September 3rd, 2010
So as you may (or may not) know, you are often supposed to go against basic strategy and hit 12s when the dealer shows a 4 to 6. When the count goes negative it makes sense for you to hit these hands, because only a 10 value card busts you and if the count is negative then a lot of 10s have already been played.
The problem is, of course, that if you hit a 12 against a dealer 6, there is still a good chance that you will take a ten, which may have busted the dealer. If you hit a 12 against a 6 and are playing with lots of other people at the table and take a dealer bust card then watch out… they will often pounce on you like a pack of wolves!
For this reason, since I have a minimum bet on the table anyway when the count is negative, I just make the basic strategy move regardless of whether it is the mathematically correct move. I don’t want everyone at the table to hate me; I play blackjack for fun as much as for profit. If the count is really negative and I really want to hit I will usually throw out some friendly disclaimer to the rest of the table, saying something along the lines of, “I like to hit my 12s but if I take the dealer’s bust card don’t shoot me people!” This will hopefully soften them up a bit in case things don’t work out and you draw a ten and the next card is a five… giving the dealer a perfect 21.
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Tags: blackjack, casino, gambling
Posted in Blackjack Reports | 244 Comments »
September 3rd, 2010
Notice how in the title of the post, I still refer to counting cards and playing with a statistical advantage as “gambling.” Some people think that if you can count cards that you win every time. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I played at an incredible casino in Colorado this past weekend. It was a two deck game with deep penetration, the dealer didn’t take another card on soft 17s and you were allowed to double down after splitting. Perfect!
However, I still walked away from the table after losing all my money. Meanwhile, this lady who I was playing with had no idea what she was doing and won every hand! She split 10s against a dealer 7 for crying out loud.
Sometimes it just doesn’t work out for you… counting cards is still gambling.
Tags: blackjack, casino, colorado, gamble, gambling
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April 17th, 2010
Last night I made three really off the wall moves that most blackjack players (who don’t count cards) would think that I am a fool to make. I was able to make these moves and profit immensely from them because I have learned my deviations from basic strategy based on the true count.
I am going to share with you three hands in which deviations from basic strategy came into play. On two of the hands I made a bunch of money. On the third I just won a minimum bet. Keep in mind that for the first two hands the true count was super high (around plus 10) so I had huge bets out there.
Hand Number 1:
I put out a monster bet and got an Ace – 9 for a total of 20. The dealer had a six showing which is by far his best bust card. Normally I would just sit on this hand. However, since there was so many ten value cards left in the deck I doubled down (and risked breaking up my 20). Sure enough, the dealer busted and I won a huge hand off of a move that most people would consider foolish.
Hand Number 2:
With another sky high true count I got dealt two tens for a total of twenty. The dealer showed six again. Normally you would sit on this total as 20 is an extremely strong blackjack hand. However, I split my tens because the true count was well above five. Sure enough I got dealt a ten on each hand and the dealer busted out too.
Hand Number 3:
This was another favorite hand of the night even though I didn’t make much money off of it. The count was super low so I had my minimum bet out there. I got dealt two 8’s. Even average blackjack players know the phrase “always split aces and eights.” However, since there was so many small cards out there I decided to hit. I got a five for a 21.
Beautiful! It really is very satisfying when you make a move based on the true count that pays off for you.
Best of luck to you in your blackjack endeavors.
Tags: 21, blackjack, count cards, deviations from basic strategy, double down, split cards
Posted in Blackjack Reports | 153 Comments »
April 17th, 2010
I went back to my favorite New Mexico casino last night… a casino that I am banned from playing at because of counting cards. However, after a seven month absence from the casino I decided to give it a shot.
I bought into a two deck game for a low amount ($110) so as not to draw attention to myself and played for about four hours. Luckily I didn’t run into any trouble the whole night. The pit boss that gave me the boot the last time I played at this casino was not there tonight. Hopefully I am now in the clear and will be able to hit up this casino every once in a while.
I ended up walking away from the table with $270 after dealer tips. Pretty good night. I was just glad not to get hassled and/ or kicked out of the casino. I am probably going to stick with buying in for pretty low amounts here so that hopefully I can have some longevity.
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