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Should You Count Cards |
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If you are like
the average, recreational Blackjack
player, you may play Blackjack in a
casino a few times per year and you want
to play in a relaxed, friendly
atmosphere and have fun.
But at the same time, you don't want to
play a game where the odds are greatly
against you and you want a good chance
of beating the house on any given day.
And you're willing to invest a
reasonable amount of time learning to
play properly.
Does this describe you? If so, you're
not alone. About 99% of Blackjack
players can very likely be described as
"recreational" players. If you invest
the few hours it takes to lean Basic
Strategy and good money management you
will reduce the casino's edge down to
about a half percent. This is the
closest to playing even with the house
that you'll find in any game in the
casino.
However, for those of you for whom
playing almost even with the house is
not good enough and you want the edge,
you must become a card counter.
It is an irrefutable fact that you can
have an advantage over the casino in
Blackjack by counting cards. There are
dozens of books this subject and card
counting has been mathematically proven
- literally thousands of times - as a
method to more accurately determine the
odds that your next hand will have
favorable cards.
The long-term advantage gained by card
counting is about 1%, versus the one
half percent disadvantage from simply
playing Basic Strategy.
So why isn't everyone a card counter and
why are casino Blackjack profits at an
all- time high and climbing?
Two reasons:
* Casinos have made the playing
conditions very difficult for card
counters.
* Becoming an expert card counter
requires hundreds of hours of practice
and a monstrous bankroll. Even then, a
small lapse in concentration at the
table will wipe out the small advantage
gained by counting.
This does not mean there aren't
professional Blackjack counters who make
a living playing Blackjack - there are.
However, to be able to make a full time
living by counting cards, you'll need to
be able to do the following:
* Spend hundreds of hours, and play
thousands of hands, to learn to count
cards expertly, plus learn the many
subtle variations to hitting and
standing that vary with the count.
* Play 100 hours plus per month of
actual table time, with average bets of
$50 - $100. You can probably double this
amount of time - or more - to allow for
breaks, finding good tables, changing
tables and casinos frequently, travel,
etc.
* Learn how to constantly conceal your
card counting skills when playing, to
avoid being asked to leave.
* Play at odd hours – usually very late
at night into the early hours of the
morning, because it's best to play
one-on-one with the dealer or with as
few other players as possible at the
table.
* Change tables and casinos frequently,
to avoid being detected.
* Have a very large bankroll. As a
professional, you will need about
300-500 times your average bet, to be
able to take advantage of the count by
stepping up your bets dramatically and
playing multiple hands, while also being
able to weather the wild swings in your
bankroll that will frequently happen in
the short run. This translates to a
working bankroll of about $30,000 -
$50,000, based on average bets of $50 -
$100, which is what you'll need to earn
a full time living.
If you are indeed able to do all of the
above flawlessly, then congratulations!
You are an expert card counter and you
will make money in the long term.
For the 99% of us who are recreational
players and unable - or unwilling - to
make the substantial effort required to
count cards expertly, then playing Basic
Strategy is the next best thing. This
will give a very low edge against you of
about one half of one percent, while
still providing the chance to come away
a winner in the short term.
Learning perfect Blackjack Basic
Strategy takes only a few hours and can
be mastered by virtually everyone. You
can play any table, any time, for as
long as you like, without having to
worry about being noticed by the Pit
Boss. In fact, the Pit Bosses will
welcome you with open arms. You'll still
have the lowest odds against you of any
table game in the casino and you'll have
a fighting chance of beating the casino
with a good run of cards.
This is the best way to play for casual,
recreational players who want to have
fun but not lose their shirts.
Don't get me wrong: the bottom line is
that if you want to be a serious,
dedicated Blackjack player, who gets the
most thrill out of beating the casino
and is willing to work hard to do it,
then by all means learn card counting.
However, for the recreational player,
Blackjack should be easy to learn and
fun.
With Basic Strategy, it is.
Tom is the webmaster at
www.blackjack-for-everyone.com,
which is a website dedicated to the
recreational Blackjack player.
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