GameMaster,
I'm just wondering why basic strategy tells you to double on Ace-7 against dealers 3,4,5,6. Statistics say that you will lose more hands than you will win by taking cards in this situation. Why would you want to double the 'loss'?

I think I know where the confusion is here. Yes, by hitting A-7 against 3,4,5 and 6, you turn a winner into less of a winner. But it's still a winner and, when you double, you win more $$$, but less often. Let's look at A-7 against a 4 as an example. If you stand in that situation, you'll win 18% of all the $$$ you bet; if you hit, you win only 12.4% of all the money bet but if you double, you'll win 24.8%, simply because you have twice the bet out there. Soft 18 is a winner either way, but you win more by doubling.

You write that the true count is found by dividing the running count on the number of decks left in the shoe( divide by three if three decks left). Jady Davies says that the running count should be divided by the number of shoes times 2 (divide by 6 if three decks left). This difference is quite major.

That system uses a true count conversion accurate to half a deck. The hi/lo which I teach is accurate to one deck. That's the difference.

What are your feelings regarding the super 7 bet, is there anyway to win on these bets or are they 'sure losers like the jackpot bets in Caribbean stud?

The 'Super 7s' bet isn't a 'sure' loser since a player can count the 7s and bet when there's an increased chance of getting 7s. As a general guideline, when there are 2 'extra' 7s remaining in the decks to be played, the bet can be made. For example, if 3 decks remain of a 6-deck shoe, normal distribution would tell us that 12 7s should be left. If there are 14 remaining, then the bet can be made. If the bet is made only in those situations where there are 2 or more extra 7s, the $1 side bet is a long term wash. But, much like playing a 100% return video poker game, you might get ahead of the curve and win a few $$$. But let me caution that betting Super 7s all the time gives the casino an 11% edge.

These might be stupid questions, but I'm learning. I have unfortunately lost a lot of money playing stupid games like Caribbean stud and slot maschines. I have found counting to be fun and great exercise for the brain, hopefully I will be able to get the edge after long hours of training!! Your wes site is fantastic. I would greatly appreciate it if you find the time to reply to these inquiries.

I hope these help. Come back and visit us often.

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/29/98

I enjoy your web site. Have you visited mine at www.smartgaming.com? Let me know if you would like to exchange links.
Regards,
Henry Tamburin

Dear Henry,
Have enjoyed your writings for many years. You may not know me, but I used to be a member of Jeryy Patterson's team, waaay back when he was a 'normal' counter. Anyway, I've copied my webmaster on this to arrange a links exchange, but he's out of town on business this week, so if nothing happens soon, please get back to me & we'll set something up next week.

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/29/98

Hi there, I love the Gamemaster web-site and your BJ advice in particular. I am just learning to play and your lessons are proving to be extremely valuable to me - thanks! I have a quick question regarding percentage disadvantage for 8 deck play.

In your April 27/98 lesson entiled 'Evaluating Games', you provide insight into calculating the starting house edge. Using your assumed game of 6 deck, DOA, No doubling after split, re-split any pair except Aces, Isurance and Dealer stands on A-6. You tell us that the player advantage is -.54. I am OK with this part. My local casino has this same set-up with the following exceptions

a.. Double after split, therefore add + .14 % [as per chart]
b.. Resplit Aces, therefore add + .07 % [as per chart]

With this, my game should now score -.33 % advantage off the top. Assuming that I have figured this correctly, what would I have to add back in considering that my cards are coming out of an 8 deck shoe? By the way, for what it is worth, the casino routinely places the cut card with 2 1/2 to 3 decks remaining in the shoe. Any help calculating the 8 deck disadvantage vs. 6 deck would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your help.

Regards, bond007@idirect.com [a.k.a. future BJ counter extrodinare].

P.S. Considering the level of penetration [62 - 68 percent], do you think this game would be worth playing, or would this fall into the 'grind' category? Table minimum is $ 5, maximum is $ 500, with very little anticipated heat. A 1 to 20 spread should be achievable. I am planning on using your Hi/Lo count as soon as I have everything down cold!

Dear Mark,

Thanks for the kind words; I'm glad we've been able to help. There's very little difference between a 6-deck and 8-deck game - give the casino an extra 0.03%. Therefore, the house edge in the game you describe is about .36%. The penetration is boderline and you will need that 1-20 spread to take it out of the 'grind' category. But, beware of the bankroll fluctuations you'll see and don't let a loooong string of losses discourage you.

Good luck in your new venture!

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/23/98

GameMaster,
I just wanted to let you know that after my last visit to Vegas (July) I decided to try and learn to play blackjack better. I came across your web page and read your lessons. It took about two days to start counting cards without messing up, another three weeks to attain any speed. I'm happy to report that I came out a couple of hundred dollars ahead playing $2.00, single deck at the Horseshoe last weekend.
Thanks for all your advice and tips.
Steve

Dear Steve,
That's great! It's always nice to hear we've been of help.

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/20/98

Greetings...
Let me start out by saying I think your column is fantastic. I've been practicing counting cards at home and will make my first attempt in a real casino this weekend with my buddy when he comes to visit (I'm doing an internship in Germany). I'll be playing with pennies for a while until I get the hang of counting, but your column really has me looking at the game from a completely different angle. Well done.

Quick question about one of your quiz questions. It states that when the player has a 6 and 3 and the dealer's face card is a 7, the correct play would be to hit. I would argue the correct play is to double, no? One would be a fool not to minimally hit when its mathematically impossible to bust, but that isn't my motivation. In all likelihood, you would double into a 19 and the dealer would end up with a 17. If he drew less than a 10, he would then be forced to hit again and very likely bust. If he drew an ace, he would end up with 18 and you would still win. So I would double in that situation...or is there some angle I'm missing?

Thanks for your reply in advance.
-John

Dear John,
No, the correct play is to hit. We don't assume you're going to get a 10, nor do we assume the dealer will end with 17. We analyze each play according to ALL the remaining cards in the deck and, based on that, the best play is to hit. If you hit, you can expect to win 17.4% of all the money you bet in that situation. If you double, you can expect to win just 11.4% of all the money bet. As a counter, when the true count gets to 6, THEN you would double 9 vs. 7.

Good luck in your new venture and thanks for the kind words.

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/15/98

GameMaster,
I found a book titled "Playing Blackjack as a Business" by Lawrence Revere which costs around $16.00. The copyright is dated 1995 so it seems fairly recent. I am thinking of purchasing it, but before I do...

Question#1: Who is Lawrence Revere? Is he a good authority on BJ? How do I contact this guy?

Question#2: Have you done a review on his system? How good is it?

Question#3: Should I buy his book? Can you recommend some other sources? Thanks and more power to you!!!

Dear Gilbert,
That book actually came out about 1977 or so. It's one of the first I ever bought on the game and it's good. While I think his count is overly elaborate, it does work very well. "Revere" was a 'pen' name; as I recall, his real name was 'Spec' Parsons or something like that. He died some years ago. As for other recommendations, I think every player should have Stanford Wong's book, "Professional Blackjack". It's my 'bible' on the game.

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/15/98

HELP ! ! Here's the story...

I got introduced to online gambling (my first contact) through the reviews on Gamemaster. "P.S. I found you through BJ21". I downloaded and played many casinos and I lost and won. When I won and I requested a payout (usually 2 to 5 hundred), I was usually paid in 1 to 3 weeks. However I mostly settled on playing with (W W W Casinos), because they had full pay Deuces Wild and Jacks or Better. After gambling many hundred (5 or more), LO and BEHOLD, I hit a Royal Flush on the $1.00 Jacks or Better ($4000.00, 5 coins in), my first win with them.... THE PROBLEM IS THAT WAS 6 WEEKS AGO. I've sent numerous E-Mail, of which they don't answer..
What do you suggest ? ?

Thank you,
Carol

First, congratulations on the Royal. We'll post this on our site and contact the casino to see if we can speed things up. I haven't heard of a problem with WWW Casino in the past, so I'm confident you'll get your $$$, but there's no guarantee. We'll do our best, though.

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/13/98

GameMaster, I was playing at the Station in KC this past Labor Day weekend. M y buddy and I were playing with 4 other players in a 6 deck shoe dealt game, my buddy was at 3rd base with a blackjack the gentleman to his right had a hard 12 and all the rest of us had 16 or less and the dealer had a 6. Everyone stood except the old gentleman with the hard 12, who douled down.The dealer busted, but I never got a chance to talk to the old fellow .He was an excellent player so I don't feel like he was making some off the wall play,but I have talked with several people and nobody had seen that move. If the dealer had been showing a 2 or 3 I could come closer to understanding, do you have any ideas why this gentleman doubled the hard 12.
I enjoy your articles very much.

RBM
e-mail Mitch2k@ msn.com

Dear Mitch,

Doubling a 12 at anytime is an incorrect play, but doubling a 12 against a dealer's 6 is financial suicide. For some reason, people likt to double 12s; I guess it's because, as many of them say: "only one card breaks you" (the 10). But that's actually 4 cards of the 13 in a deck. From a mathematics point of view, if you bet $10 a hand, standing with 12 against a 6 costs you $1.22; hitting a 12 against a 6 costs $1.73 and doubling 12 against a 6 costs $3.50. The old guy was lucky to have won.

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/13/98

Hi,
I've been counting cards for a while now (+/- method) and I feel I'm at the point where I would like to refine my playing. A counter would take insurance if the true count indicates to but I've not found any information that tells me how to modify the basic tables based upon the true count. Do you know where I could find this info? I'm usually playing in Reno at a one or two deck game, H17, DA2, No DAS, early surrender for the single deck only.

I've found your web page very informative. Keep up the good work.
Terry

Dear Terry,

My blackjack lessons have a chapter on varying basic strategy according to the count, but it's mostly for multi-deck games. Those variations work quite well for single-deck, however, and you're probably better off just learning and using one set of what we call 'indexes.' That's on the Blackjack Page and is titled 'Basic Strategy Variations'(it's at the bottom of the page). As for insurance, at a single-deck game, take the bet at a true of 1.5; at double-deck at a true of 2.5 and for six-deck games at a true of 3.

Thanks for the kind words; come back and see us often.

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/13/98

GameMaster,
I am getting pretty good at counting cards but I still have some work to do. Is there any advantage to sitting out hi negative games?

David C. Collier
713 609 4893
dcollier@hess.com

Yes, there's a definite advantage to sitting out negative decks, but it tips you off as a counter. It's one thing to get up and walk away from a negative count, but it's quite another to sit at the table and not play.

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/13/98

GameMaster,
The reason why I am contacting you is the term "beatable games" you mentioned several times. I still didn't choose my favourite Casino, but I would like to know WHAT games are NOT beatable (so I could avoid playing that games). I'll appreciate any help (short explanation, link to some site where I could find more about that subject, etc.). Thanks for your time.

Best wishes,
Dejan

Dear Dejan, The term 'beatable' is somewhat relative, because if a casino would tolerate me jumping my bets and otherwise not using any camouflage, almost any game could be beaten. But, for practical purpose, a game should not have a house edge (as determined by their rules) in excess of .5% and they should deal into the deck(s) at least 66%. For more information, see my lesson: "Evaluating Games".

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/4/98

Dear Gamemaster,
I love your site. I appreciate the honest approach you take to all gaming with the respect to the mathematics involved. My question. I am planning on getting into video poker and have even dusted off Professional Video Poker by Wong. My question is you site deals mostly with 9/6 games while Wong's book deals mostly with 8/5 games. Is the 9/6 game more prevalent now and of so where would be a good place to get charts for it? Thanks and keep up the good work.

Kevin
kevn@best.com
Be Happy

Dear Kevin,
Thanks for the kind words; we're all glad you enjoy the site.

Wong's book was the first I ever read on the topic and, while it's a good one, it is a bit dated. The 9/6 game isn't necessarily more prevalent, but it's the one you should seek out, simply because the 8/5 version has such a low long term return, at least until the progressive Royal gets very high. Check Skip Hughes' site for a listing of casinos which have full-pay games.

You might also want to get Dan Paymar's book, "Video Poker-Optimum Play", since it's 'state-of-the-art'. Conjelco has it at www.conjelco.com/,

As for play charts, I like Jazbo's and Skip Hughes' cards; either will work. Jazbo is at www.monmouth.com/~jburns and Skip is at www.vid-poker.com

Good luck in your new venture!

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/4/98

I have heard that the first Australian based internet casino is coming on line shortly - have you heard anything about this. Do you know where I can get info on this.

The government regulators here are pretty strict with land casinos so I feel it will be a lot safer to use a virtual casino based in Australia (not just because I am Australian) than say one of these weirdo Barbuda. Dominica based ones.

I see you still list Tradewinds Casino - surely that went 'belly up' some months ago??

I look forward to seeing something in the casino survival guide on roulette.

Regards
Leo

Dear Leo,
I, too, have heard of the Australian licensing, but don't know how quickly it will happen. Like you, I'll have a lot of faith in such a casino, since the Australians are very serious about casino regulation.

Thanks for pointing out the Tradewinds situation; there are so many now, it would be a fulltime job just keeping up with all of the openings and closings.

Roulette will appear in the Casino Survival Guide soon, but I'm afraid I don't have a magic 'system' to beat it.

Yours for winning,
The GameMaster
9/1/98