Knock-Out Blackjack, page 10
OTHER IDEAS
Some counters subscribe to a maximum-damage commando type of philosophy. In this Arnold Schwarzenegger frame of mind, the counter goes in knowing he will play only, perhaps, 30 minutes, then leave. The idea is to go in with reckless abandon concerning his bet spread. Sure, the casino will eventually pick up on what he’s doing, but hopefully he’ll be gone by then. This technique is obviously not recommended if playing in an area with only a few casinos, since you’ll soon run out of places to play.
Another technique sometimes employed is “steaming.” Steaming means pretending to be so emotionally charged up in the game that you can’t control your wagering. It works well for getting more money on the table when the count is very high. The idea is to pretend to be so flustered that you start to lose control, wagering more and more.
Let’s say the count is high and you make a correspondingly large wager of $100. You lose the hand. Muttering and cursing to yourself you reach into your pocket and pull out $200 in cash. Rather than bet a portion, you throw it down in an apparent attempt to get the first $100 back. You lose again, but the count is even higher. You act incensed; your hands start to shake a little as you reach in and grab another wad of bills. How much? Nobody knows. You throw it down and angrily say, “Bet it all.” Mission accomplished. Win or lose, you’ve just managed to continually increase your wager in a favorable situation.
Steaming can often be used to good advantage near the end of a pack just before the shuffle. If a pit boss suspects you’re on tilt, he may instruct the dealer to go ahead and deal another round rather than risk your regaining your senses during the two minutes the dealer is shuffling. Steamers generally have to leave when the dealer does finally shuffle since the advantage is gone.
Tipping, or “toking” as the dealers call it, is a subject that doesn’t receive too much attention in most blackjack books. On the face of it, tipping has an expectation of –100%. If you tip, that money is lost. For most card counters, this rules out tipping completely.
But beneath the surface, it’s not always true that tipping is worthless, and indeed in some instances, tipping may have value. Certainly if you want to look like a tourist who’s in town for a good time, it would not be unreasonable to make tipping a part of your act. It may allow you to play longer without any heat from the pit.
Some players try to use tipping to increase deck penetration. It’s our opinion that tipping for this purpose in shoe games is not usually effective. If a tip causes the dealer to act on your behalf (place the cut card lower in the shoe) at all, the small gain will probably not make up for the cost of the tip.
In hand-held games, on the other hand, the dealer will often not use a cut-card to indicate a shuffle point. Rather, he will estimate the number of remaining cards before deciding whether or not to deal another round. In cases such as these, a few well-timed tips may get you better penetration in situations where it will do you some good.
Furthermore, in games in which the dealer “peeks” by manually checking48 the hole card under aces and/or tens, tipping may also gain you additional information. The dealer, if rooting for you, may subtly help you during the course of the game. For example, he may, if holding a stiff, quickly pass you by if you’re wavering between hitting or standing on your own stiff. The rationale is that the more you win, the more tips he’ll get.
With juicy counts near the shuffle point, a toke sometimes persuades the dealer to deal one more round. These “specific tokes,” as Arnold Snyder has labeled them, must be dispensed with great care. Even with a K-O running count of +4 (the pivot point, so roughly a 2% advantage), a $5 tip on a $50 hand will cost you 10%, leading to a large overall negative expectation for the hand.
Be aware, also, that collusion with the dealer is a definite no-no. We do not advocate cheating of any type; we only make the point that tipping is not necessarily a total waste of money. After all, dealers are human, despite what others may tell you.
Cover plays are an interesting camouflage idea. Cover plays are typically either bets or plays made at incorrect times. For example, with a running count of+4, we’d like to make a big bet. However, if the pit boss is breathing down our neck, the large wager might be our last. Under these conditions, it might be appropriate to make a cover bet of a single unit. The play is made to throw off the pit personnel in case they too are counting the game.
Another popular cover play is to make a big wager right after the shuffle. Even if the pit personnel are not counting, they know that a player has no advantage off the top in a freshly shuffled game. So making a big bet at this point is a way for a card counter to say, “Look, the count means nothing to me.”
Still other cover plays involve the actual play of the hand. Every once in a while, hopefully with a small bet out, you may want to make a slightly incorrect play. This should be done only if you know that someone is analyzing your play. And even in this case it should not be overdone, as every incorrect play costs you money.49
Overall, you need to stick to the game plan. Any deviation from it costs money. If you insist on making frequent cover plays, then you will not be successful. It’s time to work on your overall act.
WARNING TO BEGINNERS
If you’re diligent, you’ll get to the point where you can play the Knock-Out system and almost never make an error—on your kitchen table, that is. Playing in a casino is a different story, unlike any other experience you’re likely to encounter. Casinos are full of distractions: bright lights, cocktail waitresses, drinks, clattering chips, other gamblers talking (or cheering), pit bosses, dealers, you name it. When attempting to count cards for the first time in a casino environment, you’re bound to make some mistakes. Even if you play perfectly while practicing at home, being under the gun in a casino is something else altogether. There’s no substitute for experience, and you’ll get better in real conditions as you go. But in the meantime, here are a few simple rules to follow that will help you through your first blackjack card-counting session:
1) Bet the table minimum until you’re comfortable with your counting. That is, count cards and mentally note the correct plays, but bet the table minimum until you’re confident of your abilities. It may take an hour or more to become accustomed to the surroundings.
2) If you lose the count during play, bet the table minimum until the next shuffle. Recall that you’ll always start the count at the IRC after a shuffle.
3) If you’re losing, don’t start betting more money to “try to get it all back at once” (this might be a good time to reread Chapter 7 on the care that must be taken when betting). Remember, a card counter bets more only when he has a mathematical advantage. However, it seems to be a part of human nature, when losing, to want to bet more money in an effort to recoup your losses as quickly as possible. This often leads to even greater losses. All card counters have both winning and losing sessions. Keep the big picture in mind: In the long run, our advantage will bear out, and the long run is made up of countless sessions. Don’t let short-run fluctuations get the best of you, whether monetarily or psychologically.
SUMMARY
• Several methods to enhance profits are available to card counters. Seeking out better playing conditions, employing more sophisticated betting techniques and/or exit strategies, or using an act can all be fruitful. But tipping and cover plays eat away at profits and should not be overused.
• Donald Schlesinger provides perhaps the best summary for this chapter when he says, “The goal is to walk into a casino and win the most money possible, consistent with being welcomed back the next time.”
• As a synopsis, we present a final “Top 10” list:
Appendices
* * *
Appendix I: Rules of Blackjack
Blackjack is played at a semicircular table, where typically up to seven players can play at once. The game is usually played with 1, 2, 6, or 8 standard 52-card decks. We shall refer to the totality of cards (whether a single deck or eight decks or anything in between) as the pack.
The total value of a hand is the sum of the individual cards making up the hand. Each card is worth its face value, and suits are irrelevant. Face-value cards all count as 10. Aces can be counted as either 1 or 11.
Blackjack gets its name because a blackjack, or natural, is the best possible hand. A natural is a total of 21 on the first two cards. This can be achieved only by being dealt an ace and any ten (10, jack, queen, or king).
To begin play, each player makes a wager in the betting circle in front of him. The dealer first deals every player a card, then deals himself a card face up. He then deals every player a second card, and his own second card face down.
If the dealer’s upcard is an ace, insurance is offered. This is an optional side bet; players so inclined may wager up to one-half their original wager on insurance. If the dealer has the natural, then the insurance bet wins and is paid 2 to 1, after which the main hands are then settled. If the dealer does not have a natural, the insurance bet is lost, and play continues in the usual fashion.
With a ten upcard, the dealer will also check, via manual or mechanical means, to see if he has a natural (an ace as the hole card).50 If the dealer has a natural, all players’ hands lose (unless a player also has a natural, in which case that player pushes with the dealer). If the dealer does not have a natural, play continues in the usual fashion.
If the dealer has any other value upcard (or has an upcard of ace or ten but does not have a natural), play continues. In turn, each player finishes the play of his hand before the dealer goes on to the next player. The player to the dealer’s immediate left, commonly referred to as the first base position, acts first.
This player has several options based on the value of his first two cards: hit, stand, double down, split, or surrender.
Hitting: After looking at his original two cards, the player may wish to draw another card. If so, he will tap the table near his cards, signaling he wants to hit.51 The dealer will deal him another card, face up, in front of his wager. The player’s new total is now the sum of the three cards. The player may continue to hit as long as his total does not exceed 21. If the player goes over a total of 21, he has busted and immediately loses his wager.
Standing: If the player is satisfied with his hand and has not busted, he may elect to stand. He does this by waving his hand, palm down, over the wager.52
Doubling down: In most casinos in the United States, a player may double down on any first two cards.53 To double down, a player places another wager, less than or equal to the original, alongside the original bet. The player then receives one and only one additional card, regardless of its value. The hands are resolved in the usual fashion, and the payoffs are based on the new total wager.
Splitting: If the player’s two original cards have the same value (e.g., 7,7 or 10,K), he may elect to split the hand. To do so, he places an equal wager alongside the original. The player then plays two separate hands, with one original card providing the first card of each new hand. Standard hitting and standing rules apply, except for split aces, on which you may draw only one card each. Furthermore, if the next card to a split ace is a ten, the hand’s value is 21 but is not considered a natural. Resplitting and doubling down after the original split are subject to the rules of the house.
Surrendering: Some casinos offer the surrender option, in which, after seeing his first two cards, a player may end the hand (without playing further) by giving up half of the original wager. Of those American casinos that have the surrender option, most offer only late surrender, which allows the option only if the dealer doesn’t have a natural.
If you are allowed to surrender your hand before the dealer checks his hole card for a natural, it’s called early surrender. Early surrender is rare because it’s very valuable for the player (worth about .63%). If you encounter this option, early surrender hard 5-7 and hard 12-17 vs. A; hard 14-16 vs. ten; and hard 16 (except split 8,8) vs. 9.
After all players have finished playing their hands, it is the dealer’s turn. The dealer makes no subjective decisions and plays his hand according to a fixed set of rules. In most of the United States, the dealer must hit until either reaching a pat total of 17 through 21 or busting.54
If the dealer busts, all players who have not previously busted, regardless of the value of their hands, are paid 1 to 1. If the dealer has not busted, the value of the dealer’s hand is compared to that of every player still in the game. If the player’s total is higher, the player is paid 1 to 1. If the totals are equal, the hand is a push. If the dealer’s total is greater, the player’s wager is lost. All bets are resolved at this time, then new bets are made, and the whole sequence starts over.
Appendix II: Blackjack Jargon
Back-Counting: A method of card-counting while not playing, first proposed by Ed Thorp and popularized by Stanford Wong. Often standing in back of the seated players, the back-counter will begin playing only when the deck becomes favorable.
Balanced System: A card-counting system in which the sum of the card values is equal to zero. A true-count conversion is required for betting and playing decisions.
Bust: To obtain a hard total greater than 21.
Cutoff: Number of cards to be left unplayed, often delineated by a cut-card. See also “penetration.”
Dealer: Individual who represents the house and is responsible for dealing the cards, determining the outcome of the game, and settling wagers.
Downcard: The dealer’s face-down card, also referred to as the hole card.
First Base: The position immediately to the dealer’s left. A player seated at first base acts first.
Floorman: Individual responsible for overseeing a group of several blackjack tables. Subordinates include dealers.
Hard Hand: Any hand totaling 12 or more in which there is either no ace or all aces are counted as 1.
Level: In a point-count system, the maximum of the absolute values of integers assigned to respective cards. For example, a system employing a range of values from -3 to +2 would be a level-3 system.
Natural: A two-card total of 21 on the initial hand, also referred to as a blackjack.
Pack: The set of cards in play; for example an 8-deck shoe game uses a pack of 416 cards.
Pat: Any total of 17 through 21.
Penetration: The percentage of total cards that are dealt. For example, a dealer who cuts off 2 decks in an 8-deck shoe game yields a penetration of 75%.
Pit: A ring-like arrangement of casino gaming tables, where patrons typically wager from the outside and casino personnel are situated in the interior.
Pit Boss: Individual responsible for overseeing an entire pit. Subordinates include floormen and dealers.
Push: A tie.
Shoe: Plastic box used to hold and deal multiple decks.
Side Count: An additional count (e.g., of aces) that is kept in conjunction with the main count.
Soft Hand: Any hand containing an ace in which the ace is counted as 11.
Stiff: Any hard total of 12 through 16.
Ten: A card with a value of 10, i.e., 10, jack, queen, or king.
Third Base: The position immediately to the dealer’s right. A player seated at third base acts last.
Type: The category of a point-count card-counting system, either balanced or unbalanced.
Unbalanced System: A card-counting system in which the sum of the card values is not equal to zero. No true-count conversion is necessary.
Upcard: The dealer’s face-up card.
Wonging: See “back-counting.”
Appendix III: A Comparison of
the K-O System to Other Sytems
Here we take a look at some of the other popular card-counting systems to see how K-O measures up. You’ll see that the lean K-O system holds its own against all the “heavyweights” with their extra baggage of multiple-level counts, side counts, and/or true-count conversions.
Ease of Use
The unbalanced nature of the Knock-Out count (which eliminates the need for estimation of remaining decks and a true-count conversion), the natural level-1 card values, the absence of any side counts, the innovation of a reduced and rounded matrix, and the flexibility for customization make the K-O system unique. To date, no other system has all of these attributes.
The table on the preceding page compares the most popular systems today in terms of ease of use. The first three comparison parameters (type, level, and whether or not a side count is employed) are intrinsic properties for each particular system and are, therefore, fixed.55
The comparison parameter to the far right (whether or not a rounded matrix exists) is included for the present-day version of these systems. In principle, any system developer so inclined could develop a rounded matrix for a system, hence this is not an intrinsic property of the system per se.
