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Have You Tried "Counting Cards" in Blackjack?

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Originally posted by: Amused
I tried counting cards and made an astounding discovery:

There are 52 cards in a deck.
Click to expand...

The problem is that there is often 416 cards in a shoe.
 
Originally posted by: Toasthead
its not that hard. You just have to be able to do it without looking like your doing it. Otherwise they will send ya packing. A lot of casinos do many things to combat it now ( many many decks, frequent shuffles)
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Again, you have no idea what you're talking about.

Let me educate you people:

When you count cards, the strategy is to bet bigger when the deck has a very favorable count. It's OBVIOUS to the dealer when you're betting bigger like that. It's NOT that hard to tell when someone's doing it. With the MIT team, they got around this by bringing people in ONLY when the deck was hot that would play big consistently. That way, it just looks like that person ALWAYS bets big, and isn't just betting big because of the good count.
 
Originally posted by: DBL
Originally posted by: jdub1107
Originally posted by: Kenji4861
Agreed, I think the MIT students really bet big when the deck was hot.

I'll be betting at the most $100~ =P
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If your betting amounts have a large swing, it's going to be pretty obvious that you're counting cards.
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That's the point and the reason they formed teams. You can't use this method by yourself and not expect to be discovered. Varying the size of your bet is necessary to win and is a red flag. You need to work in teams in order for you to be somewhat anonymous.
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Yes I know. I read the book and saw the program. I'm letting the OP now that it won't work very well for him.
 
Originally posted by: Ilmater
Originally posted by: Toasthead
its not that hard. You just have to be able to do it without looking like your doing it. Otherwise they will send ya packing. A lot of casinos do many things to combat it now ( many many decks, frequent shuffles)
Click to expand...
Again, you have no idea what you're talking about.

Let me educate you people:

When you count cards, the strategy is to bet bigger when the deck has a very favorable count. It's OBVIOUS to the dealer when you're betting bigger like that. It's NOT that hard to tell when someone's doing it. With the MIT team, they got around this by bringing people in ONLY when the deck was hot that would play big consistently. That way, it just looks like that person ALWAYS bets big, and isn't just betting big because of the good count.
Click to expand...
But I do this all the time?

50 on one bet could be 300-400 on the next, especially on the last hand of the shoe (or the cards on the table from the last hand)

We'll even joke sometimes at a full table - "look at that, only two face on the entire FULL table"
 
Originally posted by: jdub1107
Yes I know. I read the book and saw the program. I'm letting the OP now that it won't work very well for him.
Click to expand...

I was just expanding on your comment.

 
Originally posted by: spidey07
But I do this all the time?

50 on one bet could be 300-400 on the next, especially on the last hand of the shoe (or the cards on the table from the last hand)
Click to expand...

They don't care since you are losing overall. Besides, it's more than random varying. It's done when the deck reaches a certain state. Security knows how to spot the difference between a card counter and a compulsive gambler 😉.




 


They don't care since you are losing overall. Besides, it's more than random varying. It's done when the deck reaches a certain state. Security knows how to spot the difference between a card counter and a compulsive gambler 😉.

Heh, maybe. But I do so love playing with a stack of purple and black.

-edit- I actually asked one time what they do with card counters, boss said "as long as you aren't using any mechanical or eletrical device"
 
There are published lists of how many decks the various casinos are using in a shoe.

I love going to various charity events where they have a blackjack table. A couple of years ago, my wife walked up to me, "need some more money yet? You only had 10." I just waved my wad of money at her. Eventually, I got bored and let the charity (a volunteer fire department) win all the money back, plus my $10 - I go to such events with the intention of making a donation, not a withdrawal. Even with dealer wins ties, min bet $1, max bet $5, 3 decks of cards is *not* enough.

The funniest/biggest loss I've seen was when a dealer had a 3 showing and my friend had a pair of 8's. He split them, and picked up an 8 on 1 and a 3 on the other. Split and doubled down, *ANOTHER 8!* and another 3. Doubled down and split...
With a $5 max bet, he had $50 on the table by the time his hand was dealt. I don't recall how many 8's he eventually had... basically ALL of them in the decks. Plus he had 3 or 4 3's with the 8's. He was sitting on several 21's, and the rest were all high teens. Dealer wound up with 21, and dealer won ties (at the charity event) It would have been really amusing how much he would have lost (except the 21's) had he done this at a casino with real limits on the amount that could be bet.

 
heh, that's happened to me many times with dealer showing 6.

200 dollar bet, get 8s. split, 8 on one, 3 on the other, split/double, 2 on the other 8, double.

1000 bucks gone when the dealer pulls the 5 and then the inevitable face. ugg.
 
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