Blackjack FAQs

I really enjoy hearing from our readers and am happy to answer their questions, if at all possible. Many times, the questions asked have been asked - and answered - before, so I thought I'd group some of the more common ones here, with the hope that you might find a quick answer should you have a question of your own. If your question isn't in here, please don't hesitate to e-mail me and I'll get back to you as quickly as possible. While all of these questions are about the game of casino Blackjack or "21", I've categorized them as they relate to Internet casinos, "brick-and-mortar" casinos, my Blackjack School and Blackjack tournaments, although many are rooted in the card-counting course that we offer here.

Blackjack at Internet casinos

Q: Are you aware of any internet casinos that do not reshuffle after each hand in blackjack? To be more specific, any single player tables? If not, do you think that it would be impossible to apply any strategy when playing online?

A: See the Blackjack section of our "Recommended List", which is on the GameMaster's Secrets page of my site for a listing of casinos that do not shuffle after every hand. There's a related article named "Counting Cards at Internet Casinos", which is in the year 2002 section of the archives on that page (way down at the bottom.)

Q: Do you know of a good chat room or message board for blackjack players??

A: The best message board is at www.bj21.com/ Another good one is at www.advantageplayer.com/ You might also want to check out www.bjfonline.com/ and www.cardcounter.com/

Q: What is a good resource for checking on the honesty and reputation of online casinos?

A: Some good sites to check out for this type of info are www.winneronline.com/ and www.casinomeister.com/

Q: I was wondering if a player has any legal recorse on a overseas company? I have had a very bad experiance with Intertops. I know that blackjack is a game of streaks but when you lose 14 in a row, conveniently when wagers are increased on more than one occasion, it looks very suspect. In a series of 38 hands the house had a amazing 82 winning percentage; the house had 21 or blackjack 24 percent of the time. I am looking someone to pursue this. I have played this enough to know that it is not fair and cards received are related to amount of wager and balance of account. I'm tired of being cheated.

A: I'm afraid that the world of Internet gambling is still a lot like the "Wild West" and there is no legal recourse I'm aware of that you have against an overseas company. As for getting someone to pursue this for you, if you signed up with Intertops through a web site, try contacting the owner of it to see if they will help you. What you've described is something I hear about quite a bit, but it often turns out after careful analysis that the player's results are normal fluctuations within the standards of acceptance for a fair game. Understand that I'm not saying Intertops is dealing a fair game. You have selected a portion of your data that was particularly "bad", but how does it look when you examine all of the hands you played?

My guess is that you played for a while, began winning and then raised your bet. The cards then started "running even", so you lost more hands at a higher bet level. Perhaps if you were to look at all your play, you'd see that your win/loss/push percentages were in line with what's expected in a fair game. As I said, it's just a guess on my part, but that's how it usually turns out, once all of the emotion has been removed from the equation. In any event, you should probably stop playing there, if you haven't already. I always recommend that people play only where they're comfortable. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Blackjack at "brick and mortar" Casinos

Q: What is your attitude toward shuffle machines? I played BJ at a local casino here that has shuffle machines where the dealer would put the cards from the discard tray into the shuffle machine. The amount of cards in the discard tray was about half or a quarter of a deck each time they got put back into the shuffling machine. Will four decks or more basic strategy still work with shuffling machines?

A: These "continuous shuffle machines" render counting useless, so naturally I don't like them. But it has no effect on Basic Strategy, so just use the strategy that's appropriate for the rules the game offers.

Q: And what about those automatic 6 deck shufflers that the dealer pulls out a 6 deck set up and replaces it with another, putting the newly shuffled decks in a shoe?

A: These present no problems for counters; in fact, they actually speed up the game, so I like them.

Q: When taking the insurance bet, how much do we bet on it?

A: If you're counting and the True Count calls for it, then you should bet the maximum, which is usually 50% of the bet you placed for that hand. If you're not counting, you should never take insurance. (Unless, of course, the dealer has "flashed" his or her 'hole' card and you know it's a 10.)

Q: How far into a six deck shoe should you go before walking away if the cards are unfavorable? If the first hand leaves you at M2, should you walk or wait it out?

A: I would stay if the running count (not the True Count!) fell to M2 after the first hand to see if it can "recover". If it doesn't, then I'm gone. Remember: It's cheaper to walk around than it is to play when the casino has a bigger than normal edge over you. Sometimes I'll stay at a table where the count has dropped to below -1 if it's almost time for the dealer to shuffle.

Q: In the Las Vegas Strip casinos, you can double down for less. But can you also split for less? For example, if I am playing a $100 bet at a $10 minimum table and I decide to split, can I bet the $10 minimum on the other card?

A: When splitting pairs, a bet that is identical to the original bet must be made, which means you cannot "split for less".

Q: Have you ever heard of a Casey blackjack computer? If you have is it worth buying one? Do they really work?

A: Yes, I've heard of it but have never used one. They probably work, but are illegal in many jurisdictions.

Q: How much does a burn card mess up the calculations? Is it still playable?

A: One card "burned" doesn't change anything. Just treat it as though it were behind the shuffle card. If you see it, count it; if you don't see it, don't worry about it.

Q: Do the basic strategy tables on your site and others around the 'Net account for insurance? Obviously when the dealer asks you if you want insurance, and you say no, and the dealer does not have blackjack, then the odds of what the dealer ends up with will be changed. The follow-up question would then be if there are different sets of tables for games that don't offer insurance?

A: Remember, Basic Strategy says to never take insurance. That said, the B.S. for a game already assumes the dealer does not have a "natural" (otherwise, you wouldn't get to play your hand), so there are no changes to be made.

Q: You say that in 6 decks,S17,DA2,DAS, "American hole card rule" and late surrender, the house has an edge of 0.36%, right? First off, that is real small. If I understand you correctly and I play the basic strategy correctly, I will only lose 0.36% of my money over a playing time period (say 1 hour or 8 hours) If I'm bankrolling $1000.00 that means I only lose $3.60??? How can that be true? I thought one would lose $300 or more?

A: The casino's edge will, in the long run, exert itself on the total amount that you bet. For example, if you play at a rate of 60 hands per hour and bet $15 per hand, on average, then your total bets are $900 per hour. If the casino's edge is 0.36%, your "expectation" is to lose .0036 x $900 = $3.24 per hour. However, in some hours you may win $490 or lose $500 or more (one standard deviation). This is due to the fact that you'll actually win or lose $15 on any given hand, but in the "long run", it'll work out to .0036 x $15 = 5.4 cents per hand, assuming you play the proper basic strategy on each and every hand, without fail. You can see that betting and rebetting your bankroll over and over creates a lot of "action" for even a $1000 stake because in 8 hours of play your bets would be about $7200.

Q: I've just been reading your "Basic System" strategy. I'm new to this, so can you tell me if using this system actually gives you a mathematical advantage over the dealer, and how much that is? If dealer's normal advantage is 5.7% (as I think I read), does this strategy wipe that out completely, or still leave them a small advantage?.

A: By using only the proper Basic Strategy for a particular Blackjack game, the player can cut the casino's edge to a minimum, but cannot gain an advantage. For a typical game, the casino's edge is roughly 0.50% over the player who uses the proper strategy perfectly. However, players' mistakes add to the casino's edge, so someone who is completely clueless might be playing at a huge disadvantage like 5% or so, but that would be quite rare. The casino's edge over the "average" non-counting player is about 1.5 - 2.0%. On the other hand, a counter can gain a long-term edge of 1-1.5%, depending upon the type of game s/he is playing.

Q: How do you manage your money if you don't count cards?

A: Just bet the minimum because the casino will have an edge over you, so the more you bet, the faster you'll lose.

Q: Are there any statistics on what % of hands a player would win in BJ if he did basic strategy and did not count cards?

A: Yes, such statistics exist and while it depends upon the rules of the game, a player using only Basic Strategy can expect to win about 43.2% of the hands, tie on about 9% of the hands and lose 47.8% of the hands played.

Q: In your lesson you say to leave the table at a -1 count, but how do I pick the next table to go to? Or do I watch the table that I was at and sit back down when the count is better?

A: When you get up, look for a table where the dealer is shuffling. Waiting for the count to change at the table where you're currently playing is a big tip-off to the casino that you're counting, so I can't advise doing that very often.

Q: What's up with tipping or "toking"? Do we tip when we win a large bet? Or when we get a "natural"? Or when we leave the table, having had an enjoyable experience?

A: I recommend to tip when you leave the table, but only if you've won. Over-tipping can cut into your edge quite a bit. As a general rule, I tip about 5% of my win, which is way too much, but that's the kind of person I am.

Q: I'm going to Las Vegas next month and am wondering if there's a website or some other resource that lists the rules and number of decks, etc. for each casino?

A: The best resource for this type of information is "Current Blackjack News", which is a monthly e-mail newsletter published by Stanford Wong. It covers not only Las Vegas, but Atlantic City, Tunica, Biloxi and all other major casino areas as well. Published on the 3rd of each month, you can get a copy of the latest issue for just $12 or so. Go to Mr. Wong's site at www.bj21.com for more info.

Q: I am a fairly new blackjack player and feel I have a very good grasp on the basic concepts - which leads me to one question. It is very evident to me that the dealer obtains a slight advantage when he/she is allowed to hit on a soft 17 instead of standing. So why is it that during a S17 game it is recommended by you to HIT on an 11 when facing a Ace, yet it is recommended to DOUBLE DOWN on an 11 against an Ace in a H17 game?

A: One of the oddities of Blackjack is that the casino gains an extra advantage of about 0.20% over the Basic Strategy player when the dealer hits soft 17, but it comes at a cost of having the dealer bust more often, so that's why you should double 11 vs. Ace in a H17 game. Many people don't understand how the dealer can bust more often, yet still benefit from this rule. It's easily explained when you consider that the dealer will seldom end with a hand of exactly 17; most of the time it'll be higher - 18 to 21 - but along the way, the dealer will bust more frequently than a dealer that stands with soft 17. Another interesting play one should make in a H17, multi-deck game is to double A, 8 versus a dealer's 6.

Q: From what I've gathered, employing Basic Strategy diminishes the casino's normal edge of 1 or 2% to 0.5%, correct? If I am to avail myself of Basic Strategy only, that is, using no card counting system, is there a way to improve my game by making arbitrary or fixed betting variations? For instance, would you consider having a larger bet 150% of the nominal bet, as in a progressive system, a sound system?

A: Depending upon the rules of the game for that particular casino, their edge would be about 0.50% if you use the proper basic strategy. However, no form of bet manipulation will increase or decrease that edge. By betting more than the minimum, in whatever manner other than counting the cards, all you're doing is raising the size of your average bet thus assuring you'll lose your $$$ quicker.

Q: Please elaborate on why you would stand with 7, 7 (14 total) against a dealer ten in a single deck game.

A: Think about it: The dealer is highly favored to have a 10 "in the hole" and you'd need a 7 to beat him, but you already have two of the four sevens that are available in your hand. Plus if you hit, you too are greatly favored to get a 10 and bust. If the dealer does not have a 10 in the hole, s/he is favored to be "stiff" (5 cards - the 2 thru 6) rather than "pat" (3 cards - the 7,8,9) and may bust. If you were to sort through all of those permutations, you'd find that standing loses less than hitting. For what it's worth, if you're counting the cards, 7,7 vs. 10 becomes a hit if the count is below 0. A hand of 7,7 vs. 10 is a loser, no matter what you do; all we're trying to do is limit the damage.

Q: The only casino near me offers only an 8 deck game. Can an advantage be had against such a game? It appears that they only penetrate to about 5 decks.

A: With only 5 of 8 decks dealt, that's just 60% penetration and 65% is the absolute minimum I recommend anyone play. You're close, so it might be worthwhile to check out all the tables the next time you're there, because some dealers may offer better penetration so they don't have to shuffle as often. Ideally, an 8-deck game will have 75% penetration (6 of 8 dealt) as a minimum.

Q: Basic strategy is based on perhaps thousands of hands through the aid of computer programming. Who developed these programs? Who ran these programs to come up with this strategy?

A: Basic Strategy is not based upon simulations (although simulations can prove that the Basic Strategy is correct), but upon "combinatorial" calculations. In other words, we take the dealer's up card, the two player's cards and from that we can determine just how many different hands the player can get, how many hands the dealer can get and from that calculate how many times the player will win, lose or push. For example, if the player has 10, 2 and the dealer is showing a 3, the best win/loss/push ratio comes about by the player hitting the hand until s/he gets a total of 13 or higher. The first Basic Strategy was developed in the mid-1950s by four engineers at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. You can read their original report here: www.bjmath.com

Q: I am planning to use a theory as follows: I will wager $10 on the first hand, I will never hit anything that will cause me to bust. I will double my wager for five hands or until I win one hand, the premise being that the dealer will bust one out of five hands or that I will beat him one out of those five hands. What is your opinion of this theory?

A: I'm sorry, but your idea will not work for much longer than perhaps several hours of play. Think about it; if it did actually show a long-term profit, would the casinos be able to afford to offer Blackjack games? Never hitting your hand when it's appropriate would be a financial disaster, besides.www.bjmath.com

Q: All the blackjack simulators i've seen are great for practicing counting against one deck. But because of the lack of a discard tray or an indication of how many decks are remaining, they're not helpful practicing against multiple decks when you set the simulator to, say, a 6 deck game. Can you suggest software for practicing counting against multi deck games with the Hi/Lo count?

A: Casino Verite will do it. You can get a trial copy at www.qfit.com.

Q: Wouldn't it be better to play single deck with at least one other player because the probability of getting an ace would be spread across three people instead of two? With one on one, the dealer has even odds of getting an Ace, which hurts the player, but with three people, for example, the odds of the dealer is getting an Ace is a third, instead of half (and the other player getting an Ace doesn't hurt the player, does it?) What do you think?

A: You definitely need to study the game more if you believe that.

The GameMaster's Blackjack School

(The question below is, without a doubt, the most frequently asked of all.) Q: On splitting variations in lesson 16, you say to split a 9,9 vs. a 7 when the count is what? It doesn't give a number in that lesson.

A: The missing number is 6. You are evidently reading my lessons at a site that hasn't updated them recently, because that omission was corrected some time ago. Here is the direct link to our lessons.

Q: I've been reading your lessons and have a question that I'm unable to find the answer for. When you have a A,3 vs. a 9 you would hit. If the next card is a 4 would you consider the hand 18 or an 8?

A: The hand you now have is A-7 and the Basic Strategy says to hit A-7 versus a 9, 10 or Ace. To help clear up some of the confusion on hands like this, I did an article entitled "Multiple-card Soft Hands", which is in the archives on the Blackjack Page of my site.

Q: I have a quick question on Lesson 10.You mentioned about doing homework, using a old deck of cards, but I don't really understand what you are saying. I would appreciate it if you could explain in a little more depth.

A: The homework in Lesson 10 is an exercise for computing the True Count. I use an old deck of cards, but any type of paper will work. What I'm telling you to do is write the numbers as I stated on the back (non-face side) of the cards; one set (numbered from 1 to 5 in half-deck increments) represent the number of decks and half decks in the discard tray and the other set (numbered from 1-20) represents the running count. If the card you draw from the first set is 2 1/2, that means there are 3 1/2 decks remaining to be played in a 6-deck game. So if the first card from the 2nd set is 9, that means you have a running count of 9 with 3 1/2 decks left and the True Count would be 9 divided by 3 1/2, or just under 3.

Q: This may be a stupid question, but I didn't see where you stated it anywhere in your system. Do you start your running count back at zero each time the dealer shuffles and starts a new deck?

A: Yes, go back to a running count of 0 when the dealer shuffles.

Q: I have always learned faster with the hands-on and watching experience, so do you know of a CD or video I could purchase to go along with your lessons?

A: Thank you for asking. I have video-recorded the content from the first 8 lessons of my school and it's available on DVD. You can get more information right here.

Q: I am at about Lesson 10 in your school -- I love your website by the way -- easy to understand and very informative! My problem is that my single deck counting speed is not so good. By this point, you say I should have it down to 20 seconds. 30 seconds is my quickest accurate time and I can't peel the cards off any faster than 24 seconds (I have no idea how you can do it in 10.5!!) -- is there something wrong if I can't do it faster at this point? And does 20 seconds refer to my target 1-card-at-a-time count speed or 2-at-a-time?

A: To get through a deck in 10.5 seconds, I count two cards at a time. I do it by holding the deck in my left hand, face up, and then I pull them off, two at a time, with my right hand. I show how this is done in the DVD we created for the school it's also covered in lesson # 4. The 20 second goal is based upon two cards at a time.

Q: Can you list the 'early' surrender situations in your blackjack system?

A: The proper Basic Strategy for early surrender is to surrender 5 through 7 and 12 through 17 against an Ace and 14,15 and 16 (including 8,8 ) against a 10. Also, surrender 16 (but not 8,8) against a dealer's 9.

Q: Your lessons cover a 6-deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17. At my local casino, the dealer hits on soft 17, so are there any changes to be made on the Basic Strategy matrix?

A: Yes, there are a few simple changes: double A, 8 vs. a dealer's 6; double 11 vs. a dealer's Ace and always stand with A,7 versus an Ace.

Q: In the Blackjack School, you don't mention much about what to do after the first hit. Are there any particular rules (strategies) when you have more than two cards to worry about? Do you ignore the first two cards at that point and only deal with the total?

A: Basically, yes. As your hand progresses, you continue to follow Basic Strategy. For example, if you have 10,2 vs. 3, that's a 12 versus a dealer's 3 so you should hit. Let's say you get a 3, so now you have 15. The Basic Strategy says to stand with 15 versus a 2.

Q: Will the High-Low Basic Strategy variations you gave for single deck in lesson 19 of blackjack-school.com work if I were to combine them with the Hi-Opt 1 strategy? If so, would they work as effectively as a list of variations designed specifically for Hi-Opt 1? And if not, would you reference me to a source where I can find these variations?

A: My variations will perform 'about' as well as those designed for the Hi-Opt 1 count. The "regular" Hi-Opt 1 variations are in the book, "The World's Greatest Blackjack Book."

Blackjack Tournaments

Q: I have been studying each lesson you've provided on playing Blackjack. I have also read numerous sources on different strategies, counts etc. I practice at least 1 hour a day, sometimes more. However, I do have one important question for you: I am currently looking at entering a few different Blackjack tournaments. In one, you are given $100 in tournament chips and one shoe is played, whoever has the largest sum at the end goes through. In terms of strategy and betting schedules, what would you suggest in terms of increasing your chances to go through to the next round? Or any other thoughts on playing tournament blackjack.

A: In the archive of the Blackjack page of my site at www.gamemasteronline.com/, you'll find an 8-part series called Tournament Blackjack Training that will likely help you.

Q: A local casino has invited me to participate (at no cost) in a Blackjack Tournament to be held in several weeks. Can you give me some tips for winning it?

A: Not only can I give you some tips, I can give you an 8-part series of articles called "Tournament Blackjack Training", which is in the archives of the Blackjack page here. It contains all I know about winning a BJ tourney and, in all modesty, I've won quite a few.

E-mail me if you have any other questions, otherwise I'll see you here next time.