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FRONT PAGE - Back to THE ADVISOR PAGE GameMaster,
Hello.
What you outlined is possible - not easy to accomplish - but definitely
possible. The big strike against you is your age, because the "pit
critters" think that most card counters are young males and someone tossing
around $25 chips is immediately suspect. However, if you can create an
image of either a rich kid whose daddy pays for all his wild times or that
of a "dot-com" bazillionaire, you can probably pull it off, particularly if
you play at the Hard Rock (worth it for the scenery alone, according to my
22-year old nephew). Although the Hard Rock isn't necessarily the best
place for a comp, it's a good place to start. A lot of counters don't like
to deposit $$$ at the cage, but I've never had a problem with that and it's
a good way to get to know a casino host who can comp you on future
trips. They would probably want about 6 hours of play each day with an
average bet of $75 or more, but that's possible with a $10,000 trip bankroll.
Remember that those requirements will vary from casino to casino. It'll be
a lot higher at Bellagio, etc. and lower at the casinos downtown or at an
older property like the Riv. or Circus, Circus. The best approach is to
call the casino of your choice and ask to talk to an "executive
host". Tell them what you want to do and ask them what kind of play they
need for it to be comped. They will know right away that you're shopping
and might make you a good deal. Certainly, they won't guarantee anything
up-front, because they'll want to see your "action" first, but at least
you'll have some idea of what's available. They will like the idea that
you're willing to deposit $10,000 or so in the cage, because that makes
their job easier.
The game you should concentrate on is Double-Deck. The same techniques I
teach for a 6-deck game applies to a 2-deck game and there are some pretty
good ones in Vegas. To beat a double deck game, you should employ a 1-8
bet spread, so that would be $25-$200. I used a program called "Blackjack
Risk Manger" to run some numbers on this. If you use $15,000 as your total
bankroll and $10,000 as your trip bankroll, you should average around $40
an hour in profits and you'll have about a 10% risk of losing the entire
$15,000 if you play "forever". On a trip where you play 12 hours (1200
hands), the probability of losing $10,000 is practically zero and the
probability of winning $1000 or more is roughly 70%. A one standard
deviation event (68% probability) in 1200 hands is to end somewhere between
a loss of $1800 and a profit of $2800. Your expectation for 1200 hands,
while betting $25-$200, is to make $516.
You should start hanging out at www.bj21.com/ where you'll pick up a lot of
pointers from the posters there and give some thought to joining the "Green
Chip" pages ($75 a year, I think.) While there, get a free, trial copy of
Current Blackjack News and that will help you to decide where you'd like to
stay and play.
As for books to buy, the next one is Stanford Wong's "Professional
Blackjack", which you can order through my site (there's a link on the
front page called "Gambling Books from PiYee Press") and that will help
us. I wouldn't buy any others for the moment, until you have made some
decisions about which count to use, etc.
All 19 of my lessons are on my site and are free, but we are beginning
production of a DVD that will incorporate them and that should be available
in June. For now, just click on each lesson and print it out through your
browser. Pay particular attention to the lesson that shows you how to
count at a single-deck game, because that's the way you'll have to count at
double-deck games in Vegas, since they are what we call "pitch" games.
This will get you started.
Yours for winning, GameMaster,
Hello.
What I suggest is that you: A) start studying "The GameMaster's Blackjack
School", which you'll find on the Blackjack page of my site, even if you
want to use Uston's count (pay particular attention to Lesson 19), and B)
start building up your bankroll. It will take you about 6 months of fairly
intensive study and practice to get to the point where you're ready to sit
down at a table and play for serious $$$. Naturally, you should start
small until you're sure you have the techniques down pat. For a good look at what it takes to accomplish your goals, read the article
"Tripping Out", which is in the archives on the Blackjack Page of my
site. Believe me, if all it took to make $2000 a weekend in Vegas was to
buy a book and spend a few hours practicing each week, everybody would be
doing it.
Yours for winning, GameMaster,
Hello.
My argument is that the casinos still throw out card counters and who sees
more Blackjack players than the casinos? Why would they throw counters out
if they were losing? It is a proven fact that utilizing the proper playing
strategy will cut the casino's edge to a minimum, so I suggest you continue
with your studies. Playing Basic Strategy by itself will NOT give you an
edge over the casino, but it's a good place to start.
Yours for winning, Hi GM! Hello, Trey.
Yours for winning, GM, Hello, Kurt.
Glad you liked the article. To the best of my knowledge, no one has
calculated the indexes for playing variations for this game, so at the
present time, I think you should use the count just to vary your bets. But
that's where most of your advantage will come from, anyway so I doubt if
much will be lost by doing that. I would, however, take insurance at a
True Count of 4 or more.
Yours for winning, Hi GameMaster, Hello, Lee. Yours is not an easy question to answer, because I need to know your
comfort level regarding what we call the "risk of ruin" and whether or not
the casino at which you play offers a cash rebate with their slot club. If
you wish to play full-time and want only a 5% chance of losing all your
$$$, then you need a bankroll of about $7000 for a quarter game. If you
can also get 0.25% cash back, then a BR of $5500 should suffice. If you'd
rather play with only a 1% risk of ruin, then your BR should be at least
$10,000, assuming no cash back and correct play. On the other hand, if you
can get 0.50% cash back and can live with a 25% risk of ruin, then $2000
will work. If you haven't yet read my "Expert's Guide to All American Poker", I
suggest you do so. It's in the archives of the Video Poker page of my
site. You might also want to take a look at my "All American Poker Diary",
which chronicles some of my play at the game where I use a $4000 bank.
Yours for winning, Hello, I was eager to try playing the free games offered on your website along with
the tips and rules that you said would be included with each game. I was
especially interested to eventually try the Goldclub casino that you
mentioned after playing the games. But when I went to the games and tried to
play the only single deck game that you listed there I was unable to reach
the rules. I even tried to use the keyword listing given "GameMaster
Strategy for (Casino.com) Blackjack" and learned that the page could not be
found. Is this correct? Will the strategies for this game be listed again
or possibly listed somewhere else? Please advise. I was very interested to stumble onto your website and really cannot remember
how I came to it. I have it listed on my favorites now though.
I suppose for now I will have to console myself with the Blackjack School
that you offer. Hopefully, I will pick up a couple of good ideas.
Thanks again for the good articles and the warnings of sites to avoid.
Hello.
First of all, I'm glad you found us and I hope you find the Blackjack
School helpful. I tried the link for the strategy and everything worked
just fine, so you may want to try it again. Click on the bar that says,
"GameMaster Strategy for Casino.com Blackjack" and it will open a new
browser window and display the strategy chart.
I must add, however, that most of the casinos that offered that game,
including Gold Club Casino, have dropped it but I've been told it can still
be found at Pharoah's Casino, Casino Kiss and Cowboy Casino, all of which
use Boss Media software. The game is probably available only in the
single-player mode, so if you decide to play at one of them, make sure that
you download the correct software. If you cannot get the strategy page to
open, go to the Basic Strategy Engine at www.blackjackinfo.com and enter
these rules: single deck, double on any first two cards, double after split
dealer stands on A-6 and it will generate a basic strategy chart for you at
no cost.
Please let me know if you have any problems.
Yours for winning, Hi GM,
Thanks, Hello, Don.
Yours for winning, Hi GM, I have just started playing blackjack online.
You mention that wager amount strategies do not work
unless you use card counting to adjust your wager
amount. Will the online casinos ban you if you card
count? If I am losing a lot of my money should I reduce my
bets or keep them the same as you have a virtual 50%
chance of winning all the time if you use the card
play charts? It is very good of you to offer to answer questions, I
do really appreciate your help. Hello, Phil.
As for your bet size, remember that unless you're playing with an edge over
the casino, the optimum bet is zero. Naturally, you won't have any fun
betting zero, but try to keep your bets as low as possible (or comfortable)
when the casino has an edge over you. If you are losing a lot at a casino,
the first question you must ask yourself is whether or not you're playing
at an honest game. Assuming you are, you need to know that you don't have
a 50-50 chance of winning each hand. At Blackjack, you'll win only about
43% of the hands you play, will lose about 48% of the hands and push on
roughly 9% of them. But, from a monetary point of view, if a casino's edge
is 0.5% it'll be about 49.75% win and 50.25% lose, due to the bonus for
Blackjacks, doubling down, etc. For some of my thoughts on where to play Blackjack on the 'Net, see the
article, "Counting Cards at Internet Casinos" on the GameMaster's Secrets
page of my site.
Yours for winning, GameMaster, Hello, Robert.
You should not leave a table just because you've won or lost a specific
number of $$$. Assuming that you count the cards and the game you're
playing allows you to get a long-term edge, the ideal situation is for you
to play as much as possible. That said, the reasons to leave a table may
be because your play is drawing attention from the "pit critters" or
because you're tired or because the new dealer doesn't give you as much
penetration on the shoe as the previous dealer or perhaps dozens of other
reasons, but winning or losing a specific amount isn't one of them. If you
have an edge, the more you play, the more you earn.
Yours for winning, Dear GameMaster,
Thank for your attention.
Hello, Sonny.
Ladbrokes Casino uses Microgaming software and, to the best of my
knowledge, it is fair. I personally find it hard to believe that a company
like Ladbrokes, which owns many land-based casinos, would try to cheat
on-line players. That would be a horrible blow to their reputation in
return for very little profit. Of course, as you said, there could be a
bug in their software, but I really doubt that, because Microgaming has
been doing this for a long time and I have never seen proof of any
cheating. Don't forget that the casino has an edge over you, so you can
expect to lose in the long run at this game. Before you play there again, go to this page:
http://www.thewizardofodds.com/game/reviewmicrogaming.html and copy the
Basic Strategy chart you'll find there. This will tell you how to play
each hand with the best possibility of keeping the casino's edge to a minimum. Other good casinos to consider for Blackjack are Lasseters in Australia,
Global Player Casino and Casino on Net. The latter two have been
advertisers with us for a long time and you can read more about all of
these in the Online Gambling Review section of my site. Global Player
Casino has a lot of good Video Poker also.
Yours for winning, GameMaster,
You say that when the count is high that means that the dealer will have
trouble turning a stiff hand into a good one. Also in saying that the count
is high, this means there are alot of high cards in the deck giving the
dealer a chance to bust. So when the count is according to you one should
raise the bet. My missunderstanding is with the count being high, leaving
alot of high cards, what if the dealer begins to show alot of faces? Being
that the count is high, odds are that he has a good hand with alot of high
cards in the deck. Why would raising the bet be a good play here? Yes, when the count is high, the dealer will get a lot of 20s, but so will
you. The dealer will also get a lot of 'blackjacks', but so will you and
you get paid 3 to 2 for yours, but the dealer wins only your original bet
when s/he gets one. And don't forget that if you double a 9, 10 or 11, the
odds of you getting a hand of 20 or 21 is increased. The ability of the
player to split, double, take insurance at the right time and get paid 3 to
2 for a blackjack far, far outweighs the probability of the dealer getting
a good hand, so that's why we bet more when there are 'extra' 10s and Aces
left in the deck(s).
Yours for winning, Dear GameMaster
By playing good basic strategy blackjack without counting
high low, do I have a chance of beating the dealer not all the
time, but the majority of times?
I enjoy your blackjack courses very much. Hello, John. You probably cannot expect to win in the majority of your playing sessions,
because of the casino's built-in edge over you. However, it's not the
number of sessions that you win which matters. For example, how would you
feel if you won ten sessions, averaging $100 per session, then lost $1200
in session # 11? No matter how you view it, you lost $200 in that time
frame. You can artificially create a nice string of winning sessions by
quitting whenever you get ahead by some pre-selected number of $$$, but
it's ultimately an exercise in futility because you don't have an edge.
Yours for winning, Hi GM, Is it worth it, could it be beatable with cardcounting?
Thanks for a great blackjack school at bj21.com. Hello, Christian. If the game you've described has penetration under 75%, the only way to win through card counting is by either using a very wide bet spread (about 1 to 20 will work) or by "wonging" the game so that you're placing bets only when the True Count is +2 or more. I'm glad you've found our Blackjack School to be helpful, but be sure to visit my site at www.gamemasteronline.com for more ways to win at the casinos.
Yours for winning, GameMaster,
Hello.
Yours for winning, Master, when playing blackjack is it better to play at
a table one on one against the dealer or at a filled
table?
Hello, Ed.
It all depends upon what you want to accomplish. Playing alone will get
you more hands per hour and, if you have an edge over the casino through
counting the cards or some other form of "advantage play", the more hands
you play, the more $$$ you'll ultimately make. On the other hand, if you
only play Basic Strategy and do not have an edge over the casino but want
to play the game anyway, and perhaps get free rooms or meals or other
'comps' from the casino, then you're better off playing at tables with a
lot of players, because you'll play fewer hands and ultimately lose less.
Because the way other players play their hands doesn't ultimately affect
whether or not you will win or lose, that should never be a factor in
choosing a table.
Yours for winning, Dear Gamemaster, Hello, Scott.
My reasoning for tipping the dealers sparingly is that over-tipping can negate the small advantage you have. While I applaud your willingness to "share the wealth" when you win, remember that they will not be tipping you when you lose. It's not a two-way street. My advice is to tip when you leave the table. If you've won, tip and if you've lost, they don't really expect you to tip.
I appreciate your kind words about our site.
Yours for winning, |