re: Counting Cards in Blackjack?

I know how to count cards. Yes, it increases odds but not as much as people think. Typically on average if you're playing by the book it will increase your odds 1-2% which is better than nothing.

It's also not just adding/subtracting 0s and 1s at home in your living room with the TV going as well as music. It's doing it while the arse bag next to you is trying to small talk, the waitress is asking you for a drink, the dealer is rambling about something etc. it's doable with the right amount of practice, but more often than not I just say f*** it and play by the book.

It's also easy to get caught up in. Yes, there are several professional blackjack players but they don't live lives like you and me. They prob have shitty apartments, stay most nights in comped rooms, and never spend any of their winnings on things they enjoy because that dips into their 'bankroll'. It's funny how extremely 'tight' those guys are with money. It's a constant battle of beating the house, and while they do the majority of the time, that's where the satisfaction is. They are never really enjoying the profits. And yes, they will get drunk one night and lose a shite ton then get even tighter with their bankroll while chasing losses. Human nature and desire wins at casinos every time. It may take a while but it'll win.

Card counting is sooooo 20th century. Find a flashing dealer and play the hole card.

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A 7 isn't a bust card...All you're going to do is keep the dealer from busting and lose your money. Statistically speaking, how many people are at the table in your scenario?

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Fallacies

I learned to count cards in the early 1990's and while it wasn't extremely profitable, it gave me the feeling that I was increasing my odds of winning and gave me something to do while playing an otherwise monotonous game. Even back then, there were cheap PC games and handheld games that kept a running count so I'm sure apps are out there.

Start by learning basic strategy backwards and forwards. Buy any/all books by Stanford Wong. "Professional Blackjack" has tons of charts while his other books take a lighter approach with good stories mixed in.

What worked for me at the table was to ignore the first card dealt to everyone and then adjust your running count based the the sum of the two cards after the second one was dealt. It helps if you sit at the seat that plays last but some people get nervous about playing there b/c people will criticize them for splitting 7's when it's the right move, for example. You can also try to spy the dealer's hole card from this spot as someone mentioned!

Find the casino that has the cheapest blackjack game, go during off hours, and grind out hundreds of hands. It doesn't matter how many decks there are at this stage because you are really just trying to get the counting mechanics down and get comfortable while minimizing potential losses. These are also the worst/least experienced dealers so you can try some tricks on them. One of my favorites was when I got a complicated losing hand and the dealer was counting it to figure out if I won or lost, I would tap the table to signal a push and the dealer would sometimes just go along with it. If I had the cut card and the count was really good, I would act distracted and put the cut card below the table in my lap and then produce it a couple of hands later - oops!

When you feel more comfortable, be selective in the games you play and try to avoid the big shoe games or the tables with the auto-shufflers. I never liked playing at a table with more than a $10 minimum because you could always bet more than the minimum and pull back when the count was bad.

I never won a lot of money but it was still a fun experience. Don't worry about getting caught as long as you are playing for low stakes. Don't drink...much. Before you know it, you've ruined a game that used to be fun when you were "ignorant."

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NO ONE can count a 6 deck shoe.

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Elaborate, I'm curious on how it would be impossible. Be brief.

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It's not impossible. Counting 6 deck shoes is how most people do it nowadays, because that's what most of the games are. I read a book teaching how to card count and the various strategies. I tried it a few times, but never noticed a big enough difference to make it worth the effort.

The way to count a 6 deck shoe is to practice with 6 decks at home, and essentially get good at looking at a stack of cards and being able to tell about how many decks are left (it's not as hard as you'd think). You then divide that number by your count and that's how you'd get the count. Although I always found it easier to just keep a true count, and not divide, just kind of look at the decks and keep in mind the count against the remaining cards.

The problem with doing it in 6 deck shoes is that very rarely does the count get high enough for a sustained amount of time to where you can bet big enough times in a row to get the advantage.

Also, it was alluded to on here earlier, the count is just about increasing your odds, and even the most sophisticated count only increases your odds to something like 53%. Your odds are 47% just by playing correct strategy and not counting.

As explained to me, if you're playing once every now and then, and you see maybe a few hundred hands every couple of months, it's just not worth it. The difference between 47% odds and 53% odds over something like 300 hands is going to be miniscule and not worth it. It's only worth it if you're grinding it out over time. Because that percent difference over the course of 10s of thousands of hands makes a difference.

So, unless you're prepared to sit at a casino for hours on end and days at a time, I wouldn't waste the time counting. Just learn the right strategy so when you do drunkenly go to the casino once in awhile, you know what you're doing.

Tough to make any money counting...

Just get wasted and have fun. .... split 10's and hit any hand

Just play poker. The house doesn't give a shite if you win other people's money.

The only black jack that matters is the high roller tables, and they're just losing so they can keep getting the red carpet treatment. I really don't know why anyone else would want to play that game.

I mean it doesn't improve your chances of winning by that much, but it does improve your chances of winning.

My best win streak came not counting