Posts Tagged ‘blackjack’
Blackjack – The Starting Count
June 13th, 2009
With any balanced point count system, a count of "0" indicates that the high cards and low cards are evenly balanced in the remaining deck(s). The zero count is the "pivot" count that always tells the player that the value of the cards remaining to be dealt has returned to whatever the house edge was right off the top of the deck(s). The pivot count is the running count that we would have if we counted down all of the cards in the deck or decks.
With a balanced count, the pivot is always zero, and it always indicates that the cards have returned to the "normal" house edge off the top. With the Red Seven Count, because it is unbalanced, our pivot count is two times the number of decks in play, since there is an imbalance of +2 in the card point values for each deck. And, instead of indicating to us that the cards remaining have the normal house edge off the top, the Red Seven pivot indicates that the player's advantage has risen by 1% over the house edge. The Red Seven pivot is a much more useful and common point of reference for a card counter who desires to know when to raise his bet and alter his strategy. The imbalance in the count values allows us to make our most important betting and strategy decisions by running count, with no deck estimates or "true count" adjustments.
But there is a more practical way to use unbalanced counts for players who are frequently changing games, playing against various numbers of decks, and especially if using extended strategy indices. Instead of altering the pivot count according to the number of decks in play, you can alter the starting count so that the pivot will always be 0. Instead of starting your count at 0 off the top of the deck(s), subtract the pivot count from 0, and start counting at a negative number. Then, regardless of the number of decks in play, when your running count rises to 0, you raise your bet.
In 1986, when Ken Uston hired me to help him devise his unbalanced SS Count, he wanted to provide more complete strategy tables, with separate sets of charts for each number of decks. Since Uston's level-three count had an imbalance of +4 per deck, his 8-deck pivot was +32, and his index number for hitting 15 against 10 was +44. His 6-deck index for the same decision was +33, and his 4-deck index for 14 against 10 was +40. Even his 2-deck number was +22. Ken felt these numbers were unwieldy, and I agreed.
The device we decided to use for the SS Count was a "Starting Count" other than zero. Multiplying the number of decks in play by -4, the SS one-deck starting count became -4; the eight-deck starting count became -32. Thus, the SS pivot was always 0, regardless of the number of decks in play, and the strategy charts look a lot less intimidating. A few years later, when George C. developed an unbalanced version of my Zen Count, he used the same device.
With the Red Seven Count, we'll use this technique for adjusting the starting count, always multiplying -2 by the number of decks in play to get the starting count. For example, the 4-deck starting count is -8 (-2 x 4). This methodology will always make your pivot equal zero.
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How To Practice Blackjack Counting
June 12th, 2009
Start by buying yourself a couple dozen decks of cards. Put one in the pocket of every one of your jackets. Put one by each telephone you use regularly. One on the kitchen table. One by each TV set. One on the dashboard of your car. Always have a deck of cards at hand. As you watch TV, talk on the phone, or enjoy your morning coffee, practice keeping your running count using the chart's point values for the individual cards as you turn them over.
Start your count at 0. Turn cards one at a time face-up onto the bottom of the deck, adding each card's point value to your running count. For example:
Cards seen: 2, A, 8, 9, X, X, 5
Point values: +1,-1,0, 0,-1,-1,+1
Running Count: +1, 0,0, 0, -1, -2, -1
By the time you get to the end of the deck, your running count should be +2; if it isn't, then you have not counted correctly, assuming your deck contains 52 cards. If you have miscounted, turn the deck over and run through the cards again, until your final running count is +2. Then shuffle and go through the deck once more. Build up speed and accuracy.
When you are proficient at counting down a deck of cards in this manner, practice turning the cards over two at a time, and learn to count cards in pairs. It's faster and easier for most people to count that way, because many pairs cancel each other out. For instance, every time you pair a ten or ace (both -1) with a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or red 7 (all +1), the pair counts as zero. You will quickly learn to ignore self-canceling pairs, as well as 8s, 9s, and black 7s, since they're all valued at 0. When you're good at counting cards in pairs, start turning them over three at a time. You must be accurate in your count—speed without accuracy is worthless. It may take you weeks to master running counts, but once you learn it, it's like telling time. You'll find you can do it almost automatically.
To test yourself, after learning to count cards in pairs and groups of three, run through the cards by fanning them from one hand to the other as you count. Allow your eyes to quickly scan the exposed cards for self-canceling pairs, even when these cards are not adjacent to each other. You should be able to count down a deck in 40 seconds or less before you ever attempt counting in a casino. Most pros can easily count down a deck in less than 30 seconds, and professional teams usually require players to demonstrate that they can do it in 25 seconds or less, with perfect accuracy every time.
No matter how fast you can count when turning cards over yourself, you'll probably find counting at a casino blackjack table to be difficult at first. In facedown games, some cards will appear as mere flashes as players throw in their hands, and dealers scoop upcards as quickly as they're turned over. Before counting cards in a casino, spend a half-hour or so counting while watching others play. Do not sit down to play until you feel comfortable counting while watching the game.
If you expect to play in shoe games, practice counting down multiple decks of cards at home. Note that your final count should always amount to twice the number of decks you are using: With six decks, your running count at the end should always be +12; with two, it would be +4.
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