Blackjack card counting is intended to isolate clusters. The short answer is that for a typical blackjack bettor, there are no dependable card signals to estimate the duration of a cluster. A bettor does not handicap randomity, but handicaps the flow of money. Mike finally fessed up. It was as much our fault for not training him to look out for CSM tables. Other players’ mistakes, like accidentally playing a 6:5 table for several minutes, didn’t work out as fortuitously. Here’s the lesson: basic strategy, counting, true count conversion, and deviations are the basics. Don’t run out and start. The following blackjack abbreviations and acronyms are used throughout this book and are typical of those used in the literature. When evaluating a game, you should assume Las Vegas Strip rules which include double on any first 2 cards, re-splits to 4 hands, dealer stands on soft-17, insurance allowed and, of course, a natural blackjack pays 3. A CSM basically means a new shoe every round. If, however, the casino uses a discard tray and only puts the cards back into the CSM after the discard tray is full, this means that technically the game is countable.
Card counting while at a Blackjacktable is the only way you can get a long term, statistical advantage overthe casino. However, all card counting systems are based onbasicstrategy, so I suggest you read that page before you continue.One important thing to note about card counting is that you can't count cards at tables that use Continuous Shuffling Machines (CSM's). Card counting relies on the player having an estimate of how many decks are left to play in the shoe before the dealer needs to shuffle the cards. When a CSM is being used, there is no way to estimate how many decks are left to play, because, as the name suggests, play is continuous. These insidious machines are being installed at casinos all over Australia. So if your local casino only has CSM blackjack tables, and you are still wanting a game where you can use your skill to obtain an advantage, you might as well switch to playingpoker.
Card counting works on theconcept that some cards are good for the player, while others are bad. Taking note of the cards that have been played can determine whether theremaining cards are beneficial to the player, and altering betting andplaying strategy accordingly.
This may sound like a complexprocess, but it is in fact relatively simple. You dont need a photographicmemory, only to be able to add and subtract by units of 1. The cardcounting system outlined here is called the 'HI-LO' method, and is themost commonly used card counting system in blackjack.
Counting Csm Blackjack Practice
Each card is assigned a valueof 1, 0, or negative 1 as follows:
Cards 2-6 = +1
Cards 7-9 = 0
Cards 10-Ace = -1
As the cards are dealt, a running count is kept. For example, if the cards 6, Ace, 2, 5, 7 and 3 were dealt, the running count would be '3'. One way to practice counting is to use online blackjack softwaresuch as the game atBlackjack Ballroom Casino or RichChicken Blackjack or see my page on onlinecasinos to download some other free blackjack games.
For this running count tobe useful, it must be related to the number of cards remaining in the shoe. We do this by dividing the running count by the number of decks left. To determine the number of decks left, estimate the number of decks alreadydealt by looking in the discard rack, and subtract this number from thetotal number of decks used.
The figure from this calculationis called the 'true count', and it is this figure that we base all ourplay and betting variations.
Now that we have the truecount, the big question is what actions should we take. My Bookletswill tell you everything you need to know about betting variations andbasic strategy deviations based on the true count for your casino. It also includes a step by step guide to learning the art of card counting.
Counting Csm Blackjack Training
home rules basicstrategy cardcounting booklets online casinos email