Blackjack Adventures: I'm Confused!
Gambling Time Magazine
by Bobby Singer
I've now been playing winning Blackjack in casinos worldwide for
more than forty years. I never get tired of playing, talking, or
writing about Blackjack. To me, it just plain feels good.
Professional winning Blackjack players like myself are successful
for many reasons, but mostly because we are card counters. Most
people are aware that card counting works. Common sense dictates
that if card counting didn't work, casino personnel wouldn't ask
us to leave. The novice Blackjack player however doesn't realize
how easy it is to count cards. We don't memorize the cards played,
but instead apply simple plus or minus values to the cards for
determining when the player has the advantage before the cards are
dealt. This allows us to bet more when we know we will win more than
half of the hands and of course bet less when we know the dealer
will win more than half of the hands. But first we begin by playing
all of the hands correctly. Playing all of the hands according to
their mathematical superior play is called basic strategy. Just
playing perfect basic strategy in a casino with good rules gives the
player an almost break even game against the house. A simple
plus/minus card counting method applied correctly then gives the
player a mathematical advantage over the casino. It sounds simple
enough to me. But here comes the big question. If it's so simple,
why aren't more people playing winning Blackjack?
Saturday, July 13, 2002, the time is 10PM. My wife and I just exited
the movie theater and decided to hit some of the casinos near Palms
Springs. Our first stop was one not to far from our home. The casino
was very busy. Before playing I always check out the game. The table
limits from low bet to high bet were quite good. Mostly six deck
shoes but with good penetration. They allow doubling down after a
split, overall not a bad game. However, they hit soft seventeen. I
know that several casinos nearby stand on all seventeen's, a much
better game.
My wife and I headed for another casino in the area that was also
very busy. On most tables the dealer does stand on all seventeen's
but overall the game was one of the most player unfriendly games I
had ever seen, almost insulting to a player's intelligence. The
table limits were ridiculous, $5.00 -200, $10.00 -300.00, and
$25.00 -500.00. They had single deck Blackjack that only paid 6 to
5 on Blackjacks. No doubling down after a split, dealer hits soft
seventeen, and penetration barely passed a half a deck. The double
deck game paid 3 to 2 on Blackjack, but the dealer also hit soft
seventeen, didn't allow doubling after a split, and only dealt 1
of 2 decks before shuffling. On the 6 deck shoe games, the dealer
did stand on all seventeen's, the player could double after a
split but the penetration was only an estimated 60%. I never would
have played in this casino, but that soon became a mute point.
Within ten minutes of being in this casino a dealer recognized me
and immediately pointed me out to a nearby pit boss. For the next
ten minutes I was most amused watching them as they were watching me
walk from table to table as if I was going to sit down. Before
exiting the casino I walked over to the table where the dealer had
recognized me and in my own defiant arrogant manner asked the dealer
if he got any "brownie points." I couldn't resist reminding
him the man in the pit doesn't tip him. Only the players do and
certainly those that win. He tried to speak but as his face turned
red he was speechless. My wife and I than went to The Fantasy
Springs Casino, also in Indio. This was the least busy casino of the
three. I'm confused!!!
Why am I so confused? I'm confused for many reasons. Let's begin
with the Blackjack game at Fantasy Springs. It is terrific! The
dealer stands on all seventeen's. You can double down after a
split and best of all they were dealing 41/2 to 5 decks of a
six-deck shoe before shuffling. Besides a great game of Blackjack,
the dealers and pit bosses were also friendly. There didn't appear
to be any "heat" on the game. If this was the best game in town,
why did the other casinos with much worse games have more players?
I'm confused!!!
I decided to check the skill level of all the Blackjack players in
this casino. In less than thirty minutes I saw every person in the
casino playing Blackjack make at least one mistake just on basic
strategy - no wonder there wasn't any heat on the game. Where
are all the people who purchased Blackjack books or basic strategy
cards sold at almost every casino gift shop? I'm confused!!!
There are many excellent Blackjack books. Great authors such as
Stanley Roberts, Arnold Snyder, Stanford Wong, and Jerry Patterson
just to name a few. Since 1985 I personally have sold almost a half
million home study courses from my infomercials. Where are those
people that have purchased books on winning Blackjack? I'm
confused!!!
Someone who plays Blackjack, who understands the game and plays
correctly even if it's only basic strategy, can use this as a
foundation. Their skills grow and the authority with which they play
becomes amplified. It feels good. It's much more enjoyable to win
and it's easy enough to do. Don't let the casinos win this
battle. Play only where the rules are good and play to win. Please
also remember that when you win, you're playing at the table for
much longer periods of time. This extended playing time leads to
more profit and more comps. Losers pay and winners stay!
This fall I will be playing golf in Myrtle Beach. My wife and I
decided to drive across the country and visit the casinos along the
route we have chosen. It doesn't seem to matter how visible I've
been on TV. I can usually play without disguise by blending in and
not attracting any unnecessary attention to myself. I certainly
intend to play at most of the casinos in Tunica and Biloxi.
Mississippi here I come. I'm not confused about that!!!
This story was first published in the October - November 2002 issue
of Gambling Times Magazine. |
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