Why do so few people count in the UK?

[Blue Efficacy]

I would play a .6 game with great pen over a .4 game with mediocre pen.

 

[UK-21]

This brings up another interesting thought, what is the max house edge you would play at? I have seen usually people are advised against playing against 0.8% games. I think anything below about 0.6% is playable, that is a very novice opinion though :joker:

The HE is not really the prime consideration, although an HE of -0.7% is about as high as you would want it to be if you were looking to play BJ for the purposes of making money from the game and to maximise your EV. The primary consideration, IMHO, is what it takes to overcome the HE - ie what bet spread you can afford, what spreads you can get away with, whether you can leave or sit out hands in negative counts and then return, the knowledge of the staff and ability to identify someone using counting techniques, whether you can employ other techniques to glean an advantage somewhere etc etc. If you're looking for entertainment, even a game with a HE of 1% will still give you the best odds in the house and allow your money to go further.

If you read the Australasian section threads it's clear that the games offered by the few casinos there suck, and that those better games in the HL rooms are heavily policed as in the States. So unless you are able to travel outside of Oz, learning to count cards to beat the game of BJ is a waste of time in Australia. Sad, but true. I've a relative there I've passed some of my books to, and he will be visiting us again in a couple of years for his counting baptism of fire (so to speak).

The games and conditions I've experienced in the UK in the limited time I've been playing BJ aren't great compared to what is available in the States, but they are far from the worse as well - take what you read about the even money only insurance rule ruining the game and leaving it unprofitable EV wise with a large pinch of salt.

Good luck.

 

[popcorn]

I reckon it is also because it wont take long for the professional casio operators to detect counters by using computer detection, FRS, etc so they will be barred quite quickly.
What is the best method of avoid being detected?

Hi everyone,

This is my first post but I have been following the forum for several weeks. I see a massive number of players from around the world here but comparitively few from the UK considering its ease.

A relative of mine is training to be a dealer, in the part of his course about "cheating" someone bought up card counting and the dealers are taught, (and I quote) "Card counting is not a threat, we are not even sure it gives a player an advantage" they were then told its not something casino's are looking out for over here.

Also, my local casino's all play 6D 80% pen S17 DAS

In addition to that, I have worked out there are over 100 casino's within a 90 minute drive of me.

So back to the thread title...why do so few people count? There must be something I am missing as far as I can see we have some really great rules, lots of casino's and nobody even appears to be looking for us.


I have been practising a lot, I know BS like it is written on the back of my eye lids, I can count a deck in 19 seconds, 2D in 45sec and I have about a dozen indices memorized. I am currently working on putting them all together before I set foot in a casino using CVBJ.

Thanks guys

 

[Percy]

Mistake I think. No surrender of any type with the games here in the UK, unless the proscribed ruleset (as published by the UK Gambling Commission) has changed very recently. But if you can find/persuade a rookie dealer to offer it, it makes the UK ruleset fab

Have you ever managed to persuade a dealer to offer it? If so, how?!

And whats with the name change newb?!

 

[UK-21]

"ENHC is a trash game, but its all we have here. Sometimes I can convince them to offer me insurance when I don't have a blackjack, but its not consistent and I guess its a little suspicious asking for it only sometimes. Its usually the experienced dealers that will let you do it, they think its advantageous for them so they don't mind. With a new dealer forget about asking. ENHC isn't worth playing unless you're aggressively wonging and spreading like a maniac. I'll only play if the dealer is showing superior Pen. Napoleons Four decks + good pen is as close to a good game as you'll get in this country. "

Something posted by Blazin22 in August of this year. Have never asked myself, although I'm sure he hasn't just posted it without good grounds.

As to name change, I took up Ken Smith's offer to change forum handles. With 600+ posts under my belt I thought the "newb" bit needed updating. Never thought I'd stick around BJinfo for so long or get so involved in the exchanges - I only ever intended to join to learn to play BJ the game and the underlying dynamics (which I think I've done to a reasonable degree).

Considering forum handles, I'm a great fan of Sir Percy B, but I think it unlikely that the management at Gala seek counters anywhere? ? ?

Merry Christmas and (I trust) a prosperous New Year.

 

[Meistro]

Isn't insurance THE most profitable index play?

 

[UK-21]

I believe so. But there are two elements to the insurance bet really - insuring your natural which you can do in the UK, and insuring a non-natural which you can't (although you can in many countries in Europe).

If you have a natural, you can't lose but at the worst push. By insuring you're guaranteed a win (at a TC+3+ count with a comensurate bet out) and to double your money. If you insure a non-natural, there are three possible outcomes:

Some hands would go from a loss to a push (dealer pulls a BJ so you win the insurance bet and lose the main bet)

Some hands will be a reduced win (dealer doesn't get a BJ so you lose the insurance bet but win the main hand).

Some hands will be an increased loss (dealer doesn't get a BJ and you lose the main hand as well).

(I've cut and pasted this from a previous posting).

Over the longer term, there's no doubt that you would win more than you'd lose insuring all non-naturals at +3+. But by how much is still open to debate as nobody has yet run the two sims needed to establish the difference. I don't personally believe it's that much when averaged over, say, 100,000 hands.

 

[blazin22]

Something posted by Blazin22 in August of this year. Have never asked myself, although I'm sure he hasn't just posted it without good grounds.

Yes its definitely possible, I've managed to pull it off at LCI and a number of Gala owned Casino's. The key determining factors appears to be the size of your bet. When I was initially turned down the option to insure a none-natural and after making my protestations known to the pit boss and also asking that they remove the markings on the felt indicating Insurance pays 2 to 1 as it constituted false advertising, the pit boss informed me if I had a bigger bet out he'd let me take insurance.