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.
Hi, I’m currently 20 years old in college learning how to count cards. Ive taught myself hi lo and advanced omega ii. Would you recommend me starting out on double deck or 6 deck shoes if I have yet to do this in a casino setting. Double deck with AOII is easier for me than hi lo with 6 shoes however I realize that the minimum bet is going to be higher in a double deck game. What do you think is easier for a beginner.
Double deck will be easier and far more profitable as well, as long as you can afford the bet limits. (This is assisted greatly by the fact that you will need a far lower bet spread in 2 decks!) However, I don’t recommend AOII right off the bat. Start with Hi-Lo, even at the double deck game. Only after at least a year of experience with Hi-Lo would I consider moving to a more complex count, and even then it may not be worth the extra effort and potential errors.
A new question regarding Lucky Lucky. I tried searching it up and apparently the Lucky Lucky (LL) bet is a profitable game when card counting is taken into consideration (apparently 2 deck is best for it). If @Ken Smith or anyone knows if this is still profitable at a 8 deck game, at a true count of +2 or +3, would it be profitable to blast the LL side bet? If you are expecting a bunch of face cards to peel off, or blackjacks and the dealer has a 10, you can still win those bets fairly often. With this in mind, would blasting the LL sidebet be another profitable play to mitigate that you’re not doing some crazy spread? Any info or knowledge regarding this would be amazing!
Futhermore, in a couple weeks I will be making a trip to Reno. From podcasts I’ve heard from Richard Munchkin, Reno is not exactly a great place to card count? I read these stories where green chippers spreading 5-1 getting backed off. Any tips or warnings from anyone? My original plan was to go red chipping $5 or $10 and spreading to $100-150. Bad plan for the Pepper Mill place at Reno?
You should calculate the true count after every hand for betting purposes, or potentially even within a hand if you needed it to make a strategy decision based on the count and wanted the exposed cards to help out.
Ken, Thanks for all your work on the websites and your comments in general. I’m interested in buying your e-books on Winning BJ tournaments, but I can’t find them anywhere on your sites? Can you give me some guidance?
Fallsview is all CSM except for the high roller room, $100/hand minimum bet. I’ve read the above posts, and chuckle to myself. The first rule of gambling in general, is and always will be: “the game can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.” The casinos main advantage is an unlimited bankroll. If you are on a bad run, and feel upset about it, stop! If you see it as part of the process, and remain in control, decide if you want to continue or not. You will not always win, anyone who says that is selling something. Other players impact your chances if you let them. If you don’t like your dealer, leave the table, why would you stay anywhere you are miserable? If you decide you’re going to leave at the end of the next shoe, just leave immediately, your bank is likely good, and you are no longer focusing, and destined to lose a bit more money you could have had in your pocket. My last piece of advice: after winning three or four hands in a row, then losing, complain to the dealer that “I can’t win a hand!” They laugh, and you get to remember you’re there to have fun. Remember, gambling isn’t a problem if you win…
“As soon as someone makes a mistake in Basic Strategy, there goes the SHOE” (Corrections to spelling and punctuation were made to the above quote because the entire post is so ridiculous, I had to do something to make it a little more tolerable.)
Why stop with SHOE? If a single mistake in Basic Strategy ruins an entire shoe, doesn’t it also ruin every other shoe at that table for the rest of the day? After a single mistake in Basic Strategy, the “Universe” now knows that the cards are in a different order than if no mistake had been made. This is probably due to the fact that the “Universe” wrote the Basic Strategy Charts and monitors every Blackjack Table on every inhabited planet in existence anywhere!
This terrible situation, caused by a single mistake in Basic Strategy, cannot possibly be rectified. The only possible solution would be to destroy all of the cards in the shoe and start with fresh decks. Unfortunately, almost all casinos won’t do this. Their favorite solution to this common problem is to wait until some predetermined time to change to fresh decks. Wait; do you suppose that casinos place a shill at every table just for the purpose of making a Basic Strategy mistake and “ruining” the shoe for everyone for several hours each day?
By the way, we are looking for additional people to join the National Sarcasm Society. (Like we need YOUR support!)
8-deck games are just tough. A quick look in the book Blackjack Attack for 8D H17 DAS with 2 decks cut off yields an expected profit of only $8 per 100 hands with a $5 to $80 spread.
Not at all. The number of other players at the table (or their ability!) does not affect the game at all. Strategy, and expected results are unchanged whether playing heads up, or at a full table. The only difference is speed of the game, which will move a lot faster with fewer players.
Hi, I’m currently 20 years old in college learning how to count cards. Ive taught myself hi lo and advanced omega ii. Would you recommend me starting out on double deck or 6 deck shoes if I have yet to do this in a casino setting. Double deck with AOII is easier for me than hi lo with 6 shoes however I realize that the minimum bet is going to be higher in a double deck game. What do you think is easier for a beginner.
Double deck will be easier and far more profitable as well, as long as you can afford the bet limits. (This is assisted greatly by the fact that you will need a far lower bet spread in 2 decks!) However, I don’t recommend AOII right off the bat. Start with Hi-Lo, even at the double deck game. Only after at least a year of experience with Hi-Lo would I consider moving to a more complex count, and even then it may not be worth the extra effort and potential errors.
Sorry to lose the index of users under the member list header.
What’s a typical use case for you for the member list? Maybe I could work something out.
Hello again!
A new question regarding Lucky Lucky. I tried searching it up and apparently the Lucky Lucky (LL) bet is a profitable game when card counting is taken into consideration (apparently 2 deck is best for it). If @Ken Smith or anyone knows if this is still profitable at a 8 deck game, at a true count of +2 or +3, would it be profitable to blast the LL side bet? If you are expecting a bunch of face cards to peel off, or blackjacks and the dealer has a 10, you can still win those bets fairly often. With this in mind, would blasting the LL sidebet be another profitable play to mitigate that you’re not doing some crazy spread? Any info or knowledge regarding this would be amazing!
Futhermore, in a couple weeks I will be making a trip to Reno. From podcasts I’ve heard from Richard Munchkin, Reno is not exactly a great place to card count? I read these stories where green chippers spreading 5-1 getting backed off. Any tips or warnings from anyone? My original plan was to go red chipping $5 or $10 and spreading to $100-150. Bad plan for the Pepper Mill place at Reno?
Thanks!
How often do you calculate the True count? After every hand?
You should calculate the true count after every hand for betting purposes, or potentially even within a hand if you needed it to make a strategy decision based on the count and wanted the exposed cards to help out.
thanks
Ken,
Thanks for all your work on the websites and your comments in general. I’m interested in buying your e-books on Winning BJ tournaments, but I can’t find them anywhere on your sites? Can you give me some guidance?
I’m not very good at promoting my own e-books. 🙂
I never got around to making my store software capable of selling downloadable products, so the books are only available at my publisher’s site.
Here are links to each:
How to Win More Blackjack Tournaments
How to Win Even More Blackjack Tournaments – Volume II
and a bundle deal for both:
Both Books
if i play $50 table how much Bankroll do i need bring in the casino,and how much my spread in +count
The next lesson covers exactly that. Just multiply the numbers there by 5, to move from a $10 unit to a $50 unit.
can use dealing device option for the blackjack trainer. The Game is very Good.
I’ve been searching for a good Spanish 21 table. Where do you play? I’m on the Gulf Coast.
Fallsview is all CSM except for the high roller room, $100/hand minimum bet. I’ve read the above posts, and chuckle to myself. The first rule of gambling in general, is and always will be: “the game can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.” The casinos main advantage is an unlimited bankroll. If you are on a bad run, and feel upset about it, stop! If you see it as part of the process, and remain in control, decide if you want to continue or not. You will not always win, anyone who says that is selling something. Other players impact your chances if you let them. If you don’t like your dealer, leave the table, why would you stay anywhere you are miserable? If you decide you’re going to leave at the end of the next shoe, just leave immediately, your bank is likely good, and you are no longer focusing, and destined to lose a bit more money you could have had in your pocket. My last piece of advice: after winning three or four hands in a row, then losing, complain to the dealer that “I can’t win a hand!” They laugh, and you get to remember you’re there to have fun. Remember, gambling isn’t a problem if you win…
“As soon as someone makes a mistake in Basic Strategy, there goes the SHOE” (Corrections to spelling and punctuation were made to the above quote because the entire post is so ridiculous, I had to do something to make it a little more tolerable.)
Why stop with SHOE? If a single mistake in Basic Strategy ruins an entire shoe, doesn’t it also ruin every other shoe at that table for the rest of the day? After a single mistake in Basic Strategy, the “Universe” now knows that the cards are in a different order than if no mistake had been made. This is probably due to the fact that the “Universe” wrote the Basic Strategy Charts and monitors every Blackjack Table on every inhabited planet in existence anywhere!
This terrible situation, caused by a single mistake in Basic Strategy, cannot possibly be rectified. The only possible solution would be to destroy all of the cards in the shoe and start with fresh decks. Unfortunately, almost all casinos won’t do this. Their favorite solution to this common problem is to wait until some predetermined time to change to fresh decks. Wait; do you suppose that casinos place a shill at every table just for the purpose of making a Basic Strategy mistake and “ruining” the shoe for everyone for several hours each day?
By the way, we are looking for additional people to join the National Sarcasm Society. (Like we need YOUR support!)
Jared, you’re exactly right. Mike Gunter still hasn’t learned the game!
8-deck games are just tough. A quick look in the book Blackjack Attack for 8D H17 DAS with 2 decks cut off yields an expected profit of only $8 per 100 hands with a $5 to $80 spread.
This is offered at Hippodrome as “Top 3”: http://www.hippodromecasino.com/hippodrome-casino/blackjack/
(Although I think it’s on 8 decks there.)
The 8-deck house edge on this bet is around 9%, and it would be even worse on 6 decks.
Not at all. The number of other players at the table (or their ability!) does not affect the game at all. Strategy, and expected results are unchanged whether playing heads up, or at a full table. The only difference is speed of the game, which will move a lot faster with fewer players.