How To Always Win Casino Blackjack

 
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Card counting is one of the most famous advantage-play methods in gambling. In fact, a number of Hollywood movies include card counting scenes or are based entirely on this technique.

Skilled counters can gain anywhere from a 0.5% to 1.5% edge over the house, which leads to good profits over time.

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Given card counting’s fame, the mainstream population and even many blackjack players themselves think that this is the only way to gain an edge.

But the truth is that you don’t have to count cards to beat blackjack. Instead, you can use one of several other advantage-play techniques to win.

I’m going to discuss how hole carding, shuffle tracking, ace sequencing, and edge sorting can help you beat the game. I’ll also discuss if any of these advantage-play methods are better than card counting.

Hole Carding

Blackjack dealers at North American casinos deal themselves one face-up and one face-down card. The face-down card is referred to as the hole card because it’s not visible to players.

The dealer is the only person at the table who sees the hole card, because they check for a natural blackjack before players act.

Given that you don’t see the hole card, you’re basing blackjack decisions on incomplete information.

How

Basic strategy helps you narrow the gap between the house and yourself. But you’re still at a slight disadvantage when using perfect basic strategy.

Enter hole carding: an advantage-play technique that involves spotting the dealer’s hole card. If you see their hole card, you can gain up to a 13% advantage.

Any dealer who consistently offers players a chance to see this is called a “flasher.” These dealers, through one mistake or another, allow players to gain a big advantage by flashing their hole card.

The best way to spot these dealer flaws is by sitting in the right seat and paying close attention to every hand.

Most players don’t pay attention to when the dealer peeks for blackjack or deals themselves the hole card. But by doing so, this gives you a tremendous advantage at a flasher’s table.

Spotting the dealer’s face-down card when they peek for a blackjack is called “first-basing” or “third-basing.” Spotting the hole card when it’s slid under the up-card is called “front loading.”

Many hole-carders sit at first base, which is the first seat to the dealer’s left. This gives you the best chance at seeing a right-handed dealer’s hole card.

The other popular hole-carding seat is third base, which is to the dealer’s immediate right. This is the best spot to see a left-handed dealer’s face-down card.

It also helps if you can gain a vantage point closer to the table felt. The more level your eyes are with the table, the better chance you have of seeing the hole card.

Shorter players have an advantage in this regard because they’re naturally closer to the table felt. Taller players often lean back to improve their vantage point.

Of course, the key is to do so in a subtle manner. Being obvious about leaning back or slouching draws attention to your hole-carding efforts.

Another thing that you need to be careful of is over-using your advantage. Sometimes you should ignore the info you gain when using basic strategy because some plays look too suspicious.

Here’s an example.

  • Your first two cards total a hard 8
  • The dealer’s up-card is a 10
  • You see that the dealer’s hole card is 2
  • The optimal play is to double down against the dealer’s 12
  • But no regular player is going to make this decision because they’re not supposed to have this info

The last thing that you want to do is continue taking advantage of plays like this, especially when your dealer is a consistent flasher.

If the casino finds out that a dealer is consistently flashing cards and helping a player(s) win, one of two things will happen.

  • 1. The dealer will receive better training
  • 2. The dealer will be fired if flashing becomes a consistent problem

In either case, the work you put into finding a flasher goes out the window. And this is hardly worth taking advantage of a few suspicious plays that you should let go.

Players need to think long term and realize what kind of profits they can make by continuing to play at the dealer’s table. Avoid decisions that are too far outside the bounds of regular strategy.

It’s hard to find a consistent flasher. Casinos train dealers on how to deal without giving players a chance to see their hole card.

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Nevertheless, some dealers either don’t pick up enough skills in training or become lackadaisical over time.

The best place to start when looking for flashers is casino-heavy cities like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Reno. This enables you to bounce from casino to casino within a single shift.

Odds are that you’re not going to find a flasher within your first few hunts. But once you do find one, note what shift they work and make it a priority to play at their table.

Shuffle Tracking

In the 1960s and ‘70s, Las Vegas casinos began implementing shoe games. The idea was to hinder card counters by forcing them to count through multiple decks in each shoe.

Casinos thought that they solved their card counting problem with shoe blackjack tables. But card counters merely adjusted their strategy, and other techniques such as shuffle tracking were born as well.

Shuffle tracking refers to tracking specific cards, or a sequence of cards, through multiple shuffles. Shuffle trackers monitor where 10s and face cards (a.k.a. high cards) are throughout the coming rounds.

Much like card counting, the goal is to bet more when the shoe is abundant in high cards. When used properly, shuffle tracking is much more effective than counting.

But this technique is also very difficult to use, because you must know an advanced strategy on top of card counting.

The basic idea behind shuffle tracking is that shuffles aren’t random, and you can track certain cards after a shuffle.

You might think, “Can’t dealers just shuffle more to make decks more random and stop shuffle trackers?” But many casinos don’t like their dealers wasting too much time with shuffles, because this slows the game and lowers profits.

Blackjack dealers commonly use a “zero shuffle,” where cards are separated into piles, with the shuffling only being done between the piles (i.e., the dealer grabs two piles and riffles them). This means that the ace of hearts, for example, would have a high chance of only being in one or two sections of the shuffled shoe.

Card counting comes in because you want keep track of the count in different discard sections. I’ll start this explanation by looking at the point values assigned in the Hi-Lo counting method.

  • 2 through 6 = +1
  • 7 through 9 = 0
  • 10 through ace = -1

You can use other card counting systems with shuffle tracking. But the Hi-Lo is a popular counting strategy that’s easy to use.

As you may know, high cards favor the player by improving their chances of getting a natural blackjack payout. This advantage comes from the fact that players get either a 3:2 or 6:5 bonus with a natural.

Meanwhile, low cards reduce the dealer’s chance of busting out while they try to reach a hard 17. Anything that increases the dealer’s odds of winning is bad for players.

The premise is to make higher bets when the shoe is rich in aces and 10-value cards (i.e., positive count) and bet the table minimum when the shoe contains more low cards (i.e., negative count).

The overall positive or negative count is referred to as a “running count.” But Hi-Lo system users convert this into a “true count,” which accounts for the number of unplayed decks in the shoe.

Here’s an example:

  • Your running count is +8
  • There are 4 decks remaining
  • 8/4 = +2 true count

Card counting and shuffle tracking come together when players have a good idea of what card values are left in the shoe based on their count. If they can take this a step further by visually tracking high cards and finding them bunched together, they gain an even greater advantage.

One big benefit of shuffle tracking is that it’s harder to spot than card counting.

Sure, you’re still increasing bets during favorable situations. But your increased bets come in a shorter span once 10-value cards and aces emerge in clumps.

Another advantage is that you can gain up to a 50% advantage with perfect shuffle tracking.

No player will have this edge all of the time. But an expert shuffle tracker may gain between a 10% and 30% long-term edge, depending upon the dealer and shuffling style they’re using.

The downside is that shuffle tracking is extremely difficult to pull off. You not only need to keep a good count, but also follow the deck with your eyes and understand how high cards will disperse after shuffles.

Be prepared to practice for quite some time in order to become an expert shuffle tracker. Even then, you need to be good enough to pull this off with a high degree of certainty.

In other words, some players fool themselves into thinking that they’re gaining an edge, when they’re really not doing anything special.

Another drawback is that not every casino trains their blackjack dealers in a shuffle that can be exploited. Some casinos use a 2-pass shuffle, where they go through two rounds of riffling and restacking.

2-pass shuffles make it harder to track cards during a shuffle. Ideally, you want a one-pass shuffle to cut down on the randomness of the shoe.

One more point worth making is that you can’t shuffle track with a continuous shuffling machine (CSM). That said, look for hand-shuffled shoes with one-pass shuffles.

Ace Sequencing

Ace sequencing is a different type of card tracking, where you try to remember what cards are on top of the ace in the discard pile. You then make larger bets when you see these cards come out in hopes of being dealt an ace.

Like shuffle tracking, ace sequencing is a difficult pursuit. The best ace trackers can remember up to a dozen card sequences in each shoe, thus greatly improving their chances of catching aces.

If you know that you’re likely to be dealt an ace, you can gain up to a 50% advantage on the house. When you’re dealt an ace, you have a 31% chance of getting a 10-value card and completing a natural blackjack.

But becoming a great ace tracker is hard because there’s not many materials on the matter – unlike with card counting. Additionally, it takes a while to learn how to properly execute this concept.

Ace sequencing begins with watching discard segments so that you can guess what clumps might appear intact after a shuffle. You also want to watch where aces go into the discard tray, so that you have a good idea on when an ace will be dealt in a segment.

Finally, you want to remember 2-3 cards that are placed on top of the ace in the discard try. Dubbed “key cards,” these are what you watch for after the deck is shuffled.

You then increase your bet when you see the key cards and can anticipate an ace being dealt.

But keep in mind that ace sequencing is just like shuffle-tracking in that it doesn’t work when your table has a CSM.

Edge Sorting

Edge sorting is an advantage-play technique that was popularized by poker pro Phil Ivey. Along with his partner Cheung Yin Sun, Ivey won over $20 million collectively from Crockfords and the Borgata.

Lawsuits ensued, and the court sided with both casinos on the matter. But this was only after Ivey’s case was heavily scrutinized by casino security.

That said, it’s theoretically possible for blackjack and other card players to win money with edge sorting.
This technique involves spotting flaws on card backs and using this information to predict card values before they’re revealed.

But you can’t just walk into the casino and expect to find a flawed deck to take advantage of. Instead, you need to know about design flaws in specific manufactured decks and determine where these decks are used.

This is how Cheung was able to help Ivey win millions of dollars. She analyzed a purple Gemaco deck for hours and became good at spotting the design flaws.

These flaws often come in the following form.

  • One side of certain card backs will feature half-diamonds on the edge
  • Other cards may have full diamonds on the edges
  • These flaws are easiest to spot when the flawed side is rotated towards you
  • The goal is to figure out which values have an irregular diamond pattern on the back

Edge sorting works best when cards are rotated 180 degrees because this makes it easier to see the diamond patterns. This is why Ivey specifically requested that cards be rotated 180 degrees under the guise of superstition.

But Ivey is a high-stakes gambler who can make these kinds of requests. The average player doesn’t have this sway and won’t have a chance with edge sorting.

Unless you’re a high-stakes blackjack player, then you can’t gain an advantage through this technique through special requests. Even when you can make these requests, casinos will be on guard due to the fame associated with Ivey’s case.

Do Any of These Advantage-Play Methods Beat Blackjack?

All of the blackjack advantage-play techniques covered above can give you a greater edge than card counting.

You can gain up to a 50% advantage in the case of both shuffle tracking and ace sequencing. Hole carding can also give you a nice edge worth up to 13%.

I can’t find exact figures on what advantage a player can gain with edge sorting. But based on how well Ivey did, I’m assuming that you can earn over a 20% advantage with it.

Compared to all of these techniques, card counting is a much tougher grind. The average skilled card counter only gains a 1% advantage.

This means that you’ll experience almost as many losing sessions as you do winning ones. Because of this, card counters need large bankrolls worth $30,000 or more to survive variance with any degree of certainty.

But the good thing about counting is that it’s easier to pull off than any of the methods I covered above. Furthermore, you can find more blackjack games that are susceptible to card counting.

Contrast this to hole carding, shuffle tracking, ace sequencing, and edge sorting, where you need much more specific conditions to win.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t try these advanced strategies. This is especially the case with hole carding, shuffle tracking, and ace sequencing, which work with great success in the right games.

But be aware that you’ll need to put in more work with these techniques to properly use them.

Conclusion

You’ve likely heard stories of card counters getting kicked out of casinos. In fact, the movie 21 dedicates multiple scenes to the casinos’ pursuit of the MIT Blackjack Team.

The same holds true of any other blackjack advantage-play method you use, whether it be hole carding, shuffle tracking, or edge sorting.

Casinos are private establishments that can refuse service to blackjack players. And if they determine that you’ve gained an advantage in any form, they’ll ask you to leave.

This makes it important to blend in and act like a normal player if you do gain an advantage. If your edge is large enough, you might even consider messing up a few plays just to look like an average recreational player.

Above all, make sure that you have an advantage first. Then you can concentrate on a persona to use to avoid casino detection.

But before you embark on a quest to become a pro, I recommend playing some low-stakes blackjack while you figure the game out.

You can use basic strategy while keeping an eye on the dealer’s hole card, flawed decks, or shuffle-tracking opportunities. This is a nice way to transition from being a regular player to getting an edge on casinos.

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It’s easy to play blackjack – just walk up to a blackjack table and play. You can also play blackjack at any of the online casinos featured on our howtobeatthecasinos.com blog. It’s on the blackjack layout that casino chips for wagering are placed by the players.

It’s easy to play blackjack – just walk up to a blackjack table and play. You can also play blackjack at any of the online casinos featured on our howtobeatthecasinos.com blog. It’s on the blackjack layout that casino chips for wagering are placed by the players. The dealer stands at the back of every gaming table, and deals the cards. Directly in the front of the dealer will be the chips that are in play. If you want to wager, you lay your hard earned money on the table (do not give it directly to the dealer), and the dealer will then exchange your your money for chips. You play with these casino chips, and then convert them back to cash at the cashier, when you have finished playing at the blackjack table.

When the cards have been shuffled and the shoe first begins, the dealer will request a person to cut the deck. A plastic marker card is then positioned about one half to three fourths of the way down, and the deck is then put into the shoe. Before dealing a card, the primary card is “burned” meaning it’s removed, and is then placed in the “hole” (the discard stack). The casino dealer gives each bettor and himself two cards, one in a time, beginning at the dealer’s left side and then going to his right, following the players wagers placed on the layout. All of the cards, except the dealer’s 2nd drawn card, are dealt faceup. The dealer’s faceup card is known as the “upcard.” Once all cards are dealt, the blackjack dealer asks each player from his left to his right if they want further cards to help their hand.

The aim of BlackJack is to really have a hand valued as near to 21 points as you can without exceeding 21. Most cards have point values equivalent with their amounts: An 8 card is worth 8 points etc. Any picture card is worth 10 points. An Ace is is exclusive because it may be worth both 1 point or 11 points – and you can choose whichever value leads your hand to the best total. The added value of all of the players dealt cards is called that player’s “total.” By way of example, an Ace 6 is called a “soft 17” as the Ace is counting as 11, and the 6 makes 17. An Ace with 6 and 9 is called a “hard 16” since the Ace is counting as 1, and 1+6+9 = 16.

A player should also aim to get the best hand. If his first two dealt cards are an Ace and a picture card, this is known as a Blackjack or “natural”, which totals 21. No hand can beat a blackjack, but a dealer blackjack at the same time would push the bet. If the dealer’s first up-card is an Ace, each player will be given the chance to take a side bet called “insurance.” If the insurance wager is taken by a person, he should put out an additional wager equal to one half his original stake. If insurance is taken and the dealer gets a Blackjack, the bet is paid 3 to 2, protecting the player’s original wager.

A players hand is finished either when he has decided to stand, or has drawn a card that makes his (hard) total more than 21. This is called a bust, and the dealer wins in that eventuality. Once all player hands have been completed, the dealer turns over his face-down-card and performs his hand out subject to the house rules. The dealer must stand at 21. He must also hit if his hand totals less than 17. Some casinos make the dealer hit on soft 17, as their chances are improved by doing this in the long term.

Once the results of all hands are known, the dealer pays the winners and takes the bet of the losers. Bets are paid at even money, except when a blackjack is dealt which pays 3 to 2. So, $10 pays $10 for a standard winning hand, or $15 for a blackjack. The dealer then puts all of the card dealt into the discard stack. The whole betting, dealing, and playing procedure repeats until the plastic marker card is encountered, at which point the cards are reshuffled.

Great Blackjack Strategy (Also also referred to as Basic Strategy)
The primary disadvantage of BlackJack to the player is that if both he and the dealer bust, the player still loses his wager. This rule disadvantages the player, but other rules like the ability of the player to split hands and double bets advantage the player. If you can play blackjack well and keep to a calculated strategy, this can be very close to an even-money game. Blackjack is one of the most popular table games in any casino for this reason.

To win money or lose just a little on blackjack, you should learn the best strategy. You must know what you need to do against every potential dealer. This entails determining whether to split cards, strike, stand, or whether to double. As soon as you have mastered basic strategy, you can decide whether or not to invest time to learn counting cards. Counting cards will help you understand if the deck is “favorable” (to the player) or not. A deck that’s “ten-rich” (lots of ten-value cards left) is generally valuable to the player as it raises the odds of being dealt a BlackJack. A 10-rich deck also reinforces your chances of making a good hand, and a 10-rich deck will have the dealer bust more often on a 12 through 16 card score. We love it when the blackjack dealer goes bust – you’ll then get paid!

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Be careful not to hit every hand score. Computer simulations prove that you should always sit on a score of 13 or more when the dealer has a 2 through 6 showing – because the dealer has a good chance of going bust. If the dealer has a 7 or more showing, always hit until you get hard 17 or more.

If you have a 9, 10, or 11 (Ace) score, and the dealer has an 8 or lower, then always double your bet. You’ll get one more card only (which hopefully will be a ten). If you always double on these hand combinations, you’ll do well in the long term. Don’t double on a 9 or 10 though if the dealer also has a 9 or 10 showing – that’s asking for trouble. If you have an Ace (11), you can double and get one card only (although you’d have to split your cards to do so), regardless of what the dealer card is.

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Always split 8’s and Aces. Never split 4’s and 5’s. The average winning hand in blackjack in the long term is 19 points. 4’s and 5’s give you a statistic chance to get 18 or 20 with the next card – so why play dangerously? Other pairs of cards may be split, based on some common sense. For example, splitting a pair of 2’s is better than having a hand of 4 total. 2’s are almost as good as Aces. You might split 3’s against a dealer 7, but doing so against a dealer high card of 8, 9, 10 or Ace would be silly. Always make sure that you’re playing in a way that gives you the best mathematical chance to win. Blackjack games can go either way – and yes, you can win or lose in any session. If you manage to win, then take a break, walk away and cash in your winning chips! DON’T keep going, because statistically you’ll go on to lose money – and that’s not a great outcome!

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Don’t Get Casino Barred
Casinos don’t like card-counting players. Although its not illegal, card counting can seriously dent the casino’s bankroll while they’re trying to produce a profit. If a casino suspects that you are counting cards, they may bar you from entering the casino. Sure signs that you’re counting could include watching a table for some time then jumping in when the deck appears player favourable, or making significant changes to your bet size (say from $10 a hand to suddenly $200 per hand) when the deck is rich in 10’s. Not surprisingly, dealers and pit bosses are also trained to count cards – and they want the casino to win. To prevent getting barred, there are some basic tips you can follow to avoid detection.

Do not appear too serious or in deep thought when playing. And keep good table etiquette – e.g. do not go around telling other players when it’s time to bet high or low, or laugh a lot when they play badly. Put occasional bets out for the dealer on your hand – before long they’ll be rooting for you to win!

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If you suspect the pit boss and / or surveillance are watching you, make the occasional dumb play, acting like your luck is just built on one big hunch. True card counters would never play on a hunch, so by taking this move you’re showing that you’re not a card counter. Alter your bet stakes occasionally, but not too often or too widely. You’ve got plenty of time to play as win – as long as you don’t get barred!

Enjoy blackjack, and don’t forget you can play live dealer blackjack (or computer dealt blackjack – it’s your choice) at most of the reputable online casinos we feature on the howtobeatthecasinos blog.