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.
I calculated my local casino edge based on the infor you give.
our rule is 6 decks, double on any first two cards, double after splitting, resplit all pairs, except Aces, insurance is available,dealer stands on H-17.
so my calculation is: -.54% -0.2%(H17)+0.7(ES)+0.14(DAS)=0.1% is this right? if it is right, does it mean player have 0.1% edge over casino?
thanks for all you have replied on other topic.
You are very unlikely to have a local game that offers EARLY surrender. It is probably LATE surrender.
Check your understanding here: Blackjack Surrender Explained
Dealer only has one card on table, player can surrender before the first third card deal out of the shoe.player can surrender on dealer’s ten but not A. so what is the advantage for player for this rule. if ES is +0.7%, what is the advantage for this kind of surrender?
How come when you split Aces and then get another Ace the program will not let you split beyond two hands that is a flaw that needs to be corrected asap. Thanks!
Yes, there is a problem with split Aces in the current version. A completely new trainer is in development and coming along nicely. I’m hoping to launch before the end of the year.
Although the individual lesson pages are somewhat optimized for printing, the pages will print with the comments included.
There is no summarized version available.
I win every time I go to a casino, and I do it without counting cards. I would play more, but I feel like I would get banned if I kept winning at my current pace (at the one place that I play now).
I doubled my seed money in 5 hours playing a consistent 1/20 seed money bet.
It sounds like you are using a progression, perhaps a Martingale where you double up until you win a hand, which produces a profit for the series equal to your initial bet. You don’t have to worry about being banned for that. In fact, quite the opposite. Unfortunately, you also don’t have to worry about continuing to win for the long term. You will eventually hit a long enough streak of losses to wipe you out, and your net result will be negative. You cannot create a winning expectation by making any sequence of negative expectation bets. It just doesn’t work that way.
Nope, not progressive. I bet the same every time. The tables that I play have a max bet just 8x greater than my typical bet. So counting splits, doubles, etc., I would be broke in no time if I were doing progressive.
I could’ve been just really lucky in the past, but how many times or how much money can I win before they start to notice?
I wouldn’t worry. If you are flat-betting with nothing else going on, you’ve just been lucky. As a flat-bettor, you can win a lot before they get worried. In bigger places, $50K cumulative win might be a problem. But if they don’t see anything suspicious in your play, think six figures. In small places that really sweat the money, it can be tough to win $10K without issues, even for players that appear to just be lucky. For this question, your mileage may vary.
so I was wondering about a few things, I cant find a free deviation chart for my game rules… everywhere asks for money any idea where I can get a free one? im looking for 6-8 deck dealer hits soft 17 resplit double after split
also I had one other thing I was over thinking lately when I have a soft 18 vs Dealers 3 4 5 6 I double dealers 7 I stay and vs a 9 10 A I hit I resently just found out im suppose to double vs a 2 aswell, however soft 18 vs a dealers 8 it sez stand, I was thinking I want to be hitting this for a free hit? and isn’t 18 a losing hand? soft 17 vs 7 I hit as a free hit don’t I treat it the same 18 vs 8 ? also uhm… when I have an unnatural soft 18 vs the dealers 2-6 are their different plays for each of these? like uhm.. if I have a A-2 Vs Dealers 4 basic strat sez hit, if I get a 5 and have 8 or 18, do I want to stop there or improve my hand ? I was thinking for some reason I wanted to keep improving it but im guessing im suppose to stay… but is this changed by the count being rich with high or low cards?
Hello there Ken!
Very, very useful website, and very, very useful replies from you. Thank you!
I have one question: Should i only join the tables that are starting the new shoe (no cards dealt)? So, I’m supposed to walk around and watch when the all cards are dealt, and then sit and play?
And, if I’m playing a 6-deck shoe, immidiately when the true count goes minus 1, i am supposed to walk away? That will happen pretty often right? You said before that it’s happening very often in a double deck game, but i assume that it’s happening in 6-deck as well?
I will probably have a bunch of questions for you in coming weeks, so be prepared 🙂 🙂
Bonjour Ken,
I calculated my local casino edge based on the infor you give.
our rule is 6 decks, double on any first two cards, double after splitting, resplit all pairs, except Aces, insurance is available,dealer stands on H-17.
so my calculation is: -.54% -0.2%(H17)+0.7(ES)+0.14(DAS)=0.1% is this right? if it is right, does it mean player have 0.1% edge over casino?
thanks for all you have replied on other topic.
You are very unlikely to have a local game that offers EARLY surrender. It is probably LATE surrender.
Check your understanding here: Blackjack Surrender Explained
Dealer only has one card on table, player can surrender before the first third card deal out of the shoe.player can surrender on dealer’s ten but not A. so what is the advantage for player for this rule. if ES is +0.7%, what is the advantage for this kind of surrender?
Early surrender against the dealer ten is worth around 0.24%, instead of the 0.70% value of full early surrender.
Thank you very much Ken, love your website.
Is blackjack dying, it’s hard to find a good game, h17, Csm and now way too many 6:5 games are casinos going to make blackjack a dinasor ?
I actually addressed exactly this in a recent blog post:
The State of Blackjack: Opportunity Amidst the Apocalypse?
How come when you split Aces and then get another Ace the program will not let you split beyond two hands that is a flaw that needs to be corrected asap. Thanks!
Yes, there is a problem with split Aces in the current version. A completely new trainer is in development and coming along nicely. I’m hoping to launch before the end of the year.
Any chance you have a variations chart for 6 deck but the dealer must hit soft 17?
The only place I have the H17 indexes at the moment is on the Cartes de stratégie avancée.
hey, is this whole course available in a printer frendly version? please reply to [email protected]
Although the individual lesson pages are somewhat optimized for printing, the pages will print with the comments included.
There is no summarized version available.
However, the GameMaster also published this material along with much more in his book, available at Amazon:
The (Darn Near) Complete Guide to Winning Blackjack.
Hey all,
I win every time I go to a casino, and I do it without counting cards. I would play more, but I feel like I would get banned if I kept winning at my current pace (at the one place that I play now).
I doubled my seed money in 5 hours playing a consistent 1/20 seed money bet.
It sounds like you are using a progression, perhaps a Martingale where you double up until you win a hand, which produces a profit for the series equal to your initial bet. You don’t have to worry about being banned for that. In fact, quite the opposite. Unfortunately, you also don’t have to worry about continuing to win for the long term. You will eventually hit a long enough streak of losses to wipe you out, and your net result will be negative. You cannot create a winning expectation by making any sequence of negative expectation bets. It just doesn’t work that way.
Nope, not progressive. I bet the same every time. The tables that I play have a max bet just 8x greater than my typical bet. So counting splits, doubles, etc., I would be broke in no time if I were doing progressive.
I could’ve been just really lucky in the past, but how many times or how much money can I win before they start to notice?
Merci.
I wouldn’t worry. If you are flat-betting with nothing else going on, you’ve just been lucky. As a flat-bettor, you can win a lot before they get worried. In bigger places, $50K cumulative win might be a problem. But if they don’t see anything suspicious in your play, think six figures. In small places that really sweat the money, it can be tough to win $10K without issues, even for players that appear to just be lucky. For this question, your mileage may vary.
Very interesting. Thanks for the words of wisdom, Ken.
so I was wondering about a few things, I cant find a free deviation chart for my game rules… everywhere asks for money any idea where I can get a free one? im looking for 6-8 deck dealer hits soft 17 resplit double after split
also I had one other thing I was over thinking lately when I have a soft 18 vs Dealers 3 4 5 6 I double dealers 7 I stay and vs a 9 10 A I hit I resently just found out im suppose to double vs a 2 aswell, however soft 18 vs a dealers 8 it sez stand, I was thinking I want to be hitting this for a free hit? and isn’t 18 a losing hand? soft 17 vs 7 I hit as a free hit don’t I treat it the same 18 vs 8 ? also uhm… when I have an unnatural soft 18 vs the dealers 2-6 are their different plays for each of these? like uhm.. if I have a A-2 Vs Dealers 4 basic strat sez hit, if I get a 5 and have 8 or 18, do I want to stop there or improve my hand ? I was thinking for some reason I wanted to keep improving it but im guessing im suppose to stay… but is this changed by the count being rich with high or low cards?
Hello there Ken!
Very, very useful website, and very, very useful replies from you. Thank you!
I have one question: Should i only join the tables that are starting the new shoe (no cards dealt)? So, I’m supposed to walk around and watch when the all cards are dealt, and then sit and play?
And, if I’m playing a 6-deck shoe, immidiately when the true count goes minus 1, i am supposed to walk away? That will happen pretty often right? You said before that it’s happening very often in a double deck game, but i assume that it’s happening in 6-deck as well?
I will probably have a bunch of questions for you in coming weeks, so be prepared 🙂 🙂
Thank you again, really!