*** OFFICIAL Blackjack Card Counting Thread ***

[GrenadaRoger]

Druff,

This is amazing info! Thank you!

What is the best way to go about learning how many decks, the casinos rules on BJ, and how big their penetration is? Can you tell this all by just watching a few BJ games before sitting down? Like are the rules all layed out easy to see and I guess you estimate the number of decks by seeing how big the stack is.

There is a casino about to open super close to me and I think now is a great time to card count, since they will probably have all inexperienced pitt bosses who won't be able to pick up a card counter.

Also how do you look at an hourly rate or win rate? Seems the avg edge is about 1%, so to make any good money you prob have to be betting $1,000+ when the count goes positive. You still only making $10 profit on those bets in the long term with the 1% edge.

What is the min bankroll you would need to start card counting. I can't be betting $1K a hand.

Rules and decks in play just ask the dealer...the most common game offered around the country for small stakes ($25 minimum and below) is 6 deck Hit a soft 17 with double after split...2nd most is 8 decks with same rules

Another way is to buy a copy of Current Blackjack News at BJ21.com...a single edition of the online version is $15 i think...they list the rules, decks offered for all casinos offering blackjack around the country...they also report "average" penetration (if varies by dealer) and the lowest stakes offered during a week for a game...but usually you will find higher minimums (lowest stakes are ususally weekdays during breakfast hours typcially when hotel guests are checking out---tables are usually not crowded then)

To learn penetration, buy yourself 6 (or 8) decks of cards and place them in a single pack (or shoe) then practice estimating the number of cards behind the cut card (test yourself by actually counting the cards)

Another skill to develop using 6 decks of cards is how many cards are left in the pack (you use that to convert running count to true count, thus determining your bet and playing strategy) Make a discard tray from a shoebox (or you can buy one from Gamblers General Store online)...then make hash marks on the side of the box at 1 deck, 1.5 decks, 2 decks, 2.5 decks (kind of like marks on a measuring cup) so you can learn to estimate how many cards have been played and how many are left in the pack (shoe)

If you get the book, BlackJack Attack by D. Schlessinger, you can get the various betting schedules for various counts, game rules, decks etc along with playing strategy.