Cat and mouse
17 March 2000
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
Is card counting illegal? Frank R.
Frank, is using your brain illegal? No.
Unfortunately, when it comes to card counting,
the casino would prefer you check your brain at
the front door. So though not illegal, what the
casino can and will do is bar the counter from
playing and back you off the game. If you're
going to play this cat and mouse game to gain a
one percent plus advantage, expect a pit bull
(boss) to come and pleasantly say, "Frank, we
appreciate your patronage but we're going to ask
you to stop playing blackjack here. Feel free to
play any of the other table games we offer."
(Yeah, like games that have a house advantage
higher than the interest rate you pay on your
Visa card.)
Fortunately, Frank, not all casinos bar
counters. Atlantic City, by law, cannot run you
off. Instead, they impose tougher blackjack
rules, multi-deck games and limit deck
penetration to keep the skilled counter at bay.
Though many in the industry believe the casino
has every right to back off proficient players,
I personally feel the minuscule amounts lost to
card counters are trivial compared to the money
made from the uninformed masses of poor
players-not to mention bad counters.
Dear Mark,
Before going to Las Vegas my sister filled out a
dummy keno ticket and asked me to play it 20
times. On it she had the number 55 circled by
itself and the numbers 10 and 20 circled
together. Each ticket cost $3. What exactly was
I playing? Joe C.
It's called a combination ticket, meaning
different proposition bets on one keno ticket.
The singular number circled, 55, was her "king
number," which was to be played in combination
with the other two numbers, plus played alone.
She was playing a one spot (55), a two spot (10
and 20), and one three spot (10, 20 and 55).
Dear Mark,
Basic strategy in blackjack dictates that I hit
a soft 18 (A-7) against a 9, 10 count card or an
ace. I feel a soft 18 is powerful enough and
will take my occasional licks against the dealer
who turns over a better hand. What would you
recommend I do with a soft 18? Alison B.
HIT IT.
If, Alison, in my mythical casino, which I'll
call "22 Always WINS," I gave you the
opportunity to automatically be dealt an 18 on
each and every hand of blackjack, would you sit
down and play? Not so fast my friend. For every
one million hands of 18 my certified friendly
dealers deal you, you will lose 280 more hands
than you would win. Small spuds yes, but it
tells you that 18's a losing hand over the long
haul. This is why basic strategy cards advise
hitting a soft 18 in certain situations.
Dear Mark,
Most dealers, friends and even you advise
against taking insurance in blackjack. How about
when I have a 20 and I'm playing on a single
deck game? I hate losing when I have such a
strong hand. Stuart M.
Question to you, Stuart: Who is holding at least
two of the cards the dealer needs to make their
blackjack? YOU. Insuring a hand composed of two
10 cards on a single deck game gives the house a
14.3% edge, making this one of the worst bets in
the casino.
Dear Mark,
Why is it so important to hit to a 17 when the
dealer shows a 7 through ace? I tend to stay on
my 15s and 16s and avoid busting. Is this a
correct strategy? Beth B.
The dealer's chances of having a 17 or more when
he shows a 7, 8, 9, 10 or ace are between 74%
and 83%. Correct basic strategy dictates that
you always hit your 15 or 16.
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