counting cards: blackjack

[cruzincurt]

Crystalgirl....No, no, no...stay away from the video poker games. I am also a student of video poker and the pay tables are so bad you might as well throw the money overboard. You won't find a full pay 9/6 jacks or better on a cruise ship.

 

Stick with the low bet blackjack where you have a better chance. Ignore the complainers. Best place to sit for you is at the first base position, no one will remember how you played your cards, worst place is the last or third place position where everyone will be watching you since the game's outcome is decided next. Now, if you really want to have fun, you only need to learn a little bit about craps. Just pay $5 on the pass line and you will get to enjoy the yelling and screaming without having to study any charts. How much someone else plays for craps bets has nothing to do with you. You can only influence the outcome if you throw the dice, and you don't have to, you can pass.

 

The majority of people throwing the dice have no system, and the outcome is purely random. Who knows, maybe you will be the lucky thrower. If you throw, hit a few numbers then 7 out, no one will blame you because everyone eventually throws a 7.

[psychtobe]

to those who claim it is "fun" to lose at blackjack:

 

wouldn't learning a few simple rules, thereby cutting your disadvantage by 80-90%, be worth investing a few minutes of your time and a few synapses from your brain?

 

studies have consistently shown that an "average" blackjack player who does not use Basic Strategy and plays by "gut" feeling plays against a house edge of 5-10%. That means that for every $100 you bet, you will lose $5-10, on average. By learning 7 basic rules you can cut that house edge down to 1-2%, thereby making your money and your fun last longer. If you learn BS you will be down to less than a 1% house edge, which means that for every $100 in betting action, you "should" only lose $1. The rules are not hard, so why not learn them? Wouldn't losing less be better than losing more?

 

Blackjack is pure math, and you can either ignore that fact or use it to your advantage.

 

7 basic rules for beginners for standard blackjack

 

1. always split a pair of aces or a pair of eights

2. if you have 11 double down if the dealer shows 10 or less; if you have 10 double down if the dealer shows 9 or less

3. if the dealer shows a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, stand if you have 12 or more

4. if the dealer shows a 7, 8, 9, 10, or A, hit until you have 17 or more

5. when the dealer shows a 8, 9, 10, or A, and you have a soft total, you should hit until you have a soft 18 (not 17) or a hard 17 or higher. Example: you have A+6 and dealer shows 8 - you should hit, not stand.

6. never take insurance, especially when you have blackjack showing

7. if surrender is offered, surrender a hand total of 16 when the dealer shows a 9, 10, or A

 

voila! 1-2% house edge, and hardly any work. good luck, and have more fun losing less money...

[cruzincurt]

I agree. I don't feel sorry for someone who sits down, takes out two wrinkled $10 bills and is gone after four hands. As you pointed out, just following a few simple rules makes a huge difference.

 

They don't guarantee you will win, but you'll be playing a lot longer.

[spongerob]

I think you will find the conditions for counting far worse on a ship than any LV casino, even if heat from the pit critters is non-existent. 8-deck shoes are the standard on Princess, even on high-limit games. Penetration rarely exceeds 70%. You will probably find that the effort required to identify a positive situation is heavily diluted by the cut-off decks. Most tables are full except very early or very late, so even if you do get an adjusted count worth chasing, it will likely be gone after a single hand.

 

That being said, it's been a very long time since I've worked on advantage play at blackjack, and the only time in recent memory that I was able to put my knowledge into play was on a cruise ship. The lady at third base was very slow, so keeping the count was easy. She made every possible wrong decision she could, hitting when she should stand, standing when she should draw, and always her bad decision worked out in favor of me. Bad players don't always cost money.

 

The pit critter did finally come over to observe my play at that table. I colored up and left. The dealer did call, "Checks play," on me when I got greedy and shoved out my biggest bet, even though I was still less than 8X my minimum.

[cruzincurt]

On the RCCL Caribbean Princess last year, all the BJ tables were 6 deck continuous shuffle except for one high minimum table which was single deck, hand dealt. There they were using black chips.

 

I sat next to one guy who was using a strategy card and looked up every hand. He was betting funny like $5, $5, $25, $100, $5 and so on and I don't think he was counting. He wasn't winning either.

[Geezer Jim]

I have, on many occassions, pulled out 2 wrinkled tens, bought in, and lost 4 hands in a row. Side note, I know who Edward O.Thorp is.

 

I agree with the majority here that an understanding of the Basic Strategy will make playing Twenty One a better experience for everyone involved.

 

To the $100 bettor. If you can afford the bet, you can afford the variance.