Cheap Cover Index Plays

[daddybo]

Gee CP.. if he was splitting 6 and 7 vs 10 ... that's not cover. That's just stupid.

 

[creeping panther]

D-bo

Gee CP.. if he was splitting 6 and 7 vs 10 ... that's not cover. That's just stupid.

Dear BJ Master,

Yes Exactly, but you see I must take care not to call anyone stupid anymore You just never know what someone will come up with as cover.

I hope your sons team won that Basketball Game the other day

CP

 

[Renzey]

He was splitting 6's and 7's against a 10 for cover. He quickly lost his big stack while I kept on winning playing by the book.There was no doubt in my mind what he was doing, he just gave up way to much in cover.

Mr. Renzey, I missed an article by you on BJ in the latest Midwest Player, wassup?CP

Daddy Bo -- if the game is H17, you can't stand on A/7 vs. A for cover -- it's a 6% extra penalty. It's easy enough to stick to cover plays that cost less than 2% -- there are plenty of them.

CP -- Remember that anytime you lose your whole stack or double thru in one sitting, it's not you -- it's the cards.
BTW, the BJ Mentor article was in there a few pages further back. It's a BJ IQ quiz for the typical ploppy.

 

[daddybo]

Daddy Bo -- if the game is H17, you can't stand on A/7 vs. A for cover -- it's a 6% extra penalty. It's easy enough to stick to cover plays that cost less than 2% -- there are plenty of them.
.

Right... S17 game is hit or stand A/7 v A depending on the count (and number of decks). H17 game is always a hit on A/7 v A. ( I think I may have miss understood your initial post.)

 

[daddybo]

Dear BJ Master,

Yes Exactly, but you see I must take care not to call anyone stupid anymore You just never know what someone will come up with as cover.

I hope your sons team won that Basketball Game the other day

CP

:laugh::laugh: If you ever see me splitting 6 or 7 against a 10, it won't be because I'm counting!

P.S. Game was good!

 

[assume_R]

It's easy enough to stick to cover plays that cost less than 2% -- there are plenty of them.

Besides the several excellent cover plays you mentioned, to determine these, should you pick plays that have low standard deviations? Does cvdata give you these values somewhere?

It appears a lot of you more experienced posters somehow "just know" which plays aren't too costly and I'm curious how you know what the "close plays" are?

 

[SleightOfHand]

Besides the several excellent cover plays you mentioned, to determine these, should you pick plays that have low standard deviations? Does cvdata give you these values somewhere?

It appears a lot of you more experienced posters somehow "just know" which plays aren't too costly and I'm curious how you know what the "close plays" are?

As a play gets closer to the index, the cost of the play decreases. So making a deviation that is not quite at the index but a TC or so away from it wont be that bad. Also, after reading about certain plays, you learn that some deviations that look rediculous are not as bad as they seem. Ex: At a quite negative count (-12 TC zen), it becomes the correct play to HIT 17 v A. Personally, I have never made this deviation (I try to avoid those -12 counts, even in DD), but I would like the see the pit's reaction to that one

 

[psyduck]

I doubt the "cover" plays are viewed as dumb plays by the house. It may just backfire: unusual plays may be viewed as red flags that the player knows too much. How can you tell your "cover" plays really work?

 

[Renzey]

It appears a lot of you more experienced posters somehow "just know" which plays aren't too costly and I'm curious how you know what the "close plays" are?

You can get them from EV charts. Wong's Professional Blackjack has them, as well as Schlesinger's Blackjack Attack.

Just peruse the EV's for different hands when you play them differently, find the errors that are small, and if you think they fit in with either an ignorant or reckless image, you've got yourself a cover play.

 

[Deathclutch]

I'll take correct cover plays over incorrect ones any day. Just learn a few more indices. Simple things like hitting 12 v 4 off the top of a shoe, learning when to stand on your 14 v 10 will go a long way and also be the correct play.

 

[shadroch]

I doubt the "cover" plays are viewed as dumb plays by the house. It may just backfire: unusual plays may be viewed as red flags that the player knows too much. How can you tell your "cover" plays really work?

When the pitboss is laffing with you, telling you stories of stupid wannabe counters as you merrily spread 1-10 and you are lucky enough to catch a BJ on a hand you just happened to have a much bigger bet on the table, you'll know your cover is working.

 

[Automatic Monkey]

When the pitboss is laffing with you, telling you stories of stupid wannabe counters as you merrily spread 1-10 and you are lucky enough to catch a BJ on a hand you just happened to have a much bigger bet on the table, you'll know your cover is working.

Dealer: "You can always tell a counter. They never talk, they never drink, and they just sit there and stare at the cards."

Me: [Looking up to the dealer, taking a sip of my drink] "Huh. Isn't that something."