Noob questions, and then some.

[madpete]

Hi all,

Half a year ago or so I stumbled on a documentary called 'the hot shoe' and caught the Blackjack (here after BJ) bug. I had been playing purely for leisure before and I'm sure the casino's loved me. Now I have different plans for them. Hopefully, the barely passable movie '21' won't create a hype as 'Rounders' did... In rapid succession I have watched most credible BJ instructionals, notably Andy Bloch's and Semyon Dukach's DVD's. Currently I am starting with Ken Uston (1M$ BJ) and am practicing with SuperBlackjack. Perusing the forum I saw one question that was burning in my mind answered: 16 V dealer 7+ and when to deviate from basic strategy (BS).
But here is my first question; What books do you reccomend that deal with deviating from BS and do these books contain charts for these deviations? If not, are such charts available, and where do I find them?
The software I use is very flexible in terms of rules, BS, penetration and counting system configurations and has some nice training tools like flashing cards for counting. The only downside is that one can only play one seat.
But, using the software, playing a 6 deck shoe with 1/4-1/3 remaining I find it very hard to get a hot shoe. What is the frequency of a hot shoe? When do you, on average start increasing your bets?
If casino's use automatic shuffle systems, is there a way to exploit it, or is ace tracking/card tracking the best one can hope for if player cutting is allowed?
Finally, if there are any dutch readers, how 'on' is the security at Holland Casino and does anyone know if they use a continuous shuffling machine or an automated one?

So many questions, I'll be gratefull for just a few answers... Thanks in advance!

[Doofus]

Use the search function to find the answers to your questions. There is a wealth of information in the threads. One term you should search is "Illustrious 18."

[Guynoire]

The illustrious 18, a set of 18 indices, will give you about 80% of all the potential expected value. The problem about talking about indices is their exact numbers will depend on the count you use, so it's hard to reccomend a specific book without knowing what count you use. I'll tell you one thing though, the count required to stand on a 16 v7 and 16 v 8 is so high it practically will never happen.

Also the expected return from a 6 or 8 deck shoe play all is horrible. The best way to play shoes is to back count them.

[Sonny]

Read through the Frequently Asked Questions thread and the Free Resources thread to get the basics of card counting. It will teach you about when to raise your bets, when to deviate from basic strategy, bankroll management, game selection and many other important things. The Gamemaster’s Blackjack School is also a good place to start.

-Sonny-

[checkmugged]

Hopefully, the barely passable movie '21' won't create a hype as 'Rounders' did

Rounders & Chris Moneymaker helped created a seemingly endless plethora of poor poker players and if 21 the movie does the same for blackjack it would be just fine by me.

Checkmugged

[Wittgenstein]

Originally Posted by madpete

Hi all,

Finally, if there are any dutch readers, how 'on' is the security at Holland Casino and does anyone know if they use a continuous shuffling machine or an automated one?

So many questions, I'll be gratefull for just a few answers... Thanks in advance!

6 Decks and CSM's. Good luck.