Card Counting Blog

I went to the Hard Rock Casino this weekend to play some blackjack. Saturday night around 11:30pm The lowest min table confirmed by the pitt boss was $50

 I bought in for $150, sharing a seat with my wife played for about a half an hour and left with +$50

 I went back to the Hard Rock Casino to play some more blackjack this afternoon around 1pm. The lowest min was $15

 I found out from the pitt boss that you do not get grandfathered into the table when the limits go up like Vegas and you have to play the new limit or leave the table.

 I found a nice table that had a +30 count (not true count) but it was full. A table nearby with a $15 min had an open seat so i sat down to play. I wanted to practice my shuffle tracking but all the tables in the hard rock either use the continious automatic shufflers or the ones that shuffle the 2nd deck during play. Needless to say I sat at the latter.

 I bought in for $100 and played for about 5 hours and left witrh $300 in chips infront of me. I practiced counting about half the shoes

Card counting techniques include the following:

• Playing Efficiency – PE indicates how well a counting system handles changes in your playing strategy. Playing efficiency is particularly important in games with one or two decks.
• Insurance Correlation – IC is defined as the correlation between card point values and the value of cards in insurance situation. A point value of -9 for tens and +4 for all other cards would be perfect for predicting if an Insurance bet should be made.
• Betting Correlation – BC is defined as the correlation between card point values and the effect of removal of cards. It is used to predict how well a counting system predicts good betting situations and can approach 1.00. BC is particularly important in shoe games (six or eight decks.)
• Side Counts – There are several side counting methods used to increase strategy efficiency.
• Level – The level of a strategy refers to the number of different values assigned to cards. Level 2 and 3 counting strategies are more efficient, but quite a bit more difficult for most people. Level 4 & 5 counting strategies also exist. But this is overkill.
• Type – The TYPE column key follows:
  • B – Balanced count that requires the calculation of a True Count
  • U – Unbalanced count with no True Count
  • S – Suit Aware count requires that you have a different count for red and black cards
  • C – Compromise indexes used for greater ease
  • 1, 2, 3, 4 – Level. That is the highest tag value

The “Blackjack coming soon” signs have been replaced with the June 22 date. The first cards will be dealt at 6 p.m. The casino will have blackjack, Pai gow, Baccarat, let it ride and 3 card poker.  There will be 55 blackjack tables and 16 of the rest at the Seminole Hollywood Hard Rock Casino.

I will be there to play and report on if they are hitting soft 17, using automatic shufflers, allow surrender, and all that sort of stuff.

Can card counting help u become a better texas hold’em poker player? As far as i’m concerned no. I do not see any benefits that will affect the way you play poker by card countiing. Although, I am a strong beliver in Shuffle Tracking and belive that the card counting skill of shuffle tracking can help give you an edge at the poker table.

Using some basic shuffle tracking skills you can help yourself figure out where certain cards are in the deck by keeping track of the muck pile, people folding, and the way the dealer shuffles the cards.

Shuffle tracking while playing live texas hold’em poker might give you that extra edge you have been looking for and the only way card counting will help your poker game is if you are also colluding and you know what some of the other people have at the table.

The greatest trick the casino industry pulled off was making the general public believe that card counting was illegal, immoral, and very hard. While writing for CardCountingBlog.com a co-worker saw me and his responce was, “You don’t know how to card count”.  After i assured him I did he said “but isn’t it illegal?”

I took out a deck of cards and thought him the basic count really fast and a co-worker saw us and asked what we were doing. I explained that he was card counting and he then said the same thing the first co-worker said, “you don’t know how to do that” and “card counting is illegal though”.

Card counting is NOT illegal.

What will happen if you are caught card counting?

In a Las Vegas casino, you will first be asked to stop varying your bet size, if you continue you will be asked to play any game but blackjack. If you still continue you will be asked to leave the premises. In Atlantic City casinos the casino is not allowed to stop you from playing because you are card counting. If you are caught card counting you might start getting mid-shoe shuffles to avoid the count getting to high. In casino outside the United States you might still get beat up or if you play in shady places but I wouldn’t worry about card counting on the strip of Las Vegas.

How hard is it to card count? 

You do not need to be “Rain Man” to be able to card count. But being good at basic math is essential to keep the running count.

Been in Asia for the last month and the movie 21 is not being released till mid May so I didn’t get a chance to see the movie 21 until yesterday. I liked the movie very much and it was a lot of fun to watch. Just how Rounders made people quote lines from the movie at thousands of poker tables, I’m sure the movie 21 will do the same with some memorbable quotes. I definetnly recommend everyone check out this movie if you have not yet.

I left the theatre planning my next Vegas trip which will be soon and will involve card counting.

What is card counting?

Card counting is a strategy commonly used in blackjack that tracks the ratio of high cards to low cards that are still in the deck.

How hard is card counting?

You do not have to be the Rain Man to count cards but you do need to be able to concentrate and practice counting cards for many hours.

Will I know what card is coming up next by card counting?

Counting cards does not involve keeping track of every card that’s been played. It can tell you if there are more low or high cards.

Is card counting illegal?

Card counting is legal but you can get yourself banned from the casino for card counting.

How much money do I need to card count?

In the long term you will win but in the short run you will have swings and you need a bankroll that will let you handle the swings comfortably.

The official site for the movie 21 has launched today. I haven’t got a chance to check it out but will soon.

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/21/index.html

In real life, the MIT Blackjack Team was mostly composed of Asian-American males. However, in the movie 21 they was mostly casted by white actors to portray these men in the film. Ben Mezrich, author of Bringing Down the House, noted a “stereotypical” casting process on the part of Hollywood.

In other media outlets, the criticism was much more forceful. Asian Week called it a “whitewash” pointing out that if it was a African American replaced by a Caucasian, there will be more vocal protest. Best Week Ever mocked the casting by stating “I have no trouble watching Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth instead of some zany Asian people Asianing up the screen with their unwatchable, completely unrelatable Asianness.”

The only time you should consider buying blackjack insurance is while card counting and the true count exceeds +3. The chances the dealer’s hole card is a ten is very good. Do not take insurance, even if you have a blackjack unless you are card counting. Non-counting players should always decline it.

The following table shows the house edge on the insurance bet in blackjack depending on the number of decks used. Read the rest of this entry »