You Aren’t Going to Win. If you read many articles or books about blackjack, you probably have had. Land-based blackjack can be more profitable than online games in rare cases. Certain Downtown Vegas and Macau casinos offer incredible rules and odds. Chances are, though, you don’t live in one of these destinations or visit them very often.
I feel like card counters are everywhere nowadays and all over the Internet I see people talking about counting cards. Even the not serious gambler is a card counter. Why is blackjack even offered as a game anymore? Are there really enough ploppes to make it still profitable?
kewlj
Card counters are actually good for business. For every 1 card counter that will count accurately enough, spread big enough (which many don't) and be properly bankrolled, there are hundreds that don't meet these condition, which means they most likely are still playing a losing game. I have a good friend who works the pit of one of the strip casinos who claims that just after the books about the MIT team came out and again just after the movie came out, blackjack revenues jumped as underfunded, unprepared counters hit the tables. It was way before my time, but I have heard similar statements about the time just after 'Beat the Dealer' was published in the 60's.
sabre
I feel like card counters are everywhere nowadays and all over the Internet I see people talking about counting cards. Even the not serious gambler is a card counter. Why is blackjack even offered as a game anymore? Are there really enough ploppes to make it still profitable?
You've never played blackjack in a casino. Go play for 1000 hours and report back how many 'counters' you've seen.
Avincow
I feel like card counters are everywhere nowadays and all over the Internet I see people talking about counting cards. Even the not serious gambler is a card counter. Why is blackjack even offered as a game anymore? Are there really enough ploppes to make it still profitable?
I can assure you that hardly anyone is a card counter. Over the last year I have made a dozen weekend trips to various casinos. I guess I have put in a couple hundred hours either watching blackjack or playing blackjack. I have not encountered a single person who can count cards competently. Let me repeat, in the couple hundred hours I have played, there hasn't been ONE card counter that I have come across. Now this could mean a few different things: 1. All the card counters are in Vegas (I haven't played there yet) 2. All the card counters at the casinos I go to have really good cover 3. It's just dumb luck that I haven't stumbled across any other card counters But if I had to bet money on it, I would say there just aren't that many card counters. How do I know? Because most people don't know basic strategy (and they sure aren't following I18), nobody is betting with the count, people are leaving in extremely high counts, etc. But I'll tell you what, there are plenty of people who THINK they can beat blackjack. And that's exactly what the casino wants. If the casinos wanted to, they would switch out all of the shoes for shufflers. But they keep them because the players like to know that the game can be beaten. I said I have never encountered someone who can count competently, but I never said I haven't come across a few wannabe card counters. At the end of the day, people are are at the casino to gamble, not to think.
MangoJ
Card counters are actually good for business. For every 1 card counter that will count accurately enough, spread big enough (which many don't) and be properly bankrolled, there are hundreds that don't meet these condition, which means they most likely are still playing a losing game.
How is not being properly bankrolled a criterum for the house ? They bleed on every hand when a card counter makes a +EV bets, bankrolled or not.
Quote: Avincow
ILet me repeat, in the couple hundred hours I have played, there hasn't been ONE card counter that I have come across. Now this could mean a few different things: 1. All the card counters are in Vegas (I haven't played there yet) 2. All the card counters at the casinos I go to have really good cover 3. It's just dumb luck that I haven't stumbled across any other card counters
How about 4. The counter only play the better games. Meaning you play the worser games.
AxelWolf
I can assure you that hardly anyone is a card counter. Over the last year I have made a dozen weekend trips to various casinos. I guess I have put in a couple hundred hours either watching blackjack or playing blackjack. I have not encountered a single person who can count cards competently. Let me repeat, in the couple hundred hours I have played, there hasn't been ONE card counter that I have come across. Now this could mean a few different things: 1. All the card counters are in Vegas (I haven't played there yet) 2. All the card counters at the casinos I go to have really good cover 3. It's just dumb luck that I haven't stumbled across any other card counters But if I had to bet money on it, I would say there just aren't that many card counters. How do I know? Because most people don't know basic strategy (and they sure aren't following I18), nobody is betting with the count, people are leaving in extremely high counts, etc. But I'll tell you what, there are plenty of people who THINK they can beat blackjack. And that's exactly what the casino wants. If the casinos wanted to, they would switch out all of the shoes for shufflers. But they keep them because the players like to know that the game can be beaten. I said I have never encountered someone who can count competently, but I never said I haven't come across a few wannabe card counters. At the end of the day, people are are at the casino to gamble, not to think.
People give up for many reasons, but usually it's because when they start they have a vision in there head that plays out like a movie. Even people who don't have movie visions in their head haven't any clue what they are in for. They believe the math will work out like it does on paper and simulations, if only they do everything according to whatever information they have gathered. They don't understand how hard it is for small percentages to show up (if ever). The swings eventually take their toll. They get discouraged when they don't see a profit weekly. Oftentimes when people start off with a bang, they are encouraged but then they start getting backed off.
♪♪Now you swear and kick and beg us That you're not a gamblin' man Then you find you're back in Vegas With a handle in your hand♪♪ Your black cards can make you money So you hide them when you're able In the land of casinos and money You must put them on the table♪♪ You go back Jack do it again roulette wheels turinin' 'round and 'round♪♪ You go back Jack do it again♪♪
Avincow
How about 4. The counter only play the better games. Meaning you play the worser games.
I've played good and bad games. More recently, good games
Greasyjohn
I actually took a vacation from blackjack for 3 1/2 years. The negative runs, making next to nothing on several trips in a row, losing big, etc. Yeah, movies always make it look like a gravy train. You learn to count, and on your first trip to Vegas you're comped in a suite at Caesars. Wasn't there a scene in Rainman where Dustin Hoffman recited what the next card would be? Tom, tell your brother to give you a very subtle signal to hit, don't CALL OUT THE CARD! When I talk to someone who says they know basic strategy I like to ask them, 'When do you split 9s?' This is a great question because the answer is the same whether you DAS, play SD or 8D. Admittedly, I haven't had the opportunity to ask this question much. But when I do I always get a reply that requires reflection and deep thought. Never once heard 2-9 except 7. *(I just love the except 7 part). *unless the TC is +3 or greater DAS or +6 NDAS Now come on, how many people what to learn all this stuff for a 1% advantage over the casino? I do.
Kickass
I feel like card counters are everywhere nowadays and all over the Internet I see people talking about counting cards. Even the not serious gambler is a card counter. Why is blackjack even offered as a game anymore? Are there really enough ploppes to make it still profitable?
Yes, it is easy to learn how to count cards. But it does not mean you can win. The edge is paper thin. Sometimes, people fool themselves that they have an edge but they don't. They are going to lose due to the several main factors: 1) Improper bankroll and overbeting. 2) Poor game selection (Poor penetration and poor rules) 3) Make basic strategy mistakes or make mistakes in the count because they want to use fancy counting system. 4) On tilt. After the negative swing, they start to gamble like plopplies. Some of them think that they can always win like in the movie, 21. They just don't understand how the Expect Value (EV) work. I am not saying that you need to be a math professor to count cards but you at least need to know the basic math behind it and believe in the math.
Leave Katie alone. Rasul: Or what? Or I come back and break your F** legs
RS
I was thinking about this earlier today: If there were a bunch of under-rolled competent card counters, would they (as a whole) make a profit (even if over betting their personal BR)? Not talking about a bunch of CC pooling a BR and teaming up. Or are there other factors not yet considered? Does it matter if they have a 25% ROR vs 75% ROR?
Blackjack games are available in most land based casinos and online casinos. They have different rules and betting limits, but the base game is played the same everywhere.
Some casino games are 100% luck based. You can’t do anything to change the outcome. Free slot machine games no download. But some games, like blackjack, are designed so you can use strategy to change the house edge. Once you learn what to do, and how to do it, you can change the house edge every time you play.
By following the 21 steps below, you can improve your chance to win every time you play. You don’t need to use every step to get better, but the more of them you use, the better your results will be.
On the list below there are two different types of advice. One type deals with strategy. The other type of advice deals with rules. In order to have the best chance to win you need to understand which rules are best, and which ones hurt your chances.
It would be great if you could find blackjack games that offer every favorable rule, but the truth is that you can only find games with some good rules and some poor rules. Once you learn about the best rules, pick the game that has the most favorable rules.
Once you find a game with mostly favorable rules, the strategy sections come into play. Blackjack has a low house edge when the rules are good, and you can use strategy to keep the edge as low as possible.
It’s even possible to make money playing blackjack if you can count cards. I’ve also included a few advanced advantage plays for you to explore.
Blackjack dealers follow strict rules on how they play their hand. They start with one card face down and one card face up. After all of the players at the table make their playing decisions, the dealer turns over their face down card.
When the dealer’s total is less than 17 they take another card. When their total is 18 or more, they stay. They also stand on all hard 17 totals. A hard total is one that doesn’t have an ace counted as 11.
The only rule variation available to dealers is whether they stand or hit when they have a soft 17. The house rule about dealers standing or hitting on soft 17 is usually printed on the felt on the blackjack table.
If it isn’t printed on the felt, look for a card on the table explaining the rules for this information.
Is Blackjack Profitable
You want the dealer to stand on a soft 17. This is slightly better for you overall than when the dealer hits on a soft 17.
The soft 17 rule isn’t as important as some others, but if all of the other rules are the same, pick the table where the dealer stands on soft 17.
It’s better for your long term profits if you can double after splitting a pair. You won’t have many situations where you need to double after split, but the ability to do it is valuable.
When you use basic strategy, discussed later, it tells you when you should split and when you should double down.
Is Blackjack Profitable
When the casino lets you double down after splitting aces, it can help you make quite a bit more profit in the long run. Make sure you read the house rules before you start playing to see what you’re allowed to do. If you don’t understand the wording in the rules, ask the dealer or pit boss for clarification.
The ability to double down after splitting aces is one of the most valuable you can find. You won’t find many games that let you do it, so when you do find one you should take advantage of it unless all of the other rules are bad.
Most blackjack games let you split aces once, but if you get another ace on one of the split aces they don’t all let you split again.
The more times you’re allowed to split aces the better. The most common ace splitting rules are two times, three times, and four times.
4 – Double any Two Cards
Most blackjack games let you double down on at least some totals. If you find a game that doesn’t allow any doubling, you should find another game.
Common double down rules are double on totals of 10 and 11, and double on totals of 9, 10, and 11. It’s best if you can double down on any two cards, but it’s not the end of the world if you can only double on 9, 10, and 11.
If the other rules are good, don’t worry too much about this one, unless you can’t double at all.
Most of the items on this list are suggestions. They’re all good suggestions, and you should follow as many of them as possible if you want to have the best chance to win. But two of the items on this list should be considered rules instead of suggestions.
This is one of the two rules. The other one is strategy in section 10 below.
You should never play at a blackjack table that pays less than 3 to 2 for a natural blackjack. More tables that pay 6 to 5 are popping up, but it simply costs you too much money to play on one of them. If you can’t find a table paying 3 to 2, simply don’t play.
6 – Bankroll
If you want to have the best chance to win playing blackjack, you need to have a big enough bankroll to ride out short term variance. Short term variance is the natural tendency of your results to go up and down.
You can determine your long term expectations if you know the house edge of the game, based on the rules, and how much you bet per hand and how many hands you play per hour.
If you count cards and use the best strategy, your long term expectation can be positive. A positive long term expectation means profit for you.
If you play a game with good rules and use the best strategy, your long term expectation is negative, but it should be a small loss per hour because the house edge is low.
In the short term, you’re going to lose some sessions and win some sessions. This is true whether you have a positive or negative long term expectation. This means that sometimes you’re going to lose several sessions in a row, so you need to have a big enough bankroll to keep playing.
The bigger the bankroll the better, but I suggest at least 200 to 300 times the biggest bet you place in a session. This includes after splitting and / or doubling down.
When you play casino games you can earn comps at most casinos, both land based and online, if you sign up for the player’s club. If you don’t see where you can sign up, ask someone who works for the casino.
Once you sign up, make sure you always have your club card and present it before you start playing. You earn free comps as you play. These can range from free meals all the way up to free hotel rooms and trips.
While comps usually aren’t in the form of cash, they still have value. I can only think of one reason why you shouldn’t collect comps every time you play blackjack.
If you’re a card counter and don’t want the casino to have your contact information you don’t want a player’s club card. But make sure you’re a good enough counter to make a profit before deciding not to play for comps.
8 – Online Bonuses
When you play blackjack online you can’t count cards. This makes it almost impossible to make a long term profit playing online blackjack. But if you’re not card counter, you can make up for this by collecting deposit bonuses.
You need to be careful about online casino bonuses. Always go through the terms and conditions thoroughly to learn what you have to do to clear the bonus and to make sure you can use the bonus to play blackjack.
Many online casino bonuses restrict the games you can play to slots. But you can still find a few that let you play blackjack.
The most common blackjack games are dealt from a 6 deck shoe or an 8 deck shoe. A few casinos deal single deck and double deck games, but these are usually coupled with bad rules.
When it comes to your long term expectation, games with fewer decks are better for you. But this is only true if all of the other rules are the same.
The number of decks has only a small influence on the house edge, so always go for a game with better rules, even if it uses a 6 deck or 8 deck shoe.
10 – Strategy
When you play blackjack, every playing decision has a single best way to execute it. Every decision has one way the either wins the most in the long run or at least loses the least amount in the long run.
The best playing decision is based on mathematical facts, and can be determined using long hand math or a computer.
The bottom line is that you must always use basic strategy in order to have the best chance to win. The good news is you don’t need to figure out the best plays yourself. You can get a strategy card or chart that covers every decision at the table.
This is the second thing on this list that you should consider a rule instead of a suggestion. The other rule is to never play at a table that offers worse than a 3 to 2 pay out for a natural blackjack.
Always use the best strategy for every decision while playing blackjack. Don’t ever make a play based on a hunch or feeling. In the long run, the only way to play with the lowest possible house edge is to use the best strategy.
Blackjack is one of the games offered by casinos where you can turn the tables and win in the long run. It isn’t easy, but if you find games with good rules and learn how to be a card counter you can win.
Card counters know that when the remaining cards in the shoe have more high cards than low cards the edge can swing in their favor. They bet more when this happens, which lets them overcome the house edge.
The edge is small when this happens, so you need to get as much money on the table as possible. This can be challenging and it’s another reason you need a big bankroll.
12 – Camouflage
When you count cards you need to do it without getting caught. Casinos can tell you that you can’t play any more if they think you’re counting. You can do some things that help you hide the fact that you’re counting.
When you try to mask your abilities, it’s called camouflage.
Common camouflage techniques include:
Switching tables often
Jumping from casino to casino so you don’t play anyplace too long
Changing your appearance and / or wearing disguises
Playing as part of a team
If the casino does ask you to stop playing, don’t argue or make a fuss. Simply collect your chips and leave as quickly as possible.
Do you think you could beat blackjack if you knew the value of the dealer’s down card? If you know the value of both the dealer’s cards you can make the perfect strategy decision every time.
Most blackjack players think it’s impossible to know the value of the dealer’s face down card without cheating. And in many blackjack games this is true. Slots that pay out.
But if you know what to watch for you can find games where you can see the value of the down card sometimes.
Some blackjack dealers don’t do a good job dealing and flash their hole card when they deal each hand. Usually the best place to sit to have a chance to see a hole card is directly in front of the dealer. The other place that sometimes works is the opposite of the hand the dealer deals with.
You need to get your eyes as close to table level as possible without arousing suspicion to have the best chance to see the flash. The best way to see hole card values is to watch the dealer on every deal. Once you find your first sloppy dealer, you’ll learn what to watch for.
Shuffle tracking is when you see a group of high cards go into the discard try close together and then following this slug of cards through the shuffle.
It only works in hand shuffled games, and it takes a great deal of practice. Some players never learn how to do it well enough to make a profit, but with a lazy dealer you can follow a slug through the shuffle.
When you follow a slug of high cards through a shuffle, you make higher bets when the slug is getting ready to be dealt.
If you can cut the cards so the slug is close to the top of the shoe, you can start the round betting a high amount and have a chance to play with an early edge.
15 – Ace Tracking
Ace tracking, also called ace sequencing, is much like shuffle tracking, but you only track aces that are close together through the shuffle. Any hand where you have an ace as one of your first two cards shows a long term profit.
Pay attention to hands with several aces and watch where they get placed in the discards. Then try to track where they go as the discards are shuffled.
You can practice this every time you play until you get better. Then start making bigger bets when you’re likely to receive an ace.
Gamblers seem to have a higher rate of superstitious activity than normal people. This isn’t a scientific fact, but if you spend much time around gamblers you can notice of them doing funny things.
One of the things you can see at the blackjack table is players complaining when the last player to act takes a card that would bust the dealer.
No one at the table knows the value of the next card to be dealt, and the truth is that every remaining card has the same chance to be dealt. So anyone who believes that the actions of another player change their chance to win is simply wrong.
The only way to play every hand at the blackjack table is the one that gives you the best mathematical chance to win. Playing any other way, including based on any superstition, only makes you lose more in the long run.
17 – Side Bets
Most blackjack side bets have a higher house edge than the base game. Unless you know exactly how a side bet works, know it offers a low house edge, and know exactly how to use it for your benefit, you should avoid all side bets.
The easiest thing to do is never play one of the side bets. Concentrate on playing the base blackjack games as well as possible, and forget about everything else.
Insurance is always a bad bet, unless you count cards. Red screen slots. Even when you count cards, rarely is it a good play to take the offer of insurance. While insurance seems like a part of the game of blackjack, the truth is it’s simply a side bet.
Is Poker Profitable
When insurance is offered, you’re betting on whether the dealer’s down card is worth 10 points or not. It doesn’t have anything to do with your hand or breaking even, like the casino wants you to believe. It’s even called even money in some places.
Never take insurance while playing blackjack. Once you’re a profitable card counter, you can learn about the small percentage of times that insurance becomes a good bet.
One way to get better at any game is to practice. If you can practice for free, it’s even better. Blackjack is one of the easiest games to practice for free.
You can deal hands yourself to practice basic strategy and counting, or you can play for free online. When you play free online blackjack it’s a great way to practice and learn the best strategy.
Use your strategy chart or card on every play until you have it memorized.
20 – Tips
Casino dealers make most of their money from tips. I usually tip good dealers when I play in land based casinos, but if your goal is to make as much profit as possible, you need to understand that every time you tip the dealer it reduces your profit.
I’m not telling you to stop giving tips, but make sure you don’t overdo it. Tips can eliminate your profit for an entire session, or increase your losses by a large amount.
The truth is that you can beat the game of blackjack. It requires quite a bit of work and a little skill, but most players have the ability to do it if they want it bad enough.
If you want to be a winning blackjack player, learn everything on this list and start practicing. It all starts with a decision to dedicate enough time and work into winning.
Are you ready to make the commitment to become a long term winner?
Conclusion
Blackjack profits are possible if you’re willing to do what it takes to grab them. But even if you simply want to improve your play without learning advanced techniques like card counting, this list of 21 steps to blackjack profit can help you reach your goal.
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