FLASH1296
Well-Known Member
I was asked about this in a private message today.
I spent so much time writing my response that I decided to post it here:
Can you tell me the function of the cut card in blackjack.
What is its function and does it affect my play if I'm counting?
I assume that you are referring to the cut card in a hand-held game.
In shoe games it is simply the delimiter that tells the dealer when the last hand has been played.
In a hand-held game (a "pitch" game), where the dealer is
dealing either one or two decks by hand, it has a nefarious purpose.
This is unknown to recreational players. We call it the "Cut Card Effect"
It helps the casinos win more money from card counters and amateurs alike.
This is how it works. Don't blink. The effect is too subtle to be visible to the innumerate public.
The dealer places the cut card into the shuffled cards prior to dealing the first hand.
As a card counter you are VERY concerned with how many hands you get to play.
That we call "penetration" It IS crucial to our success to have deep pen'.
Now there are three scenarios that will evolve.
For purposes of illustration, I will ignore what happens when
the True Count does not vary much from ZERO.
That leaves TWO significant possibilities:
When you are playing and nearing the shuffle point
the True Count may be significantly HIGH or LOW.
IF the cut card comes out the dealer must shuffle.
WHAT actually happens is as follows:
When the True Count is HIGH you have a strong advantage -
it is solely because a lot of low cards have been depleted from the deck.
While that creates a HIGH count it also means
that the players are taking a lot of cards.
The average hand contains 2.7 cards per player (and dealer),
but, IF the count is HIGH it probably nearly 4 cards per hand.
THUS, the cut card is reached QUICKLY when your advantage rises
and very SLOWLY when the True Count is plummeting.
Visualize this. We (and some drunk) are playing BJ and on
the first hand all 4 of us, (dealer included) get face cards.
We took a total of 8 cards and the True Count is now VERY low.
One Half of all the 10 valued cards have been depleted !
We would leave the table of course.]
Now lets look at the opposite situation in extremis.
Now we play at a different table. There are still 4 of us
(dealer included) and somehow ALL of our cards are low ones.
There was a lot of hitting. Many cards were used.
Almost ½ a deck ! The True Count is VERY high.
We each have a profound advantage.
The dealer MAY deal us another round, but only if the cut card has not appeared;
and two more hands is rather implausible.
Note that In the prior case, with the True Count in the cellar,
there were plenty of hands to go and the True Count is so low
that it will never likely recover and "go positive" before the shuffle.
Note that in Current Blackjack News "pitch" games with a cut card carry the "sc" notation.
Note that the use of the cut card is ubiquitous.
Note that using a Cut Card does NOT mean that the casino cannot still use
"preferential shuffling" as a counter-measure anyway.
__________________
I spent so much time writing my response that I decided to post it here:
Can you tell me the function of the cut card in blackjack.
What is its function and does it affect my play if I'm counting?
I assume that you are referring to the cut card in a hand-held game.
In shoe games it is simply the delimiter that tells the dealer when the last hand has been played.
In a hand-held game (a "pitch" game), where the dealer is
dealing either one or two decks by hand, it has a nefarious purpose.
This is unknown to recreational players. We call it the "Cut Card Effect"
It helps the casinos win more money from card counters and amateurs alike.
This is how it works. Don't blink. The effect is too subtle to be visible to the innumerate public.
The dealer places the cut card into the shuffled cards prior to dealing the first hand.
As a card counter you are VERY concerned with how many hands you get to play.
That we call "penetration" It IS crucial to our success to have deep pen'.
Now there are three scenarios that will evolve.
For purposes of illustration, I will ignore what happens when
the True Count does not vary much from ZERO.
That leaves TWO significant possibilities:
When you are playing and nearing the shuffle point
the True Count may be significantly HIGH or LOW.
IF the cut card comes out the dealer must shuffle.
WHAT actually happens is as follows:
When the True Count is HIGH you have a strong advantage -
it is solely because a lot of low cards have been depleted from the deck.
While that creates a HIGH count it also means
that the players are taking a lot of cards.
The average hand contains 2.7 cards per player (and dealer),
but, IF the count is HIGH it probably nearly 4 cards per hand.
THUS, the cut card is reached QUICKLY when your advantage rises
and very SLOWLY when the True Count is plummeting.
Visualize this. We (and some drunk) are playing BJ and on
the first hand all 4 of us, (dealer included) get face cards.
We took a total of 8 cards and the True Count is now VERY low.
One Half of all the 10 valued cards have been depleted !
We would leave the table of course.]
Now lets look at the opposite situation in extremis.
Now we play at a different table. There are still 4 of us
(dealer included) and somehow ALL of our cards are low ones.
There was a lot of hitting. Many cards were used.
Almost ½ a deck ! The True Count is VERY high.
We each have a profound advantage.
The dealer MAY deal us another round, but only if the cut card has not appeared;
and two more hands is rather implausible.
Note that In the prior case, with the True Count in the cellar,
there were plenty of hands to go and the True Count is so low
that it will never likely recover and "go positive" before the shuffle.
Note that in Current Blackjack News "pitch" games with a cut card carry the "sc" notation.
Note that the use of the cut card is ubiquitous.
Note that using a Cut Card does NOT mean that the casino cannot still use
"preferential shuffling" as a counter-measure anyway.
__________________
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