Hey guys i'm new

[whitebelt0]

Hey everybody, i found this forum while looking on google

So anyway, i have a few quick questions.

I just recently discovered card counting after seeing the movie 21, and i fell in love with it ever since. Not even so much as to go to the casino and win money, just as a hobby. So eager to learn i stumbled across the hi-lo system (where most people obviously start off) and have a few questions.

1. Is it absolutely necessary to get the "true count" when playing in a game of say 4 decks; or can you just stay with the running count?

2. How does counting cards correspond with basic strategy?

3. I am heading to the hard rock cafe' in vegas in a few days and am only 15 and obviously can't go in the casinos yet; but i want to know if they let under aged people watch the games.

4. I know how to get the count and all that, i just don't get how that tells you when to hit or stick.


Thanks for reading and i look forward to a pleasurable stay here at these forums

[callipygian]

Originally Posted by whitebelt0

Not even so much as to go to the casino and win money, just as a hobby.

Good! A lot of people come away with the false impression that a few hours of work and a $20 can earn you millions. 90% of self-described card counters won't make money, so it's good to be realistic about your goals.

Originally Posted by whitebelt0

1. Is it absolutely necessary to get the "true count" when playing in a game of say 4 decks; or can you just stay with the running count?

For Hi-Lo, absolutely yes. However, there are systems in which you don't need to estimate the decks, such as unbalanced systems (Red 7, K-O). These have other disadvantages with respect to Hi-Lo, but the main advantage is that you don't have to estimate decks remaining, which can be tough for new players.

Originally Posted by whitebelt0

2. How does counting cards correspond with basic strategy?

Card counting is something you do in addition to basic strategy. You should learn basic strategy first, then card counting, and then modifications to basic strategy based on card counting.

Originally Posted by whitebelt0

3. I am heading to the hard rock cafe' in vegas in a few days and am only 15 and obviously can't go in the casinos yet; but i want to know if they let under aged people watch the games.

You can't leave the walkways. If you can watch a game from a walkway, they might let you stay.

Honestly, though, I'll repeat the advice I just gave in another thread. As someone who's underage, the best thing you can do for yourself is to do well in school (no matter what school you go to). In order to count cards (or even just to gamble!) you'll need a bankroll, and you don't put together good bankrolls on minimum wage jobs.

If nothing else, parlay your interest in cards into an interest in probability and statistics. A lot of the early pioneers in card counting weren't swashbuckling gamblers, they were mathematicians who, on careful analysis of the game, realized there were ways to beat the system.

In 6 years, when you've graduated MIT with a double major in math and economics and landed a $150,000/yr financial analysis job on Wall Street, go back to Vegas and clean their clocks then instead of dreaming about it now.

Originally Posted by whitebelt0

4. I know how to get the count and all that, i just don't get how that tells you when to hit or stick.

That would be basic strategy. The best (in my opinion) basic strategy site is this one - http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bjbse.php.

[ihate17]

Originally Posted by whitebelt0

Hey everybody, i found this forum while looking on google

So anyway, i have a few quick questions.

I just recently discovered card counting after seeing the movie 21, and i fell in love with it ever since. Not even so much as to go to the casino and win money, just as a hobby. So eager to learn i stumbled across the hi-lo system (where most people obviously start off) and have a few questions.


Things are never as easy as shown in the movies. Yes a decent counter will win money but many many times he will lose. Just over time he wins more than loses. Besides just counting, even before you learn a counting system you must learn basic strategy, then counting, then indices and all the while learn about bankroll, risk of ruin and associated with that bet sizing among many other things.

1. Is it absolutely necessary to get the "true count" when playing in a game of say 4 decks; or can you just stay with the running count?


When using a system such as Hi-Lo, the true count is the number that tells you how much to bet. On a six deck shoe a running count with say 5 decks left and a count of 5 means little, it is a +1 count, bringing you about even with the house and you are still minimum betting. The same running count with only one deck left is a +5 true count and you are in maximum bet territory. You make money by betting the right amounts at the right time, so yes it is absolutely necessary.

2. How does counting cards correspond with basic strategy?

Basic strategy is the best way to play a game without an advantage. It helps you lose the least you can without counting or some other advantage play. Furthermore, a card counter will vary from basic strategy according to the make up of the remaining cards, these are called indices. At certain high and low counts you vary from basic strategy simply because you know there are extra big or extra small cards left.

3. I am heading to the hard rock cafe' in vegas in a few days and am only 15 and obviously can't go in the casinos yet; but i want to know if they let under aged people watch the games.

Definately not! You being on the casino floor can get them a big fine. In some casinos you must be on the floor to get to a restaurant or your room but you are not allowed to loiter or watch people gamble.

4. I know how to get the count and all that, i just don't get how that tells you when to hit or stick.

Mostly counting is telling you how much to bet and basic strategy is telling you when to hit or stick with the exception of all the indices where you deviate from basic strategy.


Thanks for reading and i look forward to a pleasurable stay here at these forums

Get yourself educated (not in blackjack) so you can earn a nice living and then if you wish to dabble in this game, good luck.

ihate17

[whitebelt0]

Ok and what if you think there is like 2.5 decks left, do you divide by 2.5 or round up?

(for the running count in the hi-lo system)

[Bojack1]

Originally Posted by whitebelt0

Ok and what if you think there is like 2.5 decks left, do you divide by 2.5 or round up?

(for the running count in the hi-lo system)

For ease of use I would multiply the running count by .4 to get the TC with 2.5 decks left. Its the same as dividing it, ony much quicker and easier. For example, would you like to figure how many times does 2.5 go into 8, or would you just like to say .4 x 8 = 3.2 There are so many easy ways to find TC's then just straight dividing that using any fraction of decks remaining is fairly simple in finding your TC.

Then again some people will round or truncate, which is okay, but I personally wouldn't do it if I could be a bit more precise with no real extra effort.

[Harman]

Originally Posted by whitebelt0

Hey everybody, i found this forum while looking on google

So anyway, i have a few quick questions.

I just recently discovered card counting after seeing the movie 21, and i fell in love with it ever since. Not even so much as to go to the casino and win money, just as a hobby. So eager to learn i stumbled across the hi-lo system (where most people obviously start off) and have a few questions.

1. Is it absolutely necessary to get the "true count" when playing in a game of say 4 decks; or can you just stay with the running count?
Yes, as the true count decides your bet, and is dertimined on how many decks are left. Otherwise, you would bet the same on a +12 count with 6 decks left as you would with 2 decks left.

2. How does counting cards correspond with basic strategy?
Basic Strategy is a strategy that is the best possible move on every hand against the dealers. If the count is very high or very low you can find charts to show you when to differ from BS and use the count to your advantage

3. I am heading to the hard rock cafe' in vegas in a few days and am only 15 and obviously can't go in the casinos yet; but i want to know if they let under aged people watch the games.
I do not think you are allowed in the casino to watch the games, so you may have a problem there, try it though, the worst they can do is ask you to leave.

4. I know how to get the count and all that, i just don't get how that tells you when to hit or stick.
The count doesn't tell you whether to hit or stick. It tells you whether to bet big or small. Basic Strategy tells you how to play the hand, and the only time card counting comes in is when you are using indices - I18 etc


Thanks for reading and i look forward to a pleasurable stay here at these forums

Good luck and yeah, do well at school!