Is card counting at blackjack really effective or is it just propaganda by the casinos to make us lose more?

Question

Is card counting at blackjack really effective or is it just propaganda by the casinos to make us lose more?

Answer 1

It doesn't increase your chance at winning hands, it tells you when you are more likely to win than the dealer is. That way you bet small when the table is "cold" and bet high when the table is "hot". More often than not all your really doing is looking to bid when there are lots of low cards left in the shoe/deck, that way you have a good chance at getting 5 cards without busting. Thing is its still a game of luck, and even when the odds are in your favor you can still lose hands. The only real way to make money off blackjack is to have so much money that you can afford to play through losing streaks. If you have that kind of dough, why bother gambling though?

Answer 2

I will just say that the book by Dr Ed Thorpe called beat the dealer was a wind fall for the casino industry.

Answer 3

It is very effective when done at the peak of its efficiency, especailly when couple with shuffle tracking techniques.

You can gain up to about a 2% edge by playing the best of techniques.  Typically the edge is less probibly around only 1% meaning for every 100 dollar you bet you will win 1 dollar, It doesnt sound like a lot but when you consider that when playing heads up with the dealer it is possible to play 200 hands per hour and you coudl say,  be placing 200 100 dollar best per hour for an expected winning of, 200 dollars per hour, you could take it up a notch and play two hands at the same time also. maybe three if youre feeling particularly bold.

Its worth noting that the average edge is only about 1-2 percent, the highest advantage i have seen was 7.5%

One that makes it difficult is the fact that to make enough money to be worth your while you need to bet large amounts reletive to what other gamblers typically bet, you often stand out liek a sore thumb with 500 dollars in chips in the betting circle and 4000 in winning sitting on the table, when you play you can only play for an hour or two before you risk being shown the door, therefore it is only really feasable in a town liek las vegas or atlantic city where you can hop casino to casino to log enough hours to be worth your while.

The other thing that makes it difficult is somethign known as variance, whiel you hold an edge anythign can happen, and you may incurs a losing streak of say 50 hands before you win it back and go positive.  50 hands multiplied by whatever your bettign is a lot of money that you need ot carrry around and get ahold of in the first place.

To learn more about card coutning visit:

http://www.qfit.com/blackjack.htm

Also feel free to ask me any question reletive o the topic

Answer 4

. IF you do it Exactly right , I think you have a 2% chance to win. So if you gamble $500 every hour, you'll win $10.

NOT an easy way to make a living.