Basic Stragies with hunch works better....

[bluestar]

playing basic strategy(not looking at the chart specically for Cryptologic's 6deck) plus my hunches seem to work a hell of alot better in short and long runs than following these strategy card. Do you think my method is risky I should i really apply the charts?

My basic method is using bs + hunch + knowning when to dd.

I haven't played for money yet, just because I'd prefer to know my odds(luck) with each online casino first.

[BJStanko]

1+1=2
2+2=4


Blackjack Basic Strategy is not made up of hunches. It is caculated, simulated and proven thing.

It is the only correct way to play each hand.

Now if you want to use hunches insted of BS...... it's your money.

[bluestar]

i guess you didn't understand me correctly. I am using bs, just not from specific charts for specific games. I just have found sometimes "hitting" instead of standing, or vice versa to whatever the chart reads I'll win that hand, playing the chart exact gives me more losses that's all. I don't know, I'll have to do some more statistics. I'm fairly new at this, just because I'm going to vegas in a month and I like to be more in control of my riches ( :
Maybe its because I got the chart from wizardofodds and not the generated one from here.

[Jeff Dubya]

Originally Posted by bluestar

Maybe its because I got the chart from wizardofodds and not the generated one from here.

Doubtful. Basic strategy is the same... just make sure you are following the appropriate "book" based upon the rules of your table.

Hunches may work over the short term, but straight Basic Strategy over the long haul will earn you more money with more consistency.

There are always times to go with the hunch. This past weekend I got five small cards to make a 16 and there was no way I was taking another, regardless of the book. Since there is a 30% probability at any time of taking a 10 or a face, I knew the odds were definitely in favor of my busting. I stood, and the dealer ended up taking that ten and I saved the whole table.

But that's not a great example, because basic strategy is statistically designed for action when you have two cards up, not three. You might want to read the article "What Comes After Basic Strategy in Blackjack?" by Fred Renzey at http://renzey.casinocitytimes.com/articles/21796.html

Like someone said to me when I made comments similar to yours in one of my first posts... basic strategy wasn't invented overnight. I believe in it. I have dealers shaking their head when I follow it EXACTLY as shown, and shaking their head with as much amazement when I win the hand.

Can you win without BS? Absolutely. I sure as hell did this past summer in Vegas. I was an idiot and still made out like a bandit. But I guarantee that if I continued playing that way for the next 10 years I would lose a TON of money.

Call me a kool-aid drinker, but I am sold on basic strategy.

[Jeff Dubya]

Originally Posted by bluestar

I am using bs, just not from specific charts for specific games.

Then you aren't using basic strategy, my friend.

[Jeff Dubya]

Originally Posted by Mikeaber

Keep in mind that Basic Strategy is not something cooked up in the last two weeks. It has been proven time and time again with everything from simulations to pure probability studies.

With props to my man, Mikeaber... I am but a padwan learner... LISTEN TO THE JEDI MASTERS!

[Mikeaber]

BlueStar....Basic Strategy makes no guarantees that you are going to win every hand that you follow Basic Strategy in playing. What it does is give you the best chance of winning more than if you deviate from it without good reason. Good reason is deviation based upon a knowledge of the composition of the deck (cards remaining prior to the next shuffle.) This is done obviously by utilizing one of the counting systems.

My recommendation is that when you have a hunch or gut feeling about a hand...call it "gas" take a Rolaids and stick with the strategy. Or go ahead and play the hunch if following wild geese gives you more pleasure than winning the most in the long run. I mean no offense by that...seriously! My point is that even though you feel light headed, you cannot defy gravity and fly. Blackjack is a numbers game and overall win/loss is predictable. Basic Strategy states the optimum method of playing in order to maximize the wins (or minimize the loses!)

[Jeff Dubya]

I am reading the book "Knock Out Blackjack" and there is a great quote in there that seems relevant to this conversation.

"Chance favors the prepared mind"

- Louis Pasteur

[BOGEY21]

I agree 100% that Basic Stratey is mathmatically sound in the LONG TERM. But many of us don't play for extended periods of time which means (at least to me) that the results obtained in the SHORT TERM can often deviate from LONG TERM Basic Strategy percentages. If this is true, I see nothing wrong playing hunches from time to time, for example not hitting a 15 or 16 vs dealer 10 or not doubling down on a 10 vs a dealer 9.

GEORGE

[Mikeaber]

Bogey....long-term, short-term...it doesn't change the probabilities. Your best chance of winning is going to be to follow BS whether you are playing 1 hour or 10,000 hours. If you really want to improve your percentages, learn to augment your knowledge of the best time to deviate by getting a bit of information. Hmmm, rereading that made it sound "insulting" and I didn't mean it that way. I simply meant that you need to get information about the current composition of the deck. But without that information (counting or at least observation) your best bet is to follow the charts.