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Smart gamblers like to play blackjack in casinos, for
two simple reasons: because it has better odds for the player than
any other card game that is played in casinos (when played blindly
only 2.5% in the house's favour over the player), and because it is
very simple to master.
Of course, there is also the added satisfaction that
comes when you see the dealer go bust….. when you are holding the best
hand at the table!
Players who are successful at winning money at blackjack
consistently over time achieve this through the discipline of a method
which tells them when to bet and how many chips to put on the table
when they make each bet. They apply a card counting system as the dealer
passes cards, and the count produces a multiplier to the minimum stake,
so the player knows whether to bet the minimum or multiply that minimum
by a factor of two, three, four or five. There are complicated mathematical
reasons as to why it is not advisable to ever bet more than five times
the amount of your minimum bet when gambling using a probability system.
So, how to count the cards as the dealer dishes them
out? In a game where only one pack of cards is used as a deck, it is
relatively easy if the game is played with all cards visible (you might
get dirty looks from other players if you steal a look at their cards,
but you will probably not get thrown out of the casino as long as you
do nothing that significantly interferes with play).
It is well within the ability of most players to improve
their odds even more by using systems which can keep track of which
cards are left in the pack, or in other words, which cards are most
likely to be dealt next. An idiot savant or a rocket scientist with
a freak memory might be able to keep track of the appearances of every
one of each of the twelve cards in a pack, but that is totally unnecessary
because exactly the same advantage can be gained simply by giving a
score to each passing card and using a points system. The same kind
of system is used by bridge players to calculate their bids at the
beginning of a hand. There are lots of variations but most of them
are more trouble than they are worth, ninety-nine percent of all possible
advantage can be gained using a very simple and basic count which you
should be able to keep up with even during those stressful or distracting
moments that happen in casinos.
The system is highly effective and it works by keeping
score like this:
1. Start when the deck is shuffled, with the number
zero as the score.
2. Whenever a low card is dealt (twos through to sixes),
add one to the score.
3. Whenever a high card is dealt (any card with a value
of ten, or an ace), subtract one from the score.
4. When your turn comes to bet, bet according to the
total score like this:
Score is 8 or more……………… minimum bet times 5
Score is 6 or 7………………….. minimum bet times 4
Score is 4 or 5………………….. minimum bet times 3
Score is 2 or 3………………….. double the minimum bet
Score is 1 or less……………….. minimum bet
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