting cards and have an advantage, slower is better. So as a basic strategy player, you will do better in the long run at a full table than one with fewer players. In particular, when you play with just you and the dealer, the game moves really fast so you should avoid that if possible. (For a card counter, it is just the opposite. Playing heads up means more hands per hour, and more profit.)
But the presence or absence of other players makes no difference in your likelihood of winning any particular hand. Any anecdotal evidence you have to the contrary is just luck.
Hi,
Is there a way to calculate your risk of ruin to include expenses? So for example, if my expenses account for 10% of the EV gained how do I incorporate this knowledge to calculate my true risk of ruin?
I’m trying to decide whether you can just use 90% of your EV for the calculation instead. I’ll have to think about that a bit.
Ken, your site has helped me bloom into a top advantage player and it’s also where I send anyone looking to learn. Thanks so much for offering this wonderful site and strategy trainer, and for free at that!
Sincerely,
100+ aliases
Thanks for the kind feedback. I love hearing from players who have learned to extract money from casinos. Continued good cards, -Ken-
Hi. I got into learning the KO counting and tried it out in the Casino Vérité Blackjack program and got really good at it and i now feel ready to try it out online. The problem is, it says to increase the bet at -6 BUT in the online casino i play at (unibet.dk) they change the shoe midway, so it often doesn’t even come down to -6, it’s stays around -10 to -16 most of the time. Is there a good way to know with the KO when to bet higher even if the TC isn’t down to -6??
You also mentioned that this is an 8 deck game. An 8-deck game that deals only 4 decks will rarely get positive. That’s what the KO count is telling you.
There is not a good time to bet other than when the count reaches the target count. Card counting online is rarely worth the effort. Most games shuffle every hand anyway, so it’s not possible. The few games where they do not shuffle every hand are very poor penetration, or exceedingly slow in the case of live dealer games.
To really get a chance to play profitable blackjack via counting, you will need to find a land-based game.
Thanks for the answer 🙂
Yeah that was kind of what i was “afraid” for. Is there a way to beat the online casino like counting in a land-based casino, or is the only way to try and beat it, by lower the dealers chance to win by using a Basic chart? I just feel like, using the chart as i did before i learned how to count cards, it wasn’t very profitable. I lost a 100, won a 100 and so on, but never a bigger win?
Ten years ago, online casinos were a fantastic opportunity, because of the generous bonus offers and promotions. They have been exploited so frequently that this opportunity is pretty much gone, due to much more restrictive wagering requirements. Since I am in the US (and not usually in New Jersey), I don’t have recent experience with any alternatives for beating casinos online. My guess is that you are unlikely to find much of an edge.
Your comment about trying to beat the game by using basic strategy is a little misguided, although I realize you may not mean it quite literally. If you play a negative expectation game long enough, any good luck that you happen to experience will not be enough to keep you ahead of the game. It’s just a matter of time. In games like this, if you are entertained by playing, then it may be reasonable for you to play. (And basic strategy will reduce your expected cost to a small amount.) But don’t expect to create a profit.
Hi!
I’m guessing the increased benefit for card counters is due to the fact that surrendering when we’ve got a big bet on the table is going to save us proportionately more money (high count, larger bet). Are there any other variants that we need to be aware of?
Thanks again for the site and help
Ben
In addition to the basic strategy surrenders, you may want to use the “Fab 4” surrender index numbers.
Here’s a link that shows them for the Hi-Lo count:
https://www.blackjackinfo.com/knowledge-base/blackjack-card-counting/fab-4/#kb-post-35914
To be clear, you should surrender when the TC is at or above the provided index number.
First cousin
Thanks for dropping by Dick. Sammy was a unique and warm soul. He is missed by many.
Sam vaughn was my first cousin, over the years I had lost contact with him. I only knew that he had moved to Phoenix. I have not have contact in years.
Thank you.
Are the numbers “running count” or “true count”,,,am a little bit connfused?
I found different values for the case of infinite number of decks and dealer stand’s on all 17, too.
Please note, that all columns should yield 100 % in sum. But this is not true for the last two colums (tens and aces) of the diagram! I’ve got identical values for the columns 2 to 9 but different ones for 10 and ace.
Can u explain why its not a good strategy to surrender hard 15 vs Dealers A? (With S17 casino rule)
Thanks for confirming. Long live downtown!
I work at the El Cortez and can confirm that as of today we are still a 3:2 payout (and I don’t think it’s going to change any time soon). The mentality at the LV strip seems to be that you aren’t here for winning, you are here to spend.