Structured
|
|
|||||
|
Blackjack Blog Main Page |
Blackjack Betting System
|
|||||
|
Blackjack BasicsBlackjack InfoWhy Labouchere Systems Do Not Work
|
Blackjack Card CountingThe game of blackjack is constantly driven and changing at every flip of a card by mathematics. As each card is dealt out the odds and probabilities change. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to use this information? There is a way and you can thank mathematician Dr. Edward O. Thorp. He is considered the father of card counting. His 1962 book Beat the Dealer outlined various betting and playing strategies for optimal blackjack play. Card counting is mathematically sound. It enables anyone to make a determination as when the odds of winning become more advantageous for the player. How To Count CardsThe easiest way is to use the Hi - Lo method. Cards are put into three categories and assigned a value. The player will add these values together as the cards are exposed from the blackjack shoe (card decks). The running total gives the player the knowledge when the shoe is advantageous or to the player. This judgement is made by how high the positive count is or how low it has become. Cards 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are given a positive value of +1 (+ one). Cards 7, 8, and 9 are given a neutral value of 0 (zero). Cards 10, J, Q, K, and Ace are given a negative value of -1 (- one). When you apply these values to each card of a single deck as each card is exposed the running (accumulative) total after the last card will be 0 (zero). The premise is that the higher the count then the more likely you will be dealt high cards giving you a two card blackjack hand of 20 or a blackjack. On the other hand the lower the total count value is the more likely you will receive a two card hand that is likely to lose. How To PracticeThe best way to practice card counting is with a single deck exposing two cards at a time. If the first two cards is a K and duce your running total is 0 (zero). The K has a -1 value and the duce has a value of +1 giving the combine total a value of 0 (zero). The next two cards are a four and six. Each card has a positive value of +1. Adding this two your previous total of 0 (zero) your new running total is +2. You continue this process until the last two cards of the 52 card deck are exposed and your final total value must be zero. Otherwise your calculation was wrong somewhere in the process. There is no short cut to learning how to count cards. You must practice and practice. Once you feel you are accomplished with this method you can now learn how to apply the technique to a blackjack table at a casino. It is best to try and seat yourself to the far right position (first base) as you face the table. This will always give you the purest cards and the first chance to act on your hand. It also gives you some time to count the cards as they are placed in front of each player. Again, you will count them two at a time. You start with your own hand since you were dealt first then move right along to your left and finally include the dealer's up card. You should be polished enough so you can count the cards so quickly you have the running total in your head as the dealer points to you to take action. Then continue counting the cards as each player takes an action and finally when the dealer turns his hole card over and completes the hand. What Does The Count Mean?OKay! You've done all this work to learn how to count the cards so what do you do now? First, understand exactly what this means. It means you are obtaining a knowledge of how the remaining cards in the shoe will affect your game. What you do with that information is what's important. Let's simplify it. A high positive count favors the player. A high positive count late in the shoe really favors the player. So it would stand to reason that the higher the count, the more money you would want to wager. This of course is where the problem lies. The casinos want to win. That means they want you to lose. If you figure a way to consistently win, then they will do everything they can to turn that around. And make no mistake once you are branded a card counter by the casino industry it will stick to you forever. Legal Status Of Card Counting In The United StatesAccording to Wikipedia: As of January 2012, there are no federal, state or local laws which prohibit card counting in the United States as long as no external card counting device or person assists the player in counting cards. Casinos continue to offer blackjack only because the vast majority of unskilled casual blackjack players more than make up for the small number of advantage players capable of reducing the casinos' edge. In their pursuit to catch card counters, casinos misidentify and ban unskilled casual players whose betting style (or lack of) unknowingly mimics betting patterns of card counters. In all parts of the United States, with Atlantic City being the sole exception, casinos may bar any player for any reason including card counting as long as the Federal laws against discrimination based on race, creed, sex, national origin, age, or physical disability are not violated. Atlantic City casinos in the state of New Jersey are forbidden from barring card counters as a result of a successful lawsuit. In 1979 Ken Uston, a Blackjack Hall of Fame inductee, filed a lawsuit against an Atlantic City casino, claiming that casinos did not have the right to bar skilled players. (Uston v. Resorts International Hotel Inc., 445 A.2d 370 N.J. 1982). The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed, ruling that "the state's control of Atlantic City's casinos is so complete that only the New Jersey Casino Control Commission has the power to make rules to exclude skillful players." As of 2011, New Jersey Casino Control Commission has not made such a ruling, thereby -- by statute -- Atlantic City casinos are not allowed to bar card counters. In response to Uston's legal victory, Atlantic City casinos began adding decks, moving up shuffle points, and introducing other player-unfriendly rules to further decrease a skilled player's potential advantage. of the techniques described no longer apply, as casinos took counter-measures (such as no longer dealing to the last card). Also, the counting system described (10-count) is harder to use and less profitable than the point-count systems that have been developed since. A history of how counting developed can be seen in David Layton's documentary film, The Hot Shoe. Even before the publication of Beat the Dealer, however, a small number of professional card counters were beating blackjack games in Las Vegas and casinos elsewhere. One of these early card counters was Jess Marcum, who is described in documents and interviews with professional gamblers of the time as having developed the first full-fledged point-count system. Another documented pre-Thorp card counter was a professional gambler named Joe Bernstein, who is described in the 1961 book I Want To Quit Winners, by Reno casino owner Harold Smith, as an Ace counter feared throughout the casinos of Nevada. And in the 1957 book Playing Blackjack to Win, Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel, and James McDermott (known among card counters as "The Four Horsemen") published the first accurate blackjack basic strategy and a rudimentary card-counting system, devised solely with the aid of crude mechanical calculators—what used to be called “adding machines." From the early days of card-counting, some players have been hugely successful, including Al Francesco, the inventor of blackjack team play and the man who taught Ken Uston how to count cards, and Tommy Hyland, manager of the longest-running blackjack team in history. Ken Uston, though perhaps the most famous card-counter through his 60 Minutes television appearance and his books, tended to overstate his winnings, as documented by players who worked with him, including Al Francesco and team member Darryl Purpose. In the 1970s and 1980s, as computing power grew, more advanced (and more difficult) card-counting systems came into favor. Many card counters agree, however, that a simpler and less advantageous system that can be played flawlessly for hours earns an overall higher return than a more complex system prone to user error. Detection and CountermeasuresTechnology is so advanced today it is almost impossible to avoid detection if you use card counting to its fullest extent. So the detection methods used by the casinos make it not worthwhile to suffer the consequences of the casino's countermeasures. And everyone knows the romantic stories of how MIT teams ravaged the casinos in Las Vegas for millions of dollars. However, few of us ever read about what type of ridgid and grueling training was involved with bringing these teams to razor sharp effectiveness in order to win that kind of money. What They Don't Tell YouCard counting is primarily used in money management. When the count is high you bet larger amounts of money and when the count is negative you reduce your wagers to the table minimums if possible. The counts can also be used in deviating from basic strategy now and then when warranted. But the primary function of card counting is to take advantage of situations when the favor the player. But there are consequences involved in card counting. The casinos do not like to lose. So when they determine someone is using card counting methods (which is perfectly legal) they will retaliate. And if you are unlucky to be branded as a card counter all the casinos will know your name and have your pictures on file. At that point you might as well take up checkers because your blackjack days are over. So let's look at some of the reasons not to use a card counting strategy: 1. It takes a lot of time, training, and expertise. 2. One mistake could be very costly. 3. You are always fearful of being discovered. 4. You are constantly required to make decisions. 5. Card counting is not structured. It is a constantly changing event. 6. DON'T FORGET, THE HIGH POSITIVE COUNTS CAN HELP THE CASINO AS WELL AS THE PLAYER! The average player is better off using a structured blackjack betting system.
A Good Blackjack Betting System Is Your Next Learning Responsibility.Here is a good betting system to learn: 1. This system is Structured - it makes all playing decisions. 2. Based on Mathematics and Money Management. 3. It incorporates rules to prevent long losing streaks. 4. System is casino friendly. Keeps wins under the radar. 5. Follow the rules and this blackjack betting system is guaranteed to work. The Formula Cycling Method
|
 |
OTHER METHODS:
Don't be afraid to check out other systems and strategies. Understanding what is out there can only help you. Compare and then decide:
Blackjack Tactics Betting
Blackjack Tactics 1-3-2-6
Oscars Blackjack System
Ask the Wizzard Systems
Structured
|
|
| Caution: Although the NEWS Media has reported in December 2011 that gambling online in the United States will soon be legalized, you should check in your own State or Juristiction on the laws and statutes governing these casino games. Site content - copyright © 2011. |