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What if the dealer hits on soft 17? They hit on soft 17 at my casino. Do I still proceed with the same instructions? How much of a difference does it make, percentage wise, if I follow these exact same rules you recommend if dealer hits soft 17
World’s greatest job my eye. It’s more like a job of last resort. The pay is low, comparable to minimum wage, but rather than a reliable pay of 10 bucks an hour it’s more like heads you win 510, tails you lose 490 in a given hour, and it’s the only job in the world where you’ll get fired by your employer for being too good at it. In other words, you’ll be banned from the casino. But since no one would ever hire me to do anything, it’s the only prospect I could ever have. But chances are, even if you do it WELL, your blackjack DEALER will get paid more than you.
Want me to demonstrate the prospects are that bad? It’s about like this, if you’re counting cards, your edge on the house is about 1/10 as large as theirs is on you all the time if you play roulette. So the average dollar you bet will return 1.005. So if you’re at a 10 dollar table, your average bet will be oh, 15 bucks let’s say, because most of the time you’ll bet the minimum, occasionally there will be a small advantage and you’ll be betting 50 or 75, and a very small fraction of the time you’ll be betting more like 200. If you’re playing to minimize risk of ruin, which is what you should be doing if you don’t have f*** you money (and if you have f*** you money, you shouldn’t be playing blackjack in the first place). This depends on the generosity of the casino with the rules they offer and where they put the cutcard of course. So 15 dollar average bet, at a .5% advantage on average, meaning the average you will earn per hand is 7.5 cents. If you play 100 hands an hour, that’s 12.50 an hour. So much for the dramatization of rainman or 21. Me, after 4 years, the most valuable thing I’ve gotten from it is a bunch of free food. In terms of money, I think about 800 dollars ahead last time I figured it out. After 4 years. (I WAS 1900 ahead in March 2016.) And being banned from 3 casinos.
But it beats the stock market at least. The stock market is like a casino where all the cards are blank and the house decides what their values are after they’ve been dealt to you, decides whether you win or lose at their discretion. Team A is you, team B is everyone else, and team B decides what everything is worth. Ponder THAT for a minute and you’ll see you’re still better off gambling in a casino if you have to gamble. At least the odds in casino games are calculable with math.
I realize this post is old, but the most common thing that happens to me Is if I draw a 12. I almost always, no exaggeration, I hit, and 8 out of 10 times I draw a face card. Dealers make hands on 12 like it their job…wait, it is.
No it doesn’t. It didn’t even have 16 against 10 and that’s the most common close decision you’ll ever see. And most of them weren’t close decisions at all. Like soft 17 against 7? There’s no count high enough or low enough to justify anything other than hitting. I’ll tell you, 16 against 7 is NOT a close decision. 7.68. You stand only if truecount>=7.68. That’s super high. Lots of people just THINK they should stand on 16 against 7 because they’re boneheads, they don’t realize that it’s much worse to stand on 16 against 7 than it is against a 10, and are actually more likely to hit on 16 against 10 than against a 7. The only “close decisions” on the quiz were 9 against 2 and 12 against 3. Each of which has a decision threshold of nearly exactly truecount=0.9.
I understand, give me a link to the forum where I can contact people who play blackjack,maybe email of address to these people will be very helpful to me I look for blackjack player which play regulary in casinos in America or Europe , I would like to contact them
I have a few questions IF you have time to reply I will be very grateful !
1. In Poland, there are casinos where there are playing 6 decks, hand shuffling and minimum 2usd or 4 usd bet so it is perfect for training
It is best to play when the value after counting is on plus +1, +2 , then I can I play only ?
2. Never play when the value is below 0? If the value is above 0 plus then then normally play the basic strategy yes ?
3. Is it important how many players are at the table? In the sense if there is a value of +5 then it is necessary to put money on the first box? if someone already sits in the first place, then put on the second and third box? or just try to put money on the first box only ? becasue first box is it the best
4.Once I counted the cards at the table few weeks ago, it was time worth the plus value maybe once per shoe? I mean, if I want to bet only at a positive value, have I to be patient because it can take a long time before the plus value and the time to bet ?
Thank you in advance for answering my questions very much
You cannot make money playing basic strategy blackjack, except by being lucky. You need to learn card counting. Until then, your most profitable strategy is to not play. Note that I am no longer involved with the site here, so you will probably get quicker answers if you ask on the message forums instead. I often go weeks between checking things here.
I’ve been playing 500 usd bankroll for a while and a bet of $ 10 I have rules of 1 hour to 2 hours playing and end play or end if I loose $ 400 or make $ 300 proit then I also finish I do not know if this is a good assumption after you? For now I go out more profitably than with losses of 400, 500 $, but that’s the beginning Please, how should have I management of the capital playing blackjack ? is my approach good ? I note that I am not interested in a game for blackjack entertainment, I would like to earn a blackjack in the long term
Playing basic strategy is still a long-term loser, so you are strictly playing for entertainment. Your bet size should be as small an amount that is still entertaining. Realistically, with a bankroll of 500, you should likely be betting no more than $10.
Choose hand-shuffled games if they are available. The reason? The games are slower, and that means smaller losses for you. Other than that, there is no difference between hand-shuffled or machine-shuffled. (Even continuous shufflers don’t make a difference if you are just playing basic strategy.)
I play form some weeks blackjack with basic strategy only Should I Look for casinos with automatically shuffle cards or better casinos with handshuffle card normally by dealer ? I have bank roll 500 usd what amount on bet should I use ?
I agree DAS opportunities is the main reason for splitting 7’s against an 8, and all the casinos I have visited allow DAS. So I always split 7’s vs. a dealer 8 even in 6 and 8 deck games, Am I wrong?
I agree DAS is the main reason for splitting 7’s against a dealer 8 and DAS is available at all casinos I’ve played in. So I split 7’s against a dealer 8 even in 6 and 8 deck games. Who thinks I’ right and who thinks I’m wrong?
Thanks for your opinionated decree, but I’ll stick with Peter Griffin in the definitive work on blackjack math, The Theory of Blackjack. You can also confirm this with the independently developed CA software available for free here : https://www.blackjackinfo.com/free-blackjack-combinatorial-analyzer/.
All of these sources agree. When DAS is available, in 1 or 2 decks, splitting 7s vs 8 is correct basic strategy.
For the record, the Hi-lo index is -1. Split at -1 or better. I personally verified that index for my Hi-Lo index cards using CVData. Perhaps you’ve never researched DAS games. It makes a huge difference on this particular play. In games where you cannot double after split, you’re right. Never split this hand in those games, regardless of the count. But when DAS is available, it’s an entirely different matter.
Whatever. Believe what you want. I’ll do the same.
Young Earth creationism. That the Earth is flat. That water has a memory and homeopathy is legit. That you should split 7’s against an 8. That half the politicians in Washington are reptile aliens that have assumed human form. It just goes to show, someone out there is self-assured they know some great truth, no matter how ridiculous it is.
But no. There is no count high enough, or low enough, to justify splitting 7’s against an 8. You hit. Or actually stand, if the truecount gets to like 13, I’m sure, but I only figured these things out up to +12. You stand 15 against 8 if truecount>9.30, but with 14, the threshold will be even higher. But other than that remote possibility, there’s no threshold to remember because you should always do the same thing. It is a rule that is cut and dry, unrelenting and absolute. Though interestingly enough, you should split 2’s against an 8, if the truecount>3.48. But never split 7’s against an 8. If you split them, if the count is super high, you’ll likely turn one lousy busting hand into two lousy 17’s against an 18, but if the count is super negative, EVERYTHING is a losing proposition so having fewer hands is better and you should try to minimize the number of hands you play until the end of the shoe, but you’re also much more likely to redeem the one bad situation and not bust by hitting instead of splitting and end up with a single good hand. Also it is better to defer to a smaller standard deviation of outcome if there is a decision whose threshold is incredibly close, because “only if DAS is allowed” means you’d better be prepared to have at least 2 but possibly 3 or 4 side by side DOUBLED hands all losing together rather than one single hand. Even if I was wrong, and I’m not, but even if I was, if you had a bankroll of 1000 dollars, and you bet 10 dollars on a coinflip with a fair coin being heads, would you be willing to raise your bet to 50 for the privilege of using a coin that was heads 50.01% of the time instead? You shouldn’t be.
Consider it a decree from the great grouch, god of blackjack. Thou shalt not split 7’s against an 8.
What if the dealer hits on soft 17? They hit on soft 17 at my casino. Do I still proceed with the same instructions? How much of a difference does it make, percentage wise, if I follow these exact same rules you recommend if dealer hits soft 17
World’s greatest job my eye. It’s more like a job of last resort. The pay is low, comparable to minimum wage, but rather than a reliable pay of 10 bucks an hour it’s more like heads you win 510, tails you lose 490 in a given hour, and it’s the only job in the world where you’ll get fired by your employer for being too good at it. In other words, you’ll be banned from the casino. But since no one would ever hire me to do anything, it’s the only prospect I could ever have. But chances are, even if you do it WELL, your blackjack DEALER will get paid more than you.
Want me to demonstrate the prospects are that bad? It’s about like this, if you’re counting cards, your edge on the house is about 1/10 as large as theirs is on you all the time if you play roulette. So the average dollar you bet will return 1.005. So if you’re at a 10 dollar table, your average bet will be oh, 15 bucks let’s say, because most of the time you’ll bet the minimum, occasionally there will be a small advantage and you’ll be betting 50 or 75, and a very small fraction of the time you’ll be betting more like 200. If you’re playing to minimize risk of ruin, which is what you should be doing if you don’t have f*** you money (and if you have f*** you money, you shouldn’t be playing blackjack in the first place). This depends on the generosity of the casino with the rules they offer and where they put the cutcard of course. So 15 dollar average bet, at a .5% advantage on average, meaning the average you will earn per hand is 7.5 cents. If you play 100 hands an hour, that’s 12.50 an hour. So much for the dramatization of rainman or 21. Me, after 4 years, the most valuable thing I’ve gotten from it is a bunch of free food. In terms of money, I think about 800 dollars ahead last time I figured it out. After 4 years. (I WAS 1900 ahead in March 2016.) And being banned from 3 casinos.
But it beats the stock market at least. The stock market is like a casino where all the cards are blank and the house decides what their values are after they’ve been dealt to you, decides whether you win or lose at their discretion. Team A is you, team B is everyone else, and team B decides what everything is worth. Ponder THAT for a minute and you’ll see you’re still better off gambling in a casino if you have to gamble. At least the odds in casino games are calculable with math.
According to what I’ve learned, my basic strategy chart AND YOUR OWN, you don’t split (9,9) against an 8. Fix your quiz.
Oh oops, I got it backwards. The quiz is right, I said it wrong, and I picked the wrong button by accident, derp lol
I realize this post is old, but the most common thing that happens to me Is if I draw a 12. I almost always, no exaggeration, I hit, and 8 out of 10 times I draw a face card. Dealers make hands on 12 like it their job…wait, it is.
I rarely report specific trip results at all.
ive heard of it being the case with single deck i’m in wonder of it just like you
No it doesn’t. It didn’t even have 16 against 10 and that’s the most common close decision you’ll ever see. And most of them weren’t close decisions at all. Like soft 17 against 7? There’s no count high enough or low enough to justify anything other than hitting. I’ll tell you, 16 against 7 is NOT a close decision. 7.68. You stand only if truecount>=7.68. That’s super high. Lots of people just THINK they should stand on 16 against 7 because they’re boneheads, they don’t realize that it’s much worse to stand on 16 against 7 than it is against a 10, and are actually more likely to hit on 16 against 10 than against a 7. The only “close decisions” on the quiz were 9 against 2 and 12 against 3. Each of which has a decision threshold of nearly exactly truecount=0.9.
I understand, give me a link to the forum where I can contact people who play blackjack,maybe email of address to these people will be very helpful to me
I look for blackjack player which play regulary in casinos in America or Europe , I would like to contact them
I have a few questions IF you have time to reply I will be very grateful !
1. In Poland, there are casinos where there are playing 6 decks, hand shuffling and minimum 2usd or 4 usd bet so it is perfect for training
It is best to play when the value after counting is on plus +1, +2 , then I can I play only ?
2. Never play when the value is below 0?
If the value is above 0 plus then then normally play the basic strategy yes ?
3. Is it important how many players are at the table? In the sense if there is a value of +5 then it is necessary to put money on the first box? if someone already sits in the first place, then put on the second and third box? or just try to put money on the first box only ? becasue first box is it the best
4.Once I counted the cards at the table few weeks ago, it was time worth the plus value maybe once per shoe? I mean, if I want to bet only at a positive value, have I to be patient because it can take a long time before the plus value and the time to bet ?
Thank you in advance for answering my questions very much
regards !
You cannot make money playing basic strategy blackjack, except by being lucky. You need to learn card counting. Until then, your most profitable strategy is to not play.
Note that I am no longer involved with the site here, so you will probably get quicker answers if you ask on the message forums instead. I often go weeks between checking things here.
Thanks for the answer Ken
I’ve been playing 500 usd bankroll for a while and a bet of $ 10
I have rules of 1 hour to 2 hours playing and end play or end if I loose $ 400 or make $ 300 proit then I also finish
I do not know if this is a good assumption after you?
For now I go out more profitably than with losses of 400, 500 $, but that’s the beginning
Please, how should have I management of the capital playing blackjack ? is my approach good ?
I note that I am not interested in a game for blackjack entertainment, I would like to earn a blackjack in the long term
thanks for advice
Regards
Playing basic strategy is still a long-term loser, so you are strictly playing for entertainment. Your bet size should be as small an amount that is still entertaining. Realistically, with a bankroll of 500, you should likely be betting no more than $10.
Choose hand-shuffled games if they are available. The reason? The games are slower, and that means smaller losses for you. Other than that, there is no difference between hand-shuffled or machine-shuffled. (Even continuous shufflers don’t make a difference if you are just playing basic strategy.)
Hello Ken
I play form some weeks blackjack with basic strategy only
Should I Look for casinos with automatically shuffle cards or better casinos with handshuffle card normally by dealer ?
I have bank roll 500 usd what amount on bet should I use ?
thanks for answers
I agree DAS opportunities is the main reason for splitting 7’s against an 8, and all the casinos I have visited allow DAS. So I always split 7’s vs. a dealer 8 even in 6 and 8 deck games, Am I wrong?
I agree DAS is the main reason for splitting 7’s against a dealer 8 and DAS is available at all casinos I’ve played in. So I split 7’s against a dealer 8 even in 6 and 8 deck games. Who thinks I’ right and who thinks I’m wrong?
No, you’re better off hitting in those games. For example, in 6D, H17, DAS:
Hitting loses 0.37771 of a bet. Splitting loses 0.39052 of a bet, which is worse.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20060214092652/http://www.bjmath.com:80/bjmath/ev/6dh17.htm
You can find the other games at
https://web.archive.org/web/20051126143403/http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/ev/ev.htm
From there, you can see that in 2 decks, splitting is slightly cheaper. In 2D H17 DAS, hitting loses 0.38953, while splitting loses slightly less at 0.38704.
Thanks for your opinionated decree, but I’ll stick with Peter Griffin in the definitive work on blackjack math, The Theory of Blackjack. You can also confirm this with the independently developed CA software available for free here : https://www.blackjackinfo.com/free-blackjack-combinatorial-analyzer/.
All of these sources agree. When DAS is available, in 1 or 2 decks, splitting 7s vs 8 is correct basic strategy.
For the record, the Hi-lo index is -1. Split at -1 or better. I personally verified that index for my Hi-Lo index cards using CVData. Perhaps you’ve never researched DAS games. It makes a huge difference on this particular play. In games where you cannot double after split, you’re right. Never split this hand in those games, regardless of the count. But when DAS is available, it’s an entirely different matter.
Whatever. Believe what you want. I’ll do the same.
Young Earth creationism. That the Earth is flat. That water has a memory and homeopathy is legit. That you should split 7’s against an 8. That half the politicians in Washington are reptile aliens that have assumed human form. It just goes to show, someone out there is self-assured they know some great truth, no matter how ridiculous it is.
But no. There is no count high enough, or low enough, to justify splitting 7’s against an 8. You hit. Or actually stand, if the truecount gets to like 13, I’m sure, but I only figured these things out up to +12. You stand 15 against 8 if truecount>9.30, but with 14, the threshold will be even higher. But other than that remote possibility, there’s no threshold to remember because you should always do the same thing. It is a rule that is cut and dry, unrelenting and absolute. Though interestingly enough, you should split 2’s against an 8, if the truecount>3.48. But never split 7’s against an 8. If you split them, if the count is super high, you’ll likely turn one lousy busting hand into two lousy 17’s against an 18, but if the count is super negative, EVERYTHING is a losing proposition so having fewer hands is better and you should try to minimize the number of hands you play until the end of the shoe, but you’re also much more likely to redeem the one bad situation and not bust by hitting instead of splitting and end up with a single good hand. Also it is better to defer to a smaller standard deviation of outcome if there is a decision whose threshold is incredibly close, because “only if DAS is allowed” means you’d better be prepared to have at least 2 but possibly 3 or 4 side by side DOUBLED hands all losing together rather than one single hand. Even if I was wrong, and I’m not, but even if I was, if you had a bankroll of 1000 dollars, and you bet 10 dollars on a coinflip with a fair coin being heads, would you be willing to raise your bet to 50 for the privilege of using a coin that was heads 50.01% of the time instead? You shouldn’t be.
Consider it a decree from the great grouch, god of blackjack. Thou shalt not split 7’s against an 8.
Working now thx!
Nope, the engine and the game are exactly correct. In a 2-deck game where you can DAS, you should split 7s against a dealer 8.