Switching Systems

[Preston]

I've been experimenting with something recently and it's actually been working out..

I use the mentor count (similar to Zen) but after a while my brain gets tired. Sometimes I'm pulling an all nighter and even the breaks don't seem to help I start back counting.. but instead I use the hi-lo count since it's easier.

Would this effect EV? My accuracy is pretty consistent with both.

[dacium]

Personally I find hi-low back counting (especially if you can count 2 or even 3 tables at once) is going to be a gazzilion times more profitable. Seriously if you only bet on positive counts you pretty much won't loose and can afford to make huge bets.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Preston

Would this effect EV? My accuracy is pretty consistent with both.

Yes, and possible in a good way. Playing Hi-Lo perfectly is probably better than playing mentor but making mistakes. It might even be better to always use Hi-Lo so that your brain can keep charged longer. There is also the possibility of unconscious mistakes when switching between two systems. Since keeping the running count is almost automatic (and pretty quick) it is easy for your brain to accidentally use the wrong value for a card without noticing.

But there is nothing wrong with switching between two systems as long as you are confident with both. As long as you are using the two systems similarly (not using a bunch of indices for one and not the other) then the EVs will probably be close enough that you won’t see much difference is actual casino play.

-Sonny-

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by dacium

Seriously if you only bet on positive counts you pretty much won't loose and can afford to make huge bets.

Well, you'll still lose the majority of the hands you play so don't make those bets too huge! Your advantage at a +2 count (or whatever count) is the same whether you are backcounting or not so your bets should reflect that. The only reason you can bet more when backcounting is that you are not “bleeding away” most of your bets in negative counts. Your advantage and variance (in %) on those big bets is the same.

-Sonny-