I know. Just doing it for a few seconds makes me feel uncomfortable. I'll move my hand to "The Thinker" position like I'm thinking about taking a hit or not but I'm using the time to get the count straight in my head, add up my cards and remember what basic strategy applies. A full minute? I would explode.

i guess im asking the wrong place but does anybody know of a trick to log back into an instagram account? I was dumb lost the password. I love any tips you can give me!

@Wayne Fabian Instablaster =)

That's great!

Right on! Be prepared for the swings, both positive and negative, protect your bankroll, and you'll be fine!

you are a FAKER

Would you think its advantageous to leave a table if your in a losing streak or stay and wait for it to change? Personally I find that if its going bad its best to get away and find a better table ​@@Blackjackapprenticeship

Reading and watching videos is only the beginning, it simply lays out the theory, the real learning comes from practice and experience,; you need to actually break out a deck of cards, multiple decks of cards and practice, practice, practice. Trainer games and software are decent tools, but in my opinion, nothing substitutes for the real thing; if you want to be able to do it in the casino, you need to be able to do it at home first. Card counting is a skill, and like any other skill, you only get better at it by doing it, by practicing. To use a piano metaphor, knowing it your head isn't enough, you need to be able to play it with your hands, and yes, I'm talking about card counting, you need to know it in your actions, not only in your head, and the only way to do this is with endless practice.

RC +4 is positive variance at how many decks 6?

Meh, it's not by much. Giving the dealer a white chip after a blackjack doesn't hurt my profits too badly. Especially since I only play if the true count is at least 3.

to be clear, perfect play involves (1) perfect basic strategy, (2) perfect card counting, and (3) perfect betting and playing deviations. Anything less than total perfection of those three elements of advantage play blackjack is still a losing game.

Yes, I understand but using Basic Strategy sort of levels the playing field. I am still learning Card Counting as it is not easy and eventually when I become good at it. I will learn the deviations as well in Time. Truth is it is Not difficult I just haven't put forth the time in order to move forward as a Card Counter @@blackjackapprenticeshipgus6559

@@aaronl1603 sounds good! and yes, perfect basic strategy cuts the house edge to about 0.5%. Congrats on your hard work.

Even when you're counting cards you still play basic strategy about 80% of the time. In fact, there are very few times you actually deviate from playing basic strategy, the real advantage of card counting comes from the betting variation, not deviating from BS, so while learning it is definitely a good thing, it won't necessarily make you a lot more money.

you play perfect basic strategy no matter what (unless you're playing a deviation). worry not about the opinions of others.

Yeah, fuck those other guys. They’re sitting there playing a game with a 2% disadvantage sighing at someone playing the exact same game but with a 0.5% disadvantage (unless you was counting, then even better), so fuck em.

I split 9s vs. dealer's 9 Vs. A 6 is a no-brainer.

@@bryguysays2948 basic strategy says split 9s against anything but 7, 10 or A

I couldn’t imagine sighing at someone else’s play

DO NOT wait until the whole table is dealt. You will be behind. DO NOT cross cancel. Cancel an individual hand if it's a high card and a low card. Those are both TERRIBLE habits. Count as the second up-card is being dealt. Get FAST at doing that so you can keep up with the table and not be behind by the time the first player is hitting.

​@@Blackjackapprenticeship Oh thank god, I've been training correctly then. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer.

@@Blackjackapprenticeship you can only do this on a shoe game not pitch as the cards are face down.

Yep I was at the casino one day and found that the dealer was dealing roughly 1 deck on CSM and flashing the burn card every time, it was a $3 table as well

Just wondering if that would work. I started at $10 because that's the minimum at the tables here in OKC

How exactly does that get you more EV? If you bet in negative counts you are losing EV. End of story.

Bummer. Are you in France?

@@Blackjackapprenticeship I might be wrong, but most European casino's (precisely all 5 of them lol) use shuffle machines.

shuffle machines dont mean shit! they help you if anything why do i say this? my secret i'll give to you if you want to call or text me at 1 (262) 899-2124

sometimes you want to play through negative bad tables because of this basic strategy puts structured order to cards just like tables that have people who have played for awhile a certain pattern develops so you take what you see & you put a system in play & you can do what i do win everytime beat the casino over & over & over& over again. there you have it! Kevin lewis 119 w. mitchell st. apt. 2 milwaukee wi 53204 call me directly 1(262) 899-2124

Verdell Lewis bro calm down. Throwing your address and phone number on KZfaq? that’s balls

You start counting when you get to the table, he means if you lose track of the count after starting to keep track of it its bad news. All you do is sit down start counting, figure out how many decks are left in the shoe and DONT LOSE COUNT FROM THERE.

tipping typically does not buy you more time at the table. hardly ever does a backoff come because a dealer reported you. pit bosses and/or the eye in the sky are watching your play and they will allow you to play or back you off for certain reasons, but tipping is not one of them.

that's nonsense. most dealers are absolutely clueless and have no idea if you're counting or not.

Tipping is for suckers

I throw the last dealer of the night a green chip if I have won that night.

So you count to get the Running Count (RC), then convert it to True Count (TC) by taking RC/decks remaining. You can just ask the dealre how many decks the shoe has likely 6 or 8, then you look at how many decks how already been played (on the left side of the video you can see the discard tray.) so lets say its a 6 deck shoes, 2 decks have already been played, so 4 remain. running count is 12, TC is 12/4=3. Then look at some of his videos on Deck Penetration to answer that last question

You don't need that many units. Plus you are being vague. Is it 1000 units of your min bet or your max bet? Because that is a huge difference. But 200 units of your max bet is plenty from my experience. In addition, as your BR plummets from negative variance or God forbid, poor play, you can scale down your bet spread as a way to manage your risk.

Thanks! I appreciate the positive feedback!

Well they deal through a shoe in like 5 min. ... so it would be easy to sit down at the beginning of a shoe

Start before you sit down. When you get to 10 or so, sit down and play. I am assuming you can count that high.

@@ligafftheindifferent3495 unfortunately, I can only count to 69

@Ivory Leyva What is ultimately more complicated? Ko?

@Ivory Leyva How exactly is KO more complicated than Hi-Lo? My understanding is that KO was developed specifically to be easier to use than Hi Lo.

Yeah, this takes some practice. Get comfortable doing it at home before trying in the casino.

an age old question amongst card counters. The number of decks used in a game is not the deciding factor on if that game should be played. deck penetration is (probably) the most important factor to consider, so long as you have good rules (double after split, re-split aces, 3:2 payouts on blackjacks, surrender). sorry I can't give you a more simple answer but it's a complex subject.

IF you can keep an accurate count, the number of decks doesn't matter, but if you can't, you want as few decks as possible. I started out playing a 2-deck game where I didn't have to hold the count for too long before the shuffle. And yes, penetration, that's how deep a deck is dealt, is by far the most important factor in the game, the greater the penetration the greater the counter's advantage. The rules variations are of moderate importance, they only change a few fractions of a percent of EV, but I still like to play the games with the best rules if possible.

Yes, I have found that I have won most consistently when the count is quite negative. I have lost my shirt, pants and ass when the count is really high. Yes, you can win big when the count is high, but sometimes the 'little wins' along the way in the negative allow you to bet bigger and afford the loss when the count gets high. Let's just say that I've never gone broke by playing through a negative count. I just bet the minimum.

That's fine. But many new card counters skyrocket their RoR and kill their profit margin by playing negative counts. If you have bankroll for it and a big enough bet spread, negatives are ok.

Run the numbers on it with CVCX and you'll see what I'm talking about. No offense, but your reply is anecdotal, not based on data to back it up.

@@guibox3 That's because winning or losing hands is not correlated to the count. You can be max betting into a very negative count at true 3, and not even know it. That's the gamble. Thinking you have the edge, and actually having the edge are entirely different situations. That is why I prefer wonging without a spread. Less risk and more protection from "trick" counts.

Yes. Online is no good for card counting. I have a video on our channel that explains why.

This is wrong, because dealer only gets 1 bet when they get a blackjack... player gets 1.5 bets when they get a blackjack.

@@Blackjackapprenticeship What Im saying is when the count gets good it also gets good for the dealer to hit face cards. You do understand that right. A lot of times the dealer ends up with 2 face cards (20). You bet big and boom dealer gets the hand you were hoping for.

@@JohnSmith-jt3bh True, the dealer will be just as likely to draw 20 or blackjack as you are, however, apart from the extra 1.5 payout we get on blackjacks, this also means the dealer will bust more of his stiff hands, and you will be more likely to win more of your double downs as well. Therein lies the advantage. But remember, even when you have a TC of +7 and have your max bet out, you still only have about a 3% advantage. However, the house has about a 0.5% advantage and look how much they spend on lights, carpeting, furniture, machines, etc. So in the long run, that 3% advantage is huge.

He explained it before. It’s expected value. Probably the most important thing you need to understand as a gambler.

2 more years to go buddy

They made a video on that. Progressive betting does not work. You would lose in the long run with any betting strategy. Do not assume that you will hit that win every time. Eventually, you will hit that losing streak that will clear out everything you won because you keep on doubling your losses.

The small edge adds up to a significant amount when you play thousands and thousands of hands.

automatic shuffle machines are still beatable. actually they are preferred because it means less time hand shuffling for the dealer. I think you are meaning to ask about CONTINUOUS shufflers. yeah, those are not beatable. check out our video about continuous shuffle machines (CSMs).

Many use Automatic shuffle but it doesn’t matter. All that does is save the dealer time from not having to shuffle the cards. It is the continuous shuffle machines where they continually add the cards back in after a few hands are dealt that you want to avoid, but those are expensive expensive and not many casinos have them.

Card counting wont work decks are shuffled between every round

@@rasmustikka1505 I realized that once I actually got inside the casino

@@grovelingmold3392 yeah but if there are 4 others at the table (like in the vip section) then it works well

1. You cannot count cards effectively at a CSM: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ntaAeNRh19Smf6M.html 2. You can beat that with practice or with a count like KO (which doesn't demand true count conversion). KO might be your best bet!

Again, please use CVCX to see how expensive it is to play negative counts. I'm not interested in anecdotal evidence as we follow math, not our selective memories. Hope that helps!

In negative counts you should be as little as possible, preferably ZERO by walking away from the table, if you want to play, bet the minimum. As for increasing your bets, different systems have different points, but generally the higher the count the greater the player's advantage and they should be accordingly. IF you could get away with it, the ideal way to play would be to bet the smallest amount at zero or negative counts while betting large, without overbetting your bankroll, during positive counts, but doing so would look odd and draw suspicion which is why betting ramps are used.

Because the player gets blackjacks, thus that 3 to 2 payment more often. Same with the dealer but the dealer only gets paid 1 to 1.

It also makes double downs more successful, and the dealer will bust more often with a low starting card. It also makes cards more predictable, because a lot of cards are 10 already, so playing deviations _may_ be more effective. I'm not too experienced at card counting, but everything seems to be pointing at the player when the count is high.

could you elaborate more on what you mean by a "bad shoe?" I'm guessing you mean the count indicates player advantage, but you're losing. The answer is you stick to your pre-determined bet spread and keep pushing your bets out there. Doesn't matter if you've lost 10 straight hands or won 10 straight. EV is EV. But it sounds to me like your game may be in need of a tune up. I would suggest staying out of the casino altogether and getting some practice time in.

100. I can feel his desperation through the screen.

Hey Jan, there are lots of casinos you can count cards at in the US and Canada. But some countries like France have almost exclusively continuous shuffle machines.

Try the UK, many casinos still use 6-deck shoes. And there are quite some casinos there.

Expected Value. (How much you would make per hour)

You do not need an ace side count. Hi-lo is good enough on its own.

If you're afraid to hit when you're supposed to, like on Soft 17, or even Soft 18 vs. 9, let alone hard 16 vs. 10, you shouldn't play blackjack. Making difficult plays on bad hands is simply part of the game, and if you cannot do it you have little chance of winning. For example, hitting hard 16 vs. deal 10 is hard, and it may seem like you bust all the time, but the Basic Strategy says to do it, hit hard 16 vs. 10 because in the long run, on average, you will lose less than if you stand on it. I believe one of the biggest mistakes people make is standing on hard 16 vs. 10, this is a very costly mistake. And as is mentioned, a side count is not necessary, Hi-Lo is fine by itself. Personally, I would go to a level 2 count before I tried keeping a side count.

Dude, why do you keep commenting on BJA's channel trying to push your gambling ploy? If your happy with it, just go do it, and quit trying to fish out people who want to learn an actual long term winning system. You still ain't taken me up on my offer to compare spreadsheets of life time wins. I'll go head up with you, or any gambler any day of the week. But it sounds like you have nothing to add or take away from this channel. You should just go make your own and teach your gambling antics to the masses. Advantage play is not your thing.

@@laloeastside9669 cause I can

@@TheCladi8or Cause you're worse than an attention thirsty female.

I stick with one hand. Much easier for me and been doing well.

Well when the count is high you want to pile on as much money on the table as you can (Not overbetting, ill explain), in the next 15 hands lets say how much money would you have put on the table with each strategy? $250 * 15 hands = $3,750 whereas, $50 * 15 hands = $750 you can also think of this as you are underbetting each of the 5 hands. Lets say you are playing a 1-12 betspread, the TC is 3, and you are using $20 bets, at TC 3 you will want to bet 3 * 2 * 20 = $120 if you split that $120 on 4 spots, you are only betting $30/spot. So if you want to play multiple spots you should bet 120/spot

it makes no difference. check out our video on where to sit at the blackjack table.

hitoshura2800 Spanish 21 I think you should play the same way regular black jack. I see a lot them hit at 12 or 13 to again 15 and then they lost. And they said they have more changes to win bc the deck have no ten(10). No ten but still have J,Q,K

Yes, you do.

No just keep going with your count shoe after shoe. Keep the same count even if you switch to a different casino

@@paulklemer Make things easy, keep one running count for life.

That's true. You would never surrender a soft hand.

@@Blackjackapprenticeship it indeed seemed most logical to me. i took the order a little to seriously ;) thanks for the feedback :)

Soft hands have a second chance. They are basically better than any hard hand in the teens. You would surrender a hard 15 against a 10 because a hard 15 is a really bad hand, and a dealer 10 is good for the dealer.

I heard that with a 16 you only have a 23% chance of winning the hand so you're expected to lose less money over time if you surrender that 16. If the 16 is two 8s and you split them you have a 35% chance of winning each hand. If the casino doesn't offer surrender then you should always hit your 2 card 16s. The same author said that if you have 16 with 3 or more cards to stay because you took low value cards from the shoe which slightly increase your odds of pulling a bust card.

@@mrpyro07 with a sixdeck, the standard game in most casinos, you're not only counting cards you're relying on shuffle patterns and variances for a win. After midshoe, a player has better odds of winning if they stand on 16 versus a Facecard, but hitting against a 10, Ive learned it from years of play. You'll either bust the dealer, or the next card that comes out of the shoe would have bust your hand, depending on the count.

mathematicians running computer simulations of millions of hands figured out a long time ago that surrender is a very valuable play in certain specific situations. To not surrender when the correct play is to surrender is giving away EV.

we have tons of free resources on our website. start with those. after you have those down pat, sign up for a membership. you'll then have access to our video course, which has everything you need to know to beat the game. after that, sign up for a bootcamp and get tested out.

those aren't card counters. those are gamblers

Once you practice long enough outside the casino using chips and implementing all the teachings presented here you will see the EV materialize... this in turn will give you the confidence nessasary to win in real live play. Their is no such thing as luck... however, sometimes you are more fortunate than others because the order of the cards came out in the way it most benefitted you... call it whatever you like... it's your personal preparedness meeting the opportunities as they appear and taking advantage of them...

Yes, luck exists, but if you're counting cards and have a lot of bad luck, you're probably not a very good card counter. Blackjack is a mathematical game, and while there is certainly variance, what people who don't know math/statistics call "luck," at some point, "luck," either way, good or bad, runs out and game regresses to the numbers/mean. Counting cards allows you to play probabilities, reducing luck. A good counter comes out ahead in the long run because of their skill, not great luck.

It doesn't matter, the effects of luck diminish over time. This is the beauty of statistics.

No

@@Blackjackapprenticeship Darn. Lol.

Lol!