Question

[Johnrfla]

Greetings everyone,

I was playing at the Hard Rock here in Hollywood, playing at a full table, everyone was getting the cards they needed it seem like, when the 2nd guy double down on a 6. The dealers card was also a 6, and she said are you sure, and he replied yes. He draws a 5. The next person hitting got a 10, ending up with 18, everyone one else stood I had 20, but the muttering at the table grew louder when the dealer flipped over a 4 and drew a ace.
Doubling down on a 6 is a bad move no matter what?

2nd I was reading about speed counting, does that really work, and what is best against a 8 deck shoe?
Thank you in advance for replies and answers

Sincerely
John

 

[moo321]

Greetings everyone,

I was playing at the Hard Rock here in Hollywood, playing at a full table, everyone was getting the cards they needed it seem like, when the 2nd guy double down on a 6. The dealers card was also a 6, and she said are you sure, and he replied yes. He draws a 5. The next person hitting got a 10, ending up with 18, everyone one else stood I had 20, but the muttering at the table grew louder when the dealer flipped over a 4 and drew a ace.
Doubling down on a 6 is a bad move no matter what?

2nd I was reading about speed counting, does that really work, and what is best against a 8 deck shoe?
Thank you in advance for replies and answers

Sincerely
John

Yes, doubling down on a hard 6 is bad under normal circumstances.

No, speed counting does not work. Hi-Lo is probably the best system for playing shoe games, although any standard system will work. 8 deck games suck, and you shouldn't play them unless you absolutely have no other choice.

 

[bj bob]

Greetings everyone,

Doubling down on a 6 is a bad move no matter what?

Correct, it's bad no matter what.

2nd I was reading about speed counting, does that really work?

No. In theory perhaps, but not worth your effort.


Sincerely
John

 

[bj bob]

Yes, doubling down on a hard 6 is bad under normal circumstances.

No, speed counting does not work. Hi-Lo is probably the best system for playing shoe games, although any standard system will work. 8 deck games suck, and you shouldn't play them unless you absolutely have no other choice.

Damn Moo, you're typing faster than me again! :whip:

 

[callipygian]

Correct, it's bad no matter what.

Not if you're sure the second card is a ten and you're the last player to act.

 

[FLASH1296]

The Seminole Hard Rock game is what we call a "marginal" game.

The House Advantage is fairly high at .43

I have spent over 90 hours playing there.

"Speed Count" is dreadfully weak.

Hi-Lo is a perfectly good choice for shoe games for a novice card counter.

In fact I suggest that you obtain a copy of "Blackbelt in Blackjack"
by Arnold Snyder, available at Borders and Barnes & Noble's or online.

The book contains several very good systems.

You may want to start with "Hi-Lo Lite"

If you decide to take the game more seriously you can progress to
stronger (bonafide) systems, including the very powerful "Zen Count"

 

[shadroch]

Over the years, I've encountered a few dealers who insist you should double down against a dealers 6, no matter what your hand is( long as you won't bust).Its not the right move, but it's not as terrible as some think it is.

 

[FLASH1296]

self destructive BJ.

Overall, a dealer showing a Six will bust about 41% of the time.

If you have no chance whatsoever of doubling into a winning hand,
[i.e. doubling on all bust-free hands that cannot become 17 or better],
you will lose, on average, 59% of the time.

That gives the dealer an 18% edge over you.

That is synonymous with fiscal suicide.

 

[Johnrfla]

Thank you all for the info, especially you Flash, I appreciate it. I have got to the point I hate going to the HardRock for blackjack.I will simply wait till my journey takes me to places like Vicksburg where I can play one/two deck pitch, at the Americstar. They also offer some 6 deck shoes that are not to bad, which is what I find at Shreveport.
Playing at a full table at the hardrock does allow me a chance to practice card counting, for I am a novice at best, and they do offer 10 and 15 dollar tables for a few hours during the day, and again thank you for the advice and answers.

Sincerely,
John

 

[callipygian]

That gives the dealer an 18% edge over you.

Player hard 6 comes up very infrequently - the only combination of cards that will give you hard 6 is [4,2] because [3,3] counts as a paired hand. Compare this to, say, player hard 12, which can be made as [T,2], [9,3], [8,4], and [7,5] (the equivalent of 7 ways because T counts as quadruple).

As a result, even though the EV for doubling hard 6 vs. dealer 6 is very negative, it has a much smaller effect on your win rate than, say, hitting hard 12 vs. dealer 6 because hard 12 vs. dealer 6 will come up 7 times as often.

I'm pretty sure that's what shadroch meant by "it's not as terrible as some think it is."