Omega II Blackjack Machine

[Witness]

I am impressed w/Omega II. I am learning it conscientiously but cannot learn the Advanced Omega II(which might be OK) because the software is not available. Or is it?

I really think if you master this level 2 balanced system and use his plus six and minus six strategies, you will be Way Ahead of basic strategy players and most high/low players too.

And a side count of aces is not that hard. Most small town and suburban casinos cut off 2 decks anyway. Just stay away from 8 deckers if you can. I have one and two deck games available to me.

My problem with high/low is that 2s and 3s are given the same importance as 4,5 and 6,which doesn't make sense to me. Also the 9 is not accounted for in high/low either, as it is in Omega as a high card with value of neg. 1. Also, so many casino personnel know high/low, I think Omega may be somewhat of a cover..not sure.

I loved the book and have read many, many of them, and gone to seminars too. I wish he would update it though.

If anyone knows where you can get the Omega II BJ Machine, please advise. Phone number in my book is wrong.

However, the 60 indexes in the plus/minus 6 strategies are plenty for me. And if you want to sit out minus counts or Wong in, you only need to learn the 12 in the plus 6 strategy.

I use CV Verite to practice, and you need to do a real lot of it, but it is worth it.

Carlson keeps a low profile and I am impressed with this -- I sometimes wonder if the rest of the Big Players make more money selling books and software.

The Witness

 

[Automatic Monkey]

A few recommendations

If you have the CVData software, you can generate the index numbers and spreads for any set of system tags for any game. It takes an hour or so, and you will definitely have the right numbers. Sometimes indices published in books aren't accurate. Once you generate them you can simplify them or round them as you see fit, and test the results.

No counting system will give you a huge advantage over any other legitimate system. Because of this, you don't get much cover from using uncommon systems; when you have the advantage, High-Low, AO2, Halves, whatever, will all tell you to raise your bet at around the same time. So whatever count the floor or the eye is using, they will see the advantage, see you raise your bet and believe you are counting.

Counting the 9 has it's advantages and disadvantages. If you want to do it, you really need a level 3 or 4 system to accurately account for the effect of the 9 in terms of betting correlation. Counting the 9 (as a high card) always detracts from the accuracy of your insurance bets. Some index plays it helps, others it hurts. All in all, counting the 9 is probably a wash for most realistic games.

Maybe you'd be better off with an unbalanced system. In a 1 or 2 deck game the errors you get from not true counting aren't very significant, and you don't have to stare at the cards and try to estimate half or quarter decks and try to do the division. Sidecounting aces and true counting are probably about equally onerous in a pitch game and I believe the sidecount with an ace-neutral system has more benefits than a true count. Another option would be to use Unbalanced Zen which requires neither a true count nor a sidecount to be very effective in SD and DD.

 

[zengrifter]

Omega is obsolete....

... not to mention that the betting advice in Bryce's book leaves the system as authored fatally flawed. If you fancy that you will be best served by moving into a level-2 count then ZEN, RPC, or UBZEN are the ways to go. Notwithstanding, level-1/HiLo systems work fine. zg

 

[Gorgon]

renzy frenzy

You neglected to mention Mentor. It's also a strong level 2 system.

 

[zengrifter]

Is Mentor an Ace-reckoned count?

 

[Automatic Monkey]

It's ace-compromised

-1,1,2,2,2,2,1,0,-1,-2

 

[zengrifter]

EXCELLENT COUNT! zg

 

[AlexN]

Another Bryce Carlson Software *LINK*

I was also looking for this program but without success. There is an old interview
with Bryce Carlson on http://www.advantageplayer.com/blackjack/library/lux/carlson.html.
Obviously he has developed another similar program called the "Omega II Blackjack Casino" (for MS-DOS and Windows) which is stronger and more comprehensive.
That's the good news.
The bad news is, I couldn't find this program either. Actually it should be available at Pi Yee Press (BJ21.com). As I couldn't find a program to learn AOII with I have written a program of my own. So if you wan't I can give you a version. Just write an email to [email protected]. It's free.
Nevertheless if you should find one of the two programs mentioned above I would appreciate any information about it.

AlexN

 

[Mayor]

What does your program do?

 

[AlexN]

AO2 Program *LINK*

The program works with Basic Strategy, BO2 and AO2
and the Betting Systems for Las Vegas and Reno Rules.

There are 3 modes:

1. Play mode where you can play BlackJack with

the option to let the program check your play according

to the current BlackJack Strategy and Betting System.

2. Simulate mode with up to 3 players. Each player can

play with different strategies (Basic, BO2 and AO2) and

different Betting Systems. Here you can check whether it's

worth playing with certain rules and whether it's better

to play with Las Vegas oder with Reno Betting System.

It displays the earning rate and the win per Hand.

3. Drill mode. Here you can practice counting, strategy and

true count calculation.

AlexN

 

[stainless steel rat]

question...

how does this differ from what Casino Verite' offers??? And CV blackjack will let you practice with dozend of counting schemes, modify your betting ramp and verify you are following proper betting, check BS departure index plays, etc. And of course you can customize CVBJ with any counting system you want if you have the tag values and index numbers (CVBJ can't include all systems as some are being sold and the authors won't give Norm permission to publish the tags/indices...)

CVBJ is a "must-have" tool, IMHO.

 

[AlexN]

response *LINK*

Casino Verite is a "must-have" tool that's beyond question.
I just wrote the program for fun and because I couldn't define some special cases exactly with Casino Verite (Version 2.1) as they are defined in "BlackJack for Blood" (maybe it's possible with the current Version), for example:

- The Betting Indices for BO2 and AO2 depend upon the running count and the rules (Las Vegas or Reno rules)

- The Betting system slightly differs in Single-Deck, Double-Deck and Multiple-Deck games

- There are some strategy changes for double deck games which I can't define with my CVBJ Version because it doesn't differentiate between one and two deck games (once again: maybe the current version does).

- In my opinion the Basic Strategy described in "BlackJack for Blood" is more precisly than the one in CVBJ.

To determine which Betting Indices (Las Vegas or Reno) to use for rules that aren't exactly like Las Vegas or Reno rules I wrote the simulation. Unfortunately I couldn't find a way to define the Betting Systems with CVBJ for reasons mentioned above. If there is a way to do this with CVBJ please let me know.

AlexN