I’m definitely, definitely card counting

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.

Shuffle tracking is a high level blackjack playing strategy used by card counters to track the shuffle of cards. The premise of shuffle-tracking is that shuffles are not random, meaning the location of cards after the shuffle is predictable to some degree. Shuffle tracking exploits the nonrandomness in casino shuffles. Shuffle tracking technique involves keeping track of the count in different portions of the discarded card tray.  Shuffle tracking can give you a good idea when the deck is going to turn hot and can also help with cutting the deck. For example, If you know many low cards are on the top of the deck from correctly shuffle tracking, you should make a small cut to get those cards out of play.

A great blackjack shuffle tracking book is Blackjack Shuffle Tracking Cookbook by Arnold Snyder. I will blog about many of the things i’ve learned from his book and teach you guys some shuffle-tracking for blackjack and poker.

 Two benefits of casino shuffle tracking include:

• Additional information about regions of the deck
• Knowledgeable cutting to remove low cards from play

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. [click to continue...]

Went to Barnes & Noble and purchased the book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. Bringing Down The House is a New York Times Bestseller about the inside story of how six M.I.T students who took Vegas for millions of dollars by counting cards when playing blackjack. This book is also what the new movie 21 is based on. This book makes me want to gamble, count cards, and go to Vegas.

Fallacy 1: Complicated Card Counting Strategies Are More Successful

A card counting system can be complicated or it can be simple, it depends on the system. The fact the system is complicated does NOT guarantee it will be more successful than a simple one. There is no correlation between the complexity of a card counting systems and the profitability.

Fallacy 2: Card Counters Can Predict the Sequence of Cards

Card counting in blackjack does not allow card counters to predict the sequence of cards that come out of the deck. In reality, it is impossible to detect the sequence of the remaining cards. Card counting is not a predictive theory. It is simply a probability theory that will put the odds in your favor over the long term. Short-term results can of course vary dramatically. This myth is popular because of the movie Rain Man

Fallacy 3: You Don’t Need A Large Bankroll To Win When Card Counting

Once a player has learned how to count cards in blackjack, they will very often feel invincible. When playing at the table they feel that they won’t need much money due to the skills that they have learned. Card counting can give you an edge in the longer term, but in the shorter term, you can, and will have losing streaks. and you need an adequate bankroll to ride them

 21 is about a group of students from MIT that learn the art of card counting and walk away from Las Vegas with millions of dollars. 21 is directed by Robert Luketic and starring Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, and Laurence Fishburne. In theatres March 28.

This movie looks amazing and will be probably make you want to learn how to count cards after watching it.

[youtube _Dq-M9a4biE 21 Offical Trailer]