I'm currently teaching myself to count. It must be the most frustrating thing I have ever tried, with the exception of golf. Exactly how long did it take you guys to finally be "table ready" in regards to counting?
Not Long The counting part isn't that hard. If you can count change you can count cards. What I found more daunting was the indices. That was almost as hard as learning multiplication tables in third grade. Get a book on it, and a computer program to practice with. There is no shortage of either. With a computer program you can learn to count without indices in a matter of hours. But after that you'll want to practice from time to time, especially before a session.
So I was playing a two deck table with a 5 dollar minimum. I played for at least three hours, and using the ko system. There was only one round of play were the count got significantly high. Is this common? I would think that in a two deck game I would have at least a few more "favorable" rounds. Or is it totally random?
How deep they deal has a lot to do with how often you will see favorable counts. Still, even at the "deal one deck out of two" games you probably saw at Fitz, (New policy. ) you should have seen more opportunities than just one. Sounds like just bad luck. Here's some data showing how penetration affects the range of counts you will observe: http://www.blackjackincolor.com/penetration1.htm The chart uses six decks, but you get the idea.
Pogo With 1 deck out of 2 I am not surprised. You need better to really see the opportunities. Take this from a player very experienced in DD. Not a good game, and it does help if you side count aces, learn Hi-lo with a side of aces for betting purposes. CP
The thing that should trigger your suspicions is if you see an abnormal frequency of HIGH counts. This would mean they might have shorted the deck (meaning they removed some aces and faces).
message for Monkeysystem Hi, I just read your article about the BJ tournament at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin casino. You had asked if anyone knew of any other places that allow the "double on split aces" rule to message you so here goes. I first noticed this rule at the Little River casino in Manistee, Mich. back in 2005. All other rules being the same except the don't allow surrender and they deal 80%. Also the two casinos near Traverse City have also started allowing this unusual rule as well. When I first found this rule I immediately sent a question about this to Michael Shackleford a.k.a. "The Wizard Of Odds" on his site and was actually surprised with a fast reply. He has the correct strategy on his website in his blackjack appendix 20 and it also includes my original question (yes that was me who asked him and its in his columns somewhere). As far as rules go for a 6 deck game, I think the Kewadin 6 decker rules (S17, DOA, DAS, Late Surrender, NoRSA, Double on split aces) is the best in the country based on the house edge (I come up with -0.18% according to the Wizards HE calculator). Hopes this helps you when you come back to Michigan.
pogodo111 re counting: After you've immersed yourself in the various methods, simplify to your comfort level and you just might find a variation that works for you. Some of the more complicated "systems" don't really add that much to your edge for the confusion. And depending on the system, memorizing all the indicies doesn't benefit that much more either. Practice and field test one or more to find your fit and then your "spread" is as important. You don't necessarily have to follow determined "spreads." Especially starting out. Bankroll and all. Goood Fortune.
Thanks Thanks for the tip. His strategy is quite different than the one I developed. I used a spreadsheet program I wrote to develop it.
Start Simple When I first started counting cards decades ago I started with the simple Ace-Five count. While stationed at Nellis AFB in the early 80's I picked up a copy of "Beat the Dealer," started practicing Thorp's system with cards on the floor in my barracks room, and gave up. It was waaaay too hard for a beginner. The Ace-Five count won't make you a ton of money, but it's a good way for a beginner to get your feet wet. I eventually graduated to the high-low, then AOII, before scaling back and settling on KO a few years ago. I actually got better results with KO than AOII, probably because it was easier and I was making less errors. Maybe I was just getting luckier. I seldom count in tournaments.
