few newbie questions

[brodaiga]

how much of a difference does a 6 deck versus an 8 deck game matter for bs or ko counting?

do the il-18 work with the ko or just hi-lo?

why is S17 better than H17? and S17, H17 and does S17, H17 short for stand or hit on the 17?

 

[bj bob]

how much of a difference does a 6 deck versus an 8 deck game matter for bs or ko counting?

do the il-18 work with the ko or just hi-lo?

why is S17 better than H17? and S17, H17 and does S17, H17 short for stand or hit on the 17?

I'll answer #1 and #3 and let the KO wizards have at #2.

There is virtually no difference between 6 and 8 decks as far as HA (house advantage) is concerned, it's only about .03% The potential advantage on the 8 decker is that positive counts will tend to remain so and thus last longer. Unfortunately, same goes for negative counts.
S17(dealer stands on soft 17) cuts the player's disadvantage by approx. .20% across the board depending on the # of decks. The inherent advantage to the player with S17 is that the dealer is "stuck" at that hand, one which a player ALWAYS acts on, and although the dealer breaks less often, it would be more to his advantage to hit that hand.

 

[brodaiga]

I'll answer #1 and #3 and let the KO wizards have at #2.

There is virtually no difference between 6 and 8 decks as far as HA (house advantage) is concerned, it's only about .03% The potential advantage on the 8 decker is that positive counts will tend to remain so and thus last longer. Unfortunately, same goes for negative counts.
S17(dealer stands on soft 17) cuts the player's disadvantage by approx. .20% across the board depending on the # of decks. The inherent advantage to the player with S17 is that the dealer is "stuck" at that hand, one which a player ALWAYS acts on, and although the dealer breaks less often, it would be more to his advantage to hit that hand.

awesome, i live 50 miles from ac and am thinking about getting into it. i know the rules here have 8 decks, and S17 although it is fading. good to know though.

 

[callipygian]

do the il-18 work with the ko or just hi-lo?

Both, but there are different indices for KO. Just look them up on the Web or in a book.

why is S17 better than H17?

17 is a poor hand, both for the dealer and for the player. H17 gives the dealer a chance to make a respectable hand, and the extra bust percentage doesn't outweigh the positives. So dealer standing on soft 17 is better for the player, and dealer hits soft 17 is better for the dealer.

 

[golfnut101]

KO indices

The authors recommend 13 indices for shoe games with KO, sighting minimal gains on your EV with added indices. Their are those(I believe on this site)that have added indices to their repitoire, and in fact, if you use KO full, they do go so far as to add more. If you are playing small stakes, I dont see the gains, but, if you are so inclined with numbers, why not ? I use 15 myself, and found them easy to memorize in a relatively short period of time. I am by no means a whiz like some on this site...

best of luck

 

[brodaiga]

thanks for the help guys. my ko book was ordered a couple days ago. since i'm just beginning and quite busy I will not bother with the other indices. I was asking about the Il-18 because those rules are 80-90% of the benefit of the indices for high-lo.

I was just curious if those statistics apply with KO when using it with Il-18? But yeah, at my small stakes it is not a crucial factor. I mostly want to learn to play the game well and hopefully make a bit of money doing it. I am thinking if I learn it well and get the experience in at the casinos i'll be ready for higher stakes one day.

 

[blackjack avenger]

KO Those Indices

thanks for the help guys. my ko book was ordered a couple days ago. since i'm just beginning and quite busy I will not bother with the other indices. I was asking about the Il-18 because those rules are 80-90% of the benefit of the indices for high-lo.

I was just curious if those statistics apply with KO when using it with Il-18? But yeah, at my small stakes it is not a crucial factor. I mostly want to learn to play the game well and hopefully make a bit of money doing it. I am thinking if I learn it well and get the experience in at the casinos i'll be ready for higher stakes one day.

Yes, the KO ILL. 18 will provide most of the benefit from indices.