T-Hopper: Errata?

[Cyrano]

Ok, I FINALLY got around to reading your TH Basic.... Sorry it took so long.

Excerpt from your T-H Basic book, pg. 31:

The T-H Basic playing strategy is not designed to have the highest possible expectation at all times. In fact, the expectation is lower than standard basic strategy if the same amount is bet at all times.

**I think you're mistaken. Consider: if the above-statement is true, why even vary playing in accordance to counts? It's to obtain a higher EV, no? If you can obtain a higher expectation with standard BS, then you certainly will only play BS. I think you touched on what you mean is what you state in the latter sentence, "it is a dollar-weighted strategy, which means the expectation will be greater in the higher counts when more money is bet..." Any descent count system will have an expectation that's higher than BS with just the play variations--that's why you start off with BS and then vary your play in accordance to the count. What's different about most UB systems is the fact that they have a higher BE, whereas TC'ing produces a higher PE.

Also, on page 66, I'm not sure if this is a mistake, but, if you scan the ROI/100 for the 2-player table, the % goes down with more decks. At the full tables, they jump dramatically at the 4D, basically implying that the 4D games at FULL TABLES are superior to all the 2-player games?

 

[T-Hopper]

Regarding your title, yes. I just got an email from someone giving me two small corrections to make, and I've noticed a more serious one myself (page 26 is a duplicate of page 25).

The T-H Basic playing strategy is not designed to have the highest possible expectation at all times. In fact, the expectation is lower than standard basic strategy if the same amount is bet at all times.

**I think you're mistaken. Consider: if the above-statement is true, why even vary playing in accordance to counts? It's to obtain a higher EV, no? If you can obtain a higher expectation with standard BS, then you certainly will only play BS. I think you touched on what you mean is what you state in the latter sentence, "it is a dollar-weighted strategy, which means the expectation will be greater in the higher counts when more money is bet..." Any descent count system will have an expectation that's higher than BS with just the play variations--that's why you start off with BS and then vary your play in accordance to the count.
​

The above statement refers to the fixed T-H Basic playing strategy, which is independent of any count system. It will underperform basic strategy if you are flat betting/play all, but no card counter does that. Once you include a bet spread and/or table hopping, T-H Basic is much more efficient than standard BS.

The complete T-H Basic system includes the following elements:

<UL>
<LI>T-H Basic playing strategy
<LI>Single-level unbalanced count (2-7 +1 10, A -1)
<LI>Running count indices for only insurance and even money
</UL>

The same betting charts can be used for the multi-level Bushido Basic system as well, as detailed in the Appendix. There is no significant difference between the performance of these two counts at the Basic level.

Also, on page 66, I'm not sure if this is a mistake, but, if you scan the ROI/100 for the 2-player table, the % goes down with more decks. At the full tables, they jump dramatically at the 4D, basically implying that the 4D games at FULL TABLES are superior to all the 2-player games?
​

The 4, 6, and 8 deck System Reports include table depature, while the 1 and 2 deck System Reports. See page 75 for the table departure strategy used by all systems. Even the systems that use TC for betting use this simple running count departure strategy to ensure that all systems play the same hands.

 

[T-Hopper]

Finishing a sentence

The 4, 6, and 8 deck System Reports include table departure, while the 1 and 2 deck System Reports

do not.

 

[Cyrano]

Re: Finishing a sentence

Table departure--Does that also include the 2-player tables 4-8D numbers? It seems the top table does not include Table Departure play, while the bottom table does.

 

[T-Hopper]

That is correct

Table departure is used only for 4-8 decks with 6 players at the table. That's because it is easier to do in real life when the casino is crowded. Also, you need the extra edge to make up for the slower pace. I report the ROI/100 hands, not the ROI/Hour.