Please help me improve my game

L

Laurelindo

Member
Hello.

I am a relatively new BlackJack player and probably still count as a beginner (although I do have some theoretical experience and normally know what decisions to make);
I would like your help with something that I'm not very sure about:

Let's say I have a hand worth 12-16, the Dealer has a card worth 7 or higher and my card counting is very positive (+3 or higher);
should I Hit again or should I Stand?
Usually you are supposed to Hit in this situation, but wouldn't this be very risky if your card counting is good since the next card will usually be very high, leading to a Bust?
 
Last edited:
Gamblor

Gamblor

Well-Known Member
One day some guys were doing a survey between "boxers" or "briefs". They went to a 25 year old man and said "boxers" or "briefs"? He said briefs.

They went to a 40 year old man and said "boxers" or "briefs"? He said boxers.

Then they went up to a 80 year old man and said "boxers" or"briefs"? And the old man replied - "Depends".
 
A

AussiePlayer

Well-Known Member
Gamblor said:
One day some guys were doing a survey between "boxers" or "briefs". They went to a 25 year old man and said "boxers" or "briefs"? He said briefs.

They went to a 40 year old man and said "boxers" or "briefs"? He said boxers.

Then they went up to a 80 year old man and said "boxers" or"briefs"? And the old man replied - "Depends".
Click to expand...
Was it ZG? :laugh:
 
P

paddywhack

Well-Known Member
Gamblor said:
One day some guys were doing a survey between "boxers" or "briefs". They went to a 25 year old man and said "boxers" or "briefs"? He said briefs.

They went to a 40 year old man and said "boxers" or "briefs"? He said boxers.

Then they went up to a 80 year old man and said "boxers" or"briefs"? And the old man replied - "Depends".
Click to expand...
AussiePlayer said:
Was it ZG? :laugh:
Click to expand...
:eek:
 
T

tthree

Banned
Laurelindo said:
Hello.

I am a relatively new BlackJack player and probably still count as a beginner (although I do have some theoretical experience and normally know what decisions to make);
I would like your help with something that I'm not very sure about:

Let's say I have a hand worth 12-16, the Dealer has a card worth 7 or higher and my card counting is very positive (+3 or higher);
should I Hit again or should I Stand?
Usually you are supposed to Hit in this situation, but wouldn't this be very risky if your card counting is good since the next card will usually be very high, leading to a Bust?
Click to expand...
The answer to this question has to due with which hand each of you have. The nuts and bolts as to why you hit when you are likely to bust is the dealer has an increased likelihood of having a made hand. With hilo at a high count you know there are a lot of tens and aces and few 2 thru 6. You know nothing about 7, 8 or 9 density. If the dealer has a ten or ace showing the limits on the information you have is pretty reliable at indicating he doesn't have a stiff. Those unknown cards still make his hand. At some point as the TC rises for the hand match up that makes the odds of beating the dealer by hitting higher than the odds of beating the dealer by standing. As you start to see the weaker dealer upcards your count is less reliable for correlating to the odds the dealer has a stiff. With a seven the high cards still make his hand and 2 thru 4 (2/3 of your low cards strengthen his hand). The density of the unknown cards is actually more important than your count to that upcard. Your count is simply a weakening indicator of the correct play as the dealer upcard decreases 9, 8 and 7. Your count just doesn't indicate the density of the good and bad cards for the dealer well at all. That causes the sims that generate the indices to show just that. You need a much higher index to overcome the lack of a good indicator and even then it is a very weak guess. A side count of the block of 7, 8 and 9 would make your play against a seven a stand far more frequently as you know the density of the cards that are worst for the dealer and with your hand of 15 or 16 worse for you as well. nothing like being able to turn a chunk of bad hand matchup losses into wins with a little extra effort. It really cuts down your variance.
 
Sonny

Sonny

Well-Known Member
Also check the "An Introduction to Card Counting (Please Read Before Posting New Threads)" thread and the Frequently Asked Questions thread. Both will give you more information on basic strategy deviations.

-Sonny-
 
B

BJgenius007

Well-Known Member
Gamblor said:
One day some guys were doing a survey between "boxers" or "briefs". They went to a 25 year old man and said "boxers" or "briefs"? He said briefs.

They went to a 40 year old man and said "boxers" or "briefs"? He said boxers.

Then they went up to a 80 year old man and said "boxers" or"briefs"? And the old man replied - "Depends".
Click to expand...
He should say none of the above. It is diapers.
 
R

revrac

Well-Known Member
BJgenius007 said:
He should say none of the above. It is diapers.
Click to expand...
I think the joke went over your head. Depends is "funny" as it can be taken two ways, 1 - it can vary, 2 - depends IS a brand of diapers.
 
Jack_Black

Jack_Black

Well-Known Member
revrac said:
I think the joke went over your head. Depends is "funny" as it can be taken two ways, 1 - it can vary, 2 - depends IS a brand of diapers.
Click to expand...
No no, you are mistaken. He is THE Genius. Nothing goes over his head without his approval!
 
Friendo

Friendo

Well-Known Member
Laurelindo said:
Hello.

I am a relatively new BlackJack player and probably still count as a beginner (although I do have some theoretical experience and normally know what decisions to make);
I would like your help with something that I'm not very sure about:

Let's say I have a hand worth 12-16, the Dealer has a card worth 7 or higher and my card counting is very positive (+3 or higher);
should I Hit again or should I Stand?
Usually you are supposed to Hit in this situation, but wouldn't this be very risky if your card counting is good since the next card will usually be very high, leading to a Bust?
Click to expand...
You, and nearly every new member to appear on this board in the last couple of months, would have no need to ask these questions if you took the time to read at least 3 among the following blackjack authors: Wong, Snyder, Renzey, Humble & Cooper, Carlson, Schlesinger, Wattenberger, and several others.

You are hurting yourself by not reading these books.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top