----------Poker----------
Today was very good, considering my tiny bankroll only allows me single tabling.
Bank Roll:32$(+8)
Finished in the money in a Freeroll, and mainly destroyed a shorthanded game NL4. I luckboxed once, but mainly i outplayed the kids and their pennies. However so far i like Full rings better, because in short handed games the variation is greater, and with my limited amount i can barely deal with variation. But on the other hand shorthanded games at low stakes are much less skilled...
----------Counting----------
As i said previously, i will hit the casino next wednesday. For now, i will continue to elaborate on Blackjack in general. This post i will explain what is Card counting and how it works.
First of all, the system i will explain is known as the HIGH-LOW counting system. The first thing any count system will display is the value it gives to cards. For HI-lo, they are
2(+1), 3(+1), 4(+1), 5(+1), 6(+1), 7(0), 8(0), 9(0), 10 (-1), A(-1)
As you see each card come out of the shoe(you must start to count right after the deck was shuffled, obviously), you remember its value and add it up(or remove) to the count, which is usually called: The Running count.
Let us say that you hold 2(+1),7(0),10(-1).
The player next to you holds 4(+1),6(+1),5(+1).
You both stand and the dealer turns his card, showing 7(0),10(-1).
He stands according to casino rules. So the Running count would be +2. Now the higher the count is, the better it is for the player. So next hand you are more likely to hit 20 or 21. Quite simple so far right? Thats almost all of it.
One last thing one needs to do is to divide the Running Count by the number of decks left in the Blackjack shoe. Why? Because having a Running Count of +2 means 2 more tens likely to be distributed to players(since dealer gives cards to players before himself). However 2 more ''tens'' in a pack of 200-300 cards dosent mean much. However 2 more ten in a single deck means a lot more. So one needs to follow his running count and divide it by the number of decks to get THE TRUE COUNT. The true count is what makes you bet or leave. Anytime the Truecount is under 1, you should leave the table, that is if you play the typical 6 deck blackjack.
A question one may ask himself is - how do i know how much decks are left. To be honest, my casino leaves it wide open so i can just look and i have a fair idea. You can also look at the discard pile to get an idea of it. If absolutely everything is hidden just take in mind the following ratio -
In average, players will use 3 cards.
(Number of Players x 3) multiplied by the number of hands played since the beginning of the shoe = number of cards played.
However from what iv seen, the discard pile or shoe is visible enough for you to get a good idea of the number of decks.
The next question is, what do i do with the True count? Well, the higher the better. The safest is obviously, to card count behind the table, wait until the True count hits +2 or more, start betting, and if it hits under +2, leave and go the next table. Of course this requires patience, but it is the safest and best way to bring down the house.
Each True Count usually adds +0.5% to the player, therefor hitting when you have +2 turns the edge in your favor, if you play perfect basic strategy.
To finish, i gotta say that you do not need to be a genious to card count, neither does it have to take a long time to learn. In a week of training(3-4 hours a day), i learned how to count and i got benefits when i hit my casino. I have to say that there is a lot more to counting then this, but for now i will stop there because i believe that is big enough(especially for a blog on a poker site!)
Next post i will go over what are the best(and worst) rules of blackjack(very important).
Edit: BTW grot, a 6 deck is beatable, how easy it is depends largely on the rules though.
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