Best not to murmur while
card-counting
23 December 2006
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark: Unfortunately, the video poker
machines where I play are all 'tight.'
Therefore, I have been considering going back to
the $5.00 BJ tables. I try to count, most of the
time, and I'd say I was 'fairly' proficient at
it but I've always wondered ... if you had your
druthers, which table seat would you like to
have (first base, third base, anywhere, when
you're counting). Does a different seat have
'any' advantage, at all? Don H.
For the average player, or even someone who
benefits from the use of perfect basic strategy,
seat position has little significance on the
player's expected return. But for card counters
who use strategy variations, it is probably best
to sit at the last taken seat to the dealer's
right (third base) in order to see as many cards
as possible before playing your hand.
By the way, Don, it is a mistaken belief that
incorrect play by someone at third base always
"takes the dealer's bust card" or "gives the
dealer a card that always seems to beat the
table." Not so. As long as the shuffle is
randomized, improper play by other players will
just as likely help as hurt you. Randomness
neither sulks nor guffaws.
Dear Mark: What is the easiest card-counting
system there is for blackjack? Daniel P.
Card counting, Daniel, is not restricted to any
one method. There are plenty of systems
available, but there is a tradeoff between ease
of use and theoretical power. The more complex
the system, the harder it is to use. The central
idea is simply that a deck rich in high cards
favors the player and a deck rich in low cards
favors the dealer. Therefore, the goal of any
worthwhile counting system is to track the
changing imbalance of big to little cards in the
diminishing deck. When that ratio favors the
counting player, he or she bets more money; when
it favors the dealer, the counter bets less.
The crudest and probably easiest form of card
counting is eyeballing the game, that is, when
you see a lot of big cards played you decrease
your bet, with small cards you increase it. It
is still a form of counting in the eyes of some
in casino management that just recently got
Yours Truly backed off a game.
The next simplest would probably be the ace/five
count; it requires that you count only the aces
and fives, and it's preferably used on a
multiple-deck game. You increase your bets from
one to three units when there are more aces than
fives still in the deck. It doesn't give you the
biggest edge, only around a half of one percent,
but supplementing it with perfect basic
strategy, you're at least playing in the black
against the house.
One of the easier and more popular card counting
systems for the game of blackjack is a one level
count, a.k.a. the Hi-Lo system. The Hi-Lo system
consists of assigning a point value of +1, 0, or
–1 to every card dealt. Cards numbered 2, 3, 4,
5, and 6 get +1; 7, 8, 9 cards are counted as 0;
and Aces and 10-point cards are assigned a value
of -1. You keep a running total and vary your
bets, from one hand to the next, guided by the
constantly updated imbalance figure, which
predicts whether the next hand will favor you or
favor the dealer.
Any bookstore would carry books on the subject
of card counting, but your best bet is to check
at the Gamblers Book Shop (gamblersbooks .com or
800-522-1777). The Gamblers Book Shop probably
has every book written and software program
created on the subject, meritoriously described
in their FREE catalog.
Final recommendation: Even with a theoretical
advantage varying from 0.5% to 1.5%, you
shouldn't quit your day job!
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "Having experience
playing poker is a very useful tool. It allows
you to recognize your mistakes when you make
them again." --VP Pappy
|
