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.
Wong. I’ve heard that name. Well Mr. Wong, if you read this, let me tell you something, that if I see someone “wonging in” the middle of my shoe, stealing my high cards when the deck is rich, or wonging out, leaving me to take the low cards when the deck turns bad, I will be very incensed, and if you do it repeatedly, I will consider reporting what you are doing to the pit boss even though it would probably mean I’d be banned from the casino too unless I’m very cautious about how I do it. Since that practice is actually stealing from the other players. That’s what it is. Remember that, Mr. Wong. If you mid-shoe enter, when the count goes high, or when you leave in the middle of the shoe when it goes super negative, you are actually stealing from the other players, not merely improving your performance against the house. If I’m the only one at the table and the count swings high and there are enough cards left in the shoe for 15 hands with only me at the table, it will only be enough cards for 10 more hands with one other person instead, since if it’s me, someone else and the dealer, that uses 1.5 times as many cards per hand as just me and the dealer (a little worse than that actually, since the dealer will never split hands, so on average, the player uses more cards than the dealer, so it’s maybe a ratio of 3.2 to 2.1, maybe it’ll be 9 instead of 15 hands remaining). I’m happy to play at the same table as someone else who’s counting, hell, if I figure it out, and I lose count, I might just watch you and bet the same thing you bet, and you’re welcome to do the same for me. But if you leave halfway through a sour shoe or step in when I’ve suffered through the first half, absorbing low cards all the way in order to MAKE it hot in the first place and yet to be denied my hard-earned prize by someone who swoops in like that, you might as well be stealing chips from my stack and I won’t stand for it. I expect you to take your punishment right along with me if you want to count cards with me at the table, suffer through it yourself when the count is bad and don’t just exploit me as a tool to use up the cards you don’t want. You’ll also be less likely to be banned by the casino too. Even when I’m playing alone, I’ll sit there and take my punishment, I’ve seen the truecount get down to -14! And I’ll do CRAAZZZY things when it does, I’ve hit on 14 against a dealer’s 6 before, I’ve hit on hard 17 before, and you can be sure I bet the minimum, but I still sit there and take my punishment.
I have a question. What is better: bet $100 in one place or $50 in two places at the same table, considering a positive count?
I believe that at the same table there is a high correlation among the hands. On the other hand, the risk of playing two places at the same hand is fewer.
Betting two spots of $50 is better than one spot of $100. The expected win is the same, but the risk will be quite a bit lower despite high correlation between the hands. In fact, you have roughly the same risk betting two spots of $75 each as one spot of $100. And in that case, the total $150 bet over two spots will of course have a higher expected win in positive counts than the $100 single bet.
Do this Hi-Lo indexes apply with the European blackjack rules??
(no peek, dealer stands at soft 17, double any 2 cards, double after splits, no surrender, 4/6/8 decks)
Yes, the index numbers will be fine for a European no-peek game, with one adjustment: Ignore any index that has you doubling or splitting against a dealer ten or Ace.
Read a book called ” Against the Gods”. It is a well documented book on the history of risk including casino games. One of the points that has stuck with me is………the longer you play blackjack the higher the percentage of losing comes your way. A good read.
Time is a factor in the equation. It helped me to understand why when you look on the faces of people at a blackjack table it is almost always the same.
With a large enough spread you can beat virtually any game. So yes, you could beat a 6:5 single deck game with counting. Just remember that you won’t have the edge at a 6:5 game until the true count reaches approximately +4. There are easier games to beat.
If your unit is $10, a 1-6 spread means betting from $10 to $60. Bet $10 at negative counts, zero counts, and probably at +1 also depending on the game. At +2 start ramping up until you reach your top bet of $60 at a true count of +5. There are a couple of lessons in the school that delve deeply into how to determine an optimal bet ramp. But as long as you stick to the simple approach I just described, you’ll be fine.
BJ player.
Casino’s put out basic strategy cards because they know it will attract people to play. $1.50 for the card, $20, $40 sit at the table. Just because people have them doesn’t mean they will use them correctly. If they have a hunch or gut feeling or have seen lots of low or high cards come out, they will go with their gut and ignore the card. You just have to remember 2 things. 1. Don’t get mad. They’re only there for a bit of fun. 2 PLAY YOUR GAME. Their decision doesn’t effect your play. GL. a5teve.
This is silly. the same stupid moves those players make can easily benefit you. You just pay more attention to when these players hurt you then when they help you.
I played in North Cyprus the last fortnight and the pros considered the Rocks to the best place to play. It is a fair game with a notch in the shoe to give a decent penetration. 75% even. There are 2 hand shuffle tables at $10 minimum and $25 minimum. These go up during the weekends to a $25 minimum.
If you play here you will be eligible to eat at the restaurant which has a very very decent buffet. The downside is the smoking but in North Cyprus this is the norm. Its worse in the Rocks because of its low ceilings. There are a lot of junkets that come here and the casino are playing to the tune. Counters are easily identified. The table maximum on the $10 table is $200 but its easily over come with a horizontal spread.
A minimal bankroll puts you in a tough spot. You cannot play a positive game without spreading at least 1 to 6 in a multi-deck game, but a top bet of $60 would mean you would usually lose whatever money you bring to the table because of short-term swings. If you are playing for fun, then budget whatever you can afford and spread minimally as you describe from $10 to $20. That is not much better than flat-betting, and perhaps flat-betting would be a better option. Either way your expectation is to lose a small percentage of your overall action. Be sure your basic strategy is solid. That will help.
When playing 10 a hand with no bankroll just paycheck to paycheck what should my spread be with each true count? If the true count is 3 should i bet 20.00 or less? Thanx for your time. Dont really understand the spread i should use
It sounds to me like you’ve just been luckier when practicing at home than when playing in the casino. As an example, I get complaints from players who use my strategy trainer here on the site… Some say “It must be rigged to be too easy. I win a ton!”, while others complain “It must be rigged to be too hard. I can’t ever win!”
Welcome to blackjack. It’s a bumpy ride.
There is no download for the trainer here. If your device is not compatible with Flash, the current version hosted here on this page will not work. I’m hoping to have a new mobile-friendly version available here in early 2016, with LOTS of new features. It’s in progress.
Wong. I’ve heard that name. Well Mr. Wong, if you read this, let me tell you something, that if I see someone “wonging in” the middle of my shoe, stealing my high cards when the deck is rich, or wonging out, leaving me to take the low cards when the deck turns bad, I will be very incensed, and if you do it repeatedly, I will consider reporting what you are doing to the pit boss even though it would probably mean I’d be banned from the casino too unless I’m very cautious about how I do it. Since that practice is actually stealing from the other players. That’s what it is. Remember that, Mr. Wong. If you mid-shoe enter, when the count goes high, or when you leave in the middle of the shoe when it goes super negative, you are actually stealing from the other players, not merely improving your performance against the house. If I’m the only one at the table and the count swings high and there are enough cards left in the shoe for 15 hands with only me at the table, it will only be enough cards for 10 more hands with one other person instead, since if it’s me, someone else and the dealer, that uses 1.5 times as many cards per hand as just me and the dealer (a little worse than that actually, since the dealer will never split hands, so on average, the player uses more cards than the dealer, so it’s maybe a ratio of 3.2 to 2.1, maybe it’ll be 9 instead of 15 hands remaining). I’m happy to play at the same table as someone else who’s counting, hell, if I figure it out, and I lose count, I might just watch you and bet the same thing you bet, and you’re welcome to do the same for me. But if you leave halfway through a sour shoe or step in when I’ve suffered through the first half, absorbing low cards all the way in order to MAKE it hot in the first place and yet to be denied my hard-earned prize by someone who swoops in like that, you might as well be stealing chips from my stack and I won’t stand for it. I expect you to take your punishment right along with me if you want to count cards with me at the table, suffer through it yourself when the count is bad and don’t just exploit me as a tool to use up the cards you don’t want. You’ll also be less likely to be banned by the casino too. Even when I’m playing alone, I’ll sit there and take my punishment, I’ve seen the truecount get down to -14! And I’ll do CRAAZZZY things when it does, I’ve hit on 14 against a dealer’s 6 before, I’ve hit on hard 17 before, and you can be sure I bet the minimum, but I still sit there and take my punishment.
I have a question. What is better: bet $100 in one place or $50 in two places at the same table, considering a positive count?
I believe that at the same table there is a high correlation among the hands. On the other hand, the risk of playing two places at the same hand is fewer.
Betting two spots of $50 is better than one spot of $100. The expected win is the same, but the risk will be quite a bit lower despite high correlation between the hands. In fact, you have roughly the same risk betting two spots of $75 each as one spot of $100. And in that case, the total $150 bet over two spots will of course have a higher expected win in positive counts than the $100 single bet.
Do this Hi-Lo indexes apply with the European blackjack rules??
(no peek, dealer stands at soft 17, double any 2 cards, double after splits, no surrender, 4/6/8 decks)
Yes, the index numbers will be fine for a European no-peek game, with one adjustment: Ignore any index that has you doubling or splitting against a dealer ten or Ace.
In blackjack if you are dealt 5 cards under 21 do you automatically win the hand?
No. The “5-card Charlie” rule is not part of normal casino blackjack.
Read a book called ” Against the Gods”. It is a well documented book on the history of risk including casino games. One of the points that has stuck with me is………the longer you play blackjack the higher the percentage of losing comes your way. A good read.
Time is a factor in the equation. It helped me to understand why when you look on the faces of people at a blackjack table it is almost always the same.
What about if you count? Can the deep penetration in a single deck games make up for it?
With a large enough spread you can beat virtually any game. So yes, you could beat a 6:5 single deck game with counting. Just remember that you won’t have the edge at a 6:5 game until the true count reaches approximately +4. There are easier games to beat.
If your unit is $10, a 1-6 spread means betting from $10 to $60. Bet $10 at negative counts, zero counts, and probably at +1 also depending on the game. At +2 start ramping up until you reach your top bet of $60 at a true count of +5. There are a couple of lessons in the school that delve deeply into how to determine an optimal bet ramp. But as long as you stick to the simple approach I just described, you’ll be fine.
1-6 spread. Does that mean 10.00 for every true count? True 2,10,true 3,20,true4,30. Is that how you do the spread? Thanx for your time
BJ player.
Casino’s put out basic strategy cards because they know it will attract people to play. $1.50 for the card, $20, $40 sit at the table. Just because people have them doesn’t mean they will use them correctly. If they have a hunch or gut feeling or have seen lots of low or high cards come out, they will go with their gut and ignore the card. You just have to remember 2 things. 1. Don’t get mad. They’re only there for a bit of fun. 2 PLAY YOUR GAME. Their decision doesn’t effect your play. GL. a5teve.
This is silly. the same stupid moves those players make can easily benefit you. You just pay more attention to when these players hurt you then when they help you.
I hate people who complain about them.
I played in North Cyprus the last fortnight and the pros considered the Rocks to the best place to play. It is a fair game with a notch in the shoe to give a decent penetration. 75% even. There are 2 hand shuffle tables at $10 minimum and $25 minimum. These go up during the weekends to a $25 minimum.
If you play here you will be eligible to eat at the restaurant which has a very very decent buffet. The downside is the smoking but in North Cyprus this is the norm. Its worse in the Rocks because of its low ceilings. There are a lot of junkets that come here and the casino are playing to the tune. Counters are easily identified. The table maximum on the $10 table is $200 but its easily over come with a horizontal spread.
A minimal bankroll puts you in a tough spot. You cannot play a positive game without spreading at least 1 to 6 in a multi-deck game, but a top bet of $60 would mean you would usually lose whatever money you bring to the table because of short-term swings. If you are playing for fun, then budget whatever you can afford and spread minimally as you describe from $10 to $20. That is not much better than flat-betting, and perhaps flat-betting would be a better option. Either way your expectation is to lose a small percentage of your overall action. Be sure your basic strategy is solid. That will help.
When playing 10 a hand with no bankroll just paycheck to paycheck what should my spread be with each true count? If the true count is 3 should i bet 20.00 or less? Thanx for your time. Dont really understand the spread i should use
It sounds to me like you’ve just been luckier when practicing at home than when playing in the casino. As an example, I get complaints from players who use my strategy trainer here on the site… Some say “It must be rigged to be too easy. I win a ton!”, while others complain “It must be rigged to be too hard. I can’t ever win!”
Welcome to blackjack. It’s a bumpy ride.
There is no download for the trainer here. If your device is not compatible with Flash, the current version hosted here on this page will not work. I’m hoping to have a new mobile-friendly version available here in early 2016, with LOTS of new features. It’s in progress.