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The
GameMaster's Blackjack School
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Lesson
3: Counting Cards - The Basics
With
this lesson, I'm going to unwrap
the veil of mystery which seems
to surround the concept of card
counting. Here you will discover
that you don't have to be a genius
to keep track of all the cards in
a six-deck shoe; you just have to
know a few card-counter secrets.
The
first "secret" is that we don't
memorize the cards in a deck. Instead,
each card is assigned a point-value
and all we are really doing is adding
those point values together and
then converting that information
into a usable form. Just what those
point values are depends upon which
counting system a player decides
to use. In this school, I'll be
teaching the "High / Low" or "Plus
/ Minus" system but if you choose
to learn another one, everything
I'm going to teach still applies.
The
other big "secret" about card counting
is how we do it at the Blackjack
table. I think most people who have
flirted with counting can get a
good grasp of it at home but once
they hit all the distractions of
a casino their ability to keep track
of the cards, play their hand properly
and get a bet into the circle on
time breaks down. Remember when
I told you that it was a MUST for
you to know basic strategy as well
as you know your own name? Now you'll
begin to see why that's necessary;
you don't need more things to think
about when you're "on the green".
Pick
a System
There
are a lot of different card-counting
systems available and -- like most
things in life -- each has its advantages
and its disadvantages. I'll try
to sort through the most popular
and help you choose one which is
right for you. Probably the most
important factor in choosing a system
is the type of game you'll be playing
most of the time. For example, if
you play mostly in the Reno/Tahoe
area, you should learn a system
which performs well against single
deck games. If you play in my old
stomping grounds, Atlantic City,
you'll want to learn a system which
is powerful in multi-deck games.
Another
important factor in selecting a
system is the amount of time you
spend playing Blackjack. This is
going to surprise you, but a player
who intends to spend a lot of time
at the tables should learn a very
simple system. I say that because,
while this really is pretty easy,
it does require some concentration
and the simpler the system, the
easier it is to concentrate for
long periods of time. On the other
hand, if you're only going to play
for 3 or 4 hours a week, a more
difficult system may work well for
you since a difficult system is
usually more powerful and it will
optimize the time you spend at the
tables. Now, some of you "Type A's"
out there are thinking that you'll
spend a lot of time at the tables
and use a very powerful (and complicated)
system to get the most $$$ out of
your play. The problem here is that
under those circumstances, mistakes
begin to creep in and that can cause
you to lose your edge. The KISS
principle applies: "Keep It Simple,
Stupid". If you really want to get
the most out of the game, do what
I did, learn two counting systems.
I use one for multi-deck games and
another one for single-decks. It's
not that hard and as we go through
the lessons on learning how to count,
you'll see how the exercises I'll
teach you can implement such a strategy.
Card-counting
systems are rated by two primary
factors: Betting Efficiency (BE)
and Playing Efficiency (PE). The
anomaly of counting systems is that
if you increase the BE you are,
for the most part, decreasing the
PE at the same time. This happens
because of the unusual role an Ace
plays in the game. For betting purposes,
the Ace is a very powerful card;
it's the primary component of a
"natural" which pays 3 to 2. But
for playing a hand, the Ace is of
somewhat limited value. How many
times have you doubled an 11 and
got an Ace? Now you have a total
of 12...exciting, huh? Hit a 14,
get an Ace and you've got 15; nothing
to shout about, is it? Sure, it's
great to double a 10 and get an
Ace, but that's one of the very
few times when the Ace helps in
the play of a hand.
How
a counting system treats the Ace
determines a lot about the BE and
PE of that system. If you need a
high Betting Efficiency -- like
in a multi-deck game -- then pick
a system which counts the Ace as
a "big" card; if your game of choice
is single-deck, then choose a system
which treats the Ace as a "neutral"
card (and keep track of the Aces
in a "side count", a trick I'll
show you later.)
Multi-deck
games are beaten primarily by a
large betting spread. Simply put,
you bet small when the house has
the edge and much bigger when you
have the edge. A counting system
with a high BE factor tells you
when to bet big. In a single-deck
game, where the house knows a big
spread will win the $$$, a high
PE lets you bet less and still win.
Don't forget; casinos know that
their games are vulnerable and they
are on the lookout for people who
can beat them. A big betting spread
is one tipoff they use to detect
counters and, depending upon where
you play, being detected as a counter
may cause your expulsion ("barring")
from the casino. Let me stress that
what I'm teaching you is entirely
legal but not everyone in the casino
business feels as I do. There are
no laws against card-counting and
you can be the best counter in the
world, but if the casinos won't
let you play your skill is wasted.
To
help you decide on a count to use,
visit the series of articles called
"Counting Systems" on the Blackjack
Page of GameMaster
OnLine and look at the systems
which are reviewed there. As mentioned
earlier, I will be talking specifically
about the "High / Low" count, but
you can learn any count by the methods
I'll use. If you're going to be
at single-deck games, the Hi-Opt
1 count is probably the best to
begin with; go with the High / Low
if multi-decks are what you'll be
playing. Since I will be teaching
"true count", either of those systems
will work well, regardless of where
you play. Most "unbalanced" counts
don't require you to learn true
count, but it's not a big deal,
so stick with one of the "balanced"
counts. For those who really want
to get into it, go with Arnold Snyder's
"Zen" count, but you should buy
his book, "Blackbelt in Blackjack"
to supplement what I'm teaching.
In
the next lesson I'll show you how
to learn a counting system with
the following "point" values:
2,
3, 4, 5, 6 = +1
7, 8, 9 = 0
10, J, Q, K, A = -1
This
system has a Betting Efficiency of
.97% and a Playing Efficiency of .51%.
The best system in the world would
rate about .98% BE and .70% PE, so
what you'll be learning is easy to
use for long periods of time, is good
at estimating your edge for betting
purposes and is just "OK" at playing
the hand properly. (But don't worry;
it gets the $$$.) By the way, there's
a third rating for counting systems
and that's Insurance Efficiency. While
basic strategy says to never take
insurance, once the proportion of
tens in the remaining deck(s) reaches
a certain point, it becomes profitable
to make the insurance bet. The High
/ Low counting system has an Insurance
Efficiency of .76, which means that
about 3/4 of the time you do take
insurance (as determined by the "true
count"), it will be the correct decision.
But...we're getting ahead of ourselves
here, so copy your homework assignments
and get outta here.
Homework
Continue
working with your flashcards at
least a half-hour per day.
Do
at least one "Basic Strategy Reconstruction"
each day and continue to work on
your speed.
Do
at least one "Basic Strategy Decision
Excercise" each day and concentrate
on getting it done in under 2 minutes.
Work
with the three "Card Exercises"
and concentrate on adding up your
hand as you play proper basic strategy.
School's
out for now. See you here next time.
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