Blackjack card counting

[LittleJoefromKokomo]

They have single deck BlackJack on the Enchantment but they offer the lousy 6/5 , don't know how that would affect the profits if compared to the normal 3/2 odds on Blackjack. 

[OCSC Mike]

3 minutes ago, LittleJoefromKokomo said:

They have single deck BlackJack on the Enchantment but they offer the lousy 6/5 , don't know how that would affect the profits if compared to the normal 3/2 odds on Blackjack. 

 

It makes the house edge so much larger that it's a useless game to a counter. One of your biggest edges as the player is that you get paid 3:2 when you get BJ but when the dealer gets BJ, he/she doesn't take any extra from you. Regardless of if you are counting or not, this rule is horrible for all players.

Edited November 10, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[OCSC Mike]

2 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

So every hand is basically a fresh deck?   
Well, that would mean no counting.  

 

Yes and yes.

[Tree_skier]

I couldn't count cards sober... after a few drinks I can't tell time.  The casino profits are safe from me.  

[OCSC Mike]

Just now, Tree_skier said:

I couldn't count cards sober

 

I bet you could if you read the basic gist of it.

 

Can you quickly add and subtract by one? 😁

[Tree_skier]

11 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

I bet you could if you read the basic gist of it.

 

Can you quickly add and subtract by one? 😁

The casino is just cheap entertainment for me.  I go in on the first day with $500 and I will play all week long on that money. I have no expectation of coming out ahead.  Occasionally I have left with a little more, usually I leave with a little less.  The more I drink the more aggressively I play.  Over the course of a cruise I think the worst I have done was a loss of $300 and the best I've done is up $300.  

 

I keep saying I need to learn another game besides BJ.  They tell me 3 card poker is fun.

[LittleJoefromKokomo]

14 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

It makes the house edge so much larger that it's a useless game to a counter. One of your biggest edges as the player is that you get paid 3:2 when you get BJ but when the dealer gets BJ, he/she doesn't take any extra from you. Regardless of if you are counting or not, this rule is horrible for all players.

I know that it makes a basic strategy played game much worse, but don't know how much it would affect a good counter.

 To make it even worse, the dealer must draw to soft 17 aswell.

[OCSC Mike]

6 minutes ago, LittleJoefromKokomo said:

I know that it makes a basic strategy played game much worse, but don't know how much it would affect a good counter.

 To make it even worse, the dealer must draw to soft 17 aswell.

 

Yeah, I stopped playing forever ago, but in general, the rules have basically ruined the game. The house edge was too low back when they had good rules I guess.

[ZoeyVictoria]

39 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I keep saying I need to learn another game besides BJ.  They tell me 3 card poker is fun.

Three-card poker is fun because there is nothing you could do that would affect or irritate other players (as happens in blackjack).  There is usually great camaraderie because every player (and the dealer) wants the others to do well.  

[HERDFAN]

He's not going to be counting cards at a lower minimum table. They all have auto shuffles. The 25$ minimum tables hand shuffle 7 decks.This has been my experience on 4 consecutive Royal cruise on 4 different ships. 

[Jetdriver787]

I’m afraid my bad luck at cards has only been surpassed by my bad luck at love! Our 35 year marriage is purely down to the fact that neither of us wanted an ugly custody battle where we might actually have ended up with the kids! 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

I think the cash out slip from yesterday speaks for itself!…….and that’s just my 2 cents worth!

 

[doghog]

10 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

What will Royal do if they think he is card counting?   I wouldn't think we could be tossed from the ship.

Made to walk the plank. 

[joeyancho]

It is not illegal to count cards.  They just don't like it.   After booze,  casino play is the second largest source of revenue on the ship.  They don't build those billion dollar ships/casinos on winners.  If you are going to do it I would suggest you do it only once. 

 

Vegas odds:  good

Indian casino odds :  bad

Cruise ship odds:  ugly

 

We just live a couple of hours from Las Vegas and go frequently.   Cruise ship casino has no appeal to me.  Too much other stuff to do on the ship.  

[jerseyjjs]

casino-510-movie-clip-cheaters-justice-1995-hd-INsodN.htm

 

 

[LobsterStalker]

9 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

I once talked to a man on a Carnival cruise who claimed he got caught counting cards on Royal and was banned for life from sailing with them.

 

He was a terribly obnoxious person and constantly bragged about the rules he broke so I have no idea if he was telling the truth or not but it's worth noting it could happen. 

 

I think the odds are bad enough in the game it's not likely to be worth it but not likely to be monitored if you do decide to do it, just know the risks - it could result in banning even if not likely.

I call B.S. Why would they ban him from sailing ?

Maybe banned from the casino would make sense ... What's he gonna do , count the baloons in the drop and try to win a bet against some unsuspecting Pinnacle ?

[HappyTexan44]

5 hours ago, Rob-Bob said:

I do not believe he has never lost money in any session, if that is what he is saying.  Or is he referring to his lifetime play and he is ahead?

 

Yes.  Never lost money.   

 

It sounds like my idea of having him earn beer money isn't going to work.   

 

Plus the blackjack rules on the casino seem brutal enough to take the fun out of it.  

 

[smarterman64]

generally, low stake are continuous shuffler machines. "fresh deck" every time, which actually reduces house edge by about 0.02%.

If it's a shoe game, it could be fun 21 or spanish 21. 

 

higher mins may be shoe delt. 

[bucfan2]

5 hours ago, smarterman64 said:

generally, low stake are continuous shuffler machines. "fresh deck" every time, which actually reduces house edge by about 0.02%.

If ya research blackjack variations, overall house advantage is increased when using a continuous shuffler, as there are fewer breaks (dealer) in the action.  (Casinos implement changes....for their benefit).

[smarterman64]

3 hours ago, bucfan2 said:

If ya research blackjack variations, overall house advantage is increased when using a continuous shuffler, as there are fewer breaks (dealer) in the action.  (Casinos implement changes....for their benefit).

correct. per hand, the house edge is reduced by 0.02%. however, with more hands per hour, you're risking more money with faster play. 

 

an automatic shuffler also increases speed of play, but doesn't have the advantage of the house edge being reduced. but i've rarely seen automatic shufflers for blackjack onboard. 

[OldSeaDog1969]

On 11/10/2023 at 4:23 PM, LittleJoefromKokomo said:

They have single deck BlackJack on the Enchantment but they offer the lousy 6/5 , don't know how that would affect the profits if compared to the normal 3/2 odds on Blackjack. 

By having Blackjacks pay 6:5 instead of 3:2 the house edge is increased by 1.39%. That may not sound like a lot but it is actually massive. 

[cruisinfanatic]

On 11/10/2023 at 10:52 PM, smarterman64 said:

generally, low stake are continuous shuffler machines. "fresh deck" every time, which actually reduces house edge by about 0.02%.

If it's a shoe game, it could be fun 21 or spanish 21. 

 

higher mins may be shoe delt. 

only with single deck games is there an auto shuffle

[marvelous35]

Basic card counting is pretty simple.  I suspect most people could master it with a little practice.  This is plus one for every 10, J, Q, K, and A played.  Minus one for every 2-6 played.  So you can gauge how favorable the deck is.  This can change the odds slightly, possibly in your favor, but you are not going to get rich.  I doubt casinos are concerned about this.

 

I have a friend who was seriously into card counting.  I don't know the details, but different cards are treated differently and then how you play the hand changes based on cards remaining.  I suspect this can swing the odds much more in your favor.  To me, this sound exhausting and makes the game no longer a fun diversion.  It is work to make money this way.  By the way, he was pretty sucessfully playing blackjack and he did have concerns about being barred from casinos.

[SRF]

On 11/10/2023 at 10:06 AM, basenji56 said:

You probably need an IQ of 160 plus to count that many cards enough to make a difference.

 

You need a 160 to add or subtract 1 from another 1 digit number?????

 

Card counting it not remembering every card played and left, it is way to characterize the played cards as mostly high or low cards.

 

[SRF]

If he is not wildly changing his bets based on the count, they don't care.   If he is playing for fun, flat bet.  (same bet every hand).

[SRF]

On 11/10/2023 at 1:04 PM, EleventyBangBang said:

 

The "cheat sheet" doesn't actually put the odds in your favor, it just makes it really close, but still ever so slightly in favor of the house.  So they don't mind that.

 

Counting cards can actually put the odds in the player's favor.  Although with multi-shoe decks, you're waiting so long to see a favorable period to bet in that it practically becomes a full-time job.  You become a "regular" there and they will definitely study you much more carefully.

 

The cheat sheet doesn't put the odds mathematically to either side, it just makes sure you are playing to the best odds for you.  Most people playing on hunches are lower their odds.