When I was in Reno a couple weeks ago tested myself to hold the table for a minute after I did it I could feel that I was in control of the game cause the dealer attitude changed when she knew I couldn’t be rushed into a decision. That was a great tip always like coming back to these videos to rewatch lol loving the apprenticeship as well !!
Biggest mistake I kept making was counting a 9 for a 6 but thanks to you colin I figured it out!! Life saver!!! Thank you very much for this great video!
I know. Just doing it for a few seconds makes me feel uncomfortable. I'll move my hand to "The Thinker" position like I'm thinking about taking a hit or not but I'm using the time to get the count straight in my head, add up my cards and remember what basic strategy applies. A full minute? I would explode.
i guess im asking the wrong place but does anybody know of a trick to log back into an instagram account? I was dumb lost the password. I love any tips you can give me!
I had my first casino experience after a semester of practice with a team, and I feel like I've been enlightened! I want to play so much more now that I've seen first hand how simple it is to make money after mastering this skill. We all watch your videos for guidance on certain topics. Thank you for all of the helpful advice! I'm very excited to make my second trip to the casinos!
Would you think its advantageous to leave a table if your in a losing streak or stay and wait for it to change? Personally I find that if its going bad its best to get away and find a better table @@Blackjackapprenticeship
I tried to teach myself by reading a lot of articles online. These videos are a great reinforcement of everything I've learned and much easier to absorb information through. Thank you!
Reading and watching videos is only the beginning, it simply lays out the theory, the real learning comes from practice and experience,; you need to actually break out a deck of cards, multiple decks of cards and practice, practice, practice. Trainer games and software are decent tools, but in my opinion, nothing substitutes for the real thing; if you want to be able to do it in the casino, you need to be able to do it at home first. Card counting is a skill, and like any other skill, you only get better at it by doing it, by practicing. To use a piano metaphor, knowing it your head isn't enough, you need to be able to play it with your hands, and yes, I'm talking about card counting, you need to know it in your actions, not only in your head, and the only way to do this is with endless practice.
Great commentary on true 1s. CV data shows positive EV at +4 running s17 or H17. I've taken advantage of that but it definitely adds volatility to table action that can (and has) hurt bankroll particularly if you're stuck at 1 and losing hands. Ask me how I know.☺
@@bruce4139 I would guess six. but I once heard Colin say true one may be too low to increase bet, meaning it's an okay place to play, but you may need beyond a running six and more like a true 1.5 in a six deck shoe game to really size up that bet.
This course is probably the best around and Colin has the credentials to teach. Yes times have changed but there’s ways and means. It’s not an easy buck! It takes hard work and an iron constitution to survive the swings and heat. I needed expert advice! Can’t wait for his book! I will join Colin after I practice much more as there’s so much to learn and a step by step education is necessary, especially at my advancing age. “I didn’t know how much I didn’t know” until I started to learn from this site. This is so true for so many things, but especially gambling, betting, casinos and thier games and attempting to make a living from it. Well done Colin.
Meh, it's not by much. Giving the dealer a white chip after a blackjack doesn't hurt my profits too badly. Especially since I only play if the true count is at least 3.
Hey Colin great video! I feel like I've gotten mixed messages on this question about getting the RC...Should I start counting from when first base gets their 2nd up-card, or should I wait until the whole table is dealt and cross-cancel? I don't want to be doing it the wrong way the whole time and reinforce bad counting habits. Thanks.
DO NOT wait until the whole table is dealt. You will be behind. DO NOT cross cancel. Cancel an individual hand if it's a high card and a low card. Those are both TERRIBLE habits. Count as the second up-card is being dealt. Get FAST at doing that so you can keep up with the table and not be behind by the time the first player is hitting.
Hi opt II, WAS GOOD FOR SINGLE AND DOUBLE DECKS! It's basic strategy table was all true count numbers. Virtuly, impossible to remember. What's interesting is that after trying to use hi opt II for years it was super easy to switch to hi lo. Also, after you learn the 18 deviations you'll come to realize those match up with the hi opt II table basic strategy table numbers. So, hi lo is so much easier! Oh yeah, I started making money when I switched!
I use Hi - Lo but tend to revert back to just Basic Strategy and do pretty well but I know once I master Card Counting will be more profitable in the long run
to be clear, perfect play involves (1) perfect basic strategy, (2) perfect card counting, and (3) perfect betting and playing deviations. Anything less than total perfection of those three elements of advantage play blackjack is still a losing game.
Yes, I understand but using Basic Strategy sort of levels the playing field. I am still learning Card Counting as it is not easy and eventually when I become good at it. I will learn the deviations as well in Time. Truth is it is Not difficult I just haven't put forth the time in order to move forward as a Card Counter @@blackjackapprenticeshipgus6559
Even when you're counting cards you still play basic strategy about 80% of the time. In fact, there are very few times you actually deviate from playing basic strategy, the real advantage of card counting comes from the betting variation, not deviating from BS, so while learning it is definitely a good thing, it won't necessarily make you a lot more money.
Question: I split 9s the other day vs the dealers 6. I got some sighs from the other 2 guys at the table lol! Got 17,and 19, dealer ended up busting. I'm an aggressive player and would probably do it more if I played heads up. Good idea or bad? (6 deck shoe)
Yeah, fuck those other guys. They’re sitting there playing a game with a 2% disadvantage sighing at someone playing the exact same game but with a 0.5% disadvantage (unless you was counting, then even better), so fuck em.
so you meant i must bet more high if i count + and bet turn to minimun bet when i count - is that correct? but thanks for your video i enjoy it soomuch
I'm gonna be learning KO blackjack along with the "Color Of Blackjack" material. I'm also using/memorizing the 6-card basic strategy from Kenneth R Smith
I know this video is three years old for this comment but just been watching all your videos I’m surprised you haven’t talked about the card on the bottom being a card counter as in knowing if that card on the bottom is tiny because knowing this helps much
In my experience, the more advanced counts force you to learn double digit indices. With Hi-Lo, almost all of the relevant indices are single digit numbers.
Just learning, so IDK... but, realistically, how long have you paused the table? The more hands a casino deals, the more money it makes, so I'm assuming a minute long pause, among others, is gonna want them to ask you to leave. Whether they think you're counting or not.
Good stuff. One other thing I see amateurs do all the time: they deviate. There is no feeling here. There is no "range of hands" to consider. This is a formula - just "if/then" statements. A true pro ALWAYS adheres to the formula.
I know you said losing the count or not knowing it is bad news. When starting. Do I just look for table close to starting a new deck? How do I know the count when most tables already started a deck or are a couple decks in?
You start counting when you get to the table, he means if you lose track of the count after starting to keep track of it its bad news. All you do is sit down start counting, figure out how many decks are left in the shoe and DONT LOSE COUNT FROM THERE.
I love your videos and I've always wanted to learn. Mind you, I was a dealer, a floorperson, and a player living a few miles away from Atlantic City. I have basic strategy down pat, but I was lacking the card counting part. I'm learning a tremendous amount of stuff from your videos, but will watch them all thoroughly to gain even more knowledge. So far, I haven't seen you touch any subject in toking (tipping) the dealer. By toking, the dealer is on your side and they are less apt to report you to the floorperson or pitboss. I like to hear your take on it.
tipping typically does not buy you more time at the table. hardly ever does a backoff come because a dealer reported you. pit bosses and/or the eye in the sky are watching your play and they will allow you to play or back you off for certain reasons, but tipping is not one of them.
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sometimes you want to play through negative bad tables because of this basic strategy puts structured order to cards just like tables that have people who have played for awhile a certain pattern develops so you take what you see & you put a system in play & you can do what i do win everytime beat the casino over & over & over& over again. there you have it! Kevin lewis 119 w. mitchell st. apt. 2 milwaukee wi 53204 call me directly 1(262) 899-2124
Colin, instead of sitting out on the negative count, why not manage my bets for a negative counts? Example: count= -3, bet=$10 count=-2, bet=$20 count=-1, bet=$30 count=0, bet=$40 count=1, bet=$50 and so on.
i was about to say i often see people count on a continuous shuffler, but as i type this i realise it’s probably a good way to practice at a low limit table
Yep I was at the casino one day and found that the dealer was dealing roughly 1 deck on CSM and flashing the burn card every time, it was a $3 table as well
Thanks for all your advice and great videos. I feel like a dummy for not learning how to count earlier before loosing a bunch of money. I'm really exciting to test the new me soon! I'm taking your advice about practicing hard. One thing thats been helpful for me is watch people on RU-vid playing BJ from an actual casino. My biggest concern is focusing on counting cards and forgetting about my hand and basic strategy. Any tips for that?
an age old question amongst card counters. The number of decks used in a game is not the deciding factor on if that game should be played. deck penetration is (probably) the most important factor to consider, so long as you have good rules (double after split, re-split aces, 3:2 payouts on blackjacks, surrender). sorry I can't give you a more simple answer but it's a complex subject.
IF you can keep an accurate count, the number of decks doesn't matter, but if you can't, you want as few decks as possible. I started out playing a 2-deck game where I didn't have to hold the count for too long before the shuffle. And yes, penetration, that's how deep a deck is dealt, is by far the most important factor in the game, the greater the penetration the greater the counter's advantage. The rules variations are of moderate importance, they only change a few fractions of a percent of EV, but I still like to play the games with the best rules if possible.
After all those comments on "sitting out negative counts" I gotta add my 2 cents: Obviously in single or double deck games the count fluctuates greatly. Obviously Colin's comments are targeted on 6 deck games. And when playing 6 deck games all by yourself you can actually sit out negative counts to a certain degree. You should rather set yourself a negative count as a target for wonging out and double check that with a blackjack EV software.
I'm displaying my ignorance with this question but....how can "counting" be successful when there are multiple decks in the shoe? how many decks are in the shoe? How far will the dealer go into the shoe before re-loading it or someone brings another shoe to replace it?
So you count to get the Running Count (RC), then convert it to True Count (TC) by taking RC/decks remaining. You can just ask the dealre how many decks the shoe has likely 6 or 8, then you look at how many decks how already been played (on the left side of the video you can see the discard tray.) so lets say its a 6 deck shoes, 2 decks have already been played, so 4 remain. running count is 12, TC is 12/4=3. Then look at some of his videos on Deck Penetration to answer that last question
Colin, I had heard that a 1000 unit BR is essentially the best. *The reason being is it's almost impossible to lose that number of units.* Of course, playing perfectly, etc.
You don't need that many units. Plus you are being vague. Is it 1000 units of your min bet or your max bet? Because that is a huge difference. But 200 units of your max bet is plenty from my experience. In addition, as your BR plummets from negative variance or God forbid, poor play, you can scale down your bet spread as a way to manage your risk.
Some good advice but if, as you say "your heart rate is pounding" then you're not in control and you shouldn't even be at the table. If you are anxious the most likely reason is that you have no confidence in your money management system.
if you know the count before a hand and you lose the count entirely but you know what it was at, why is that so bad? It's basically like the cards haven't happened yet. This is a game of information, and the previous hand before you played you played without knowing those cards, so playing after that hand is also like not knowing those cards. Knowing the count before you lost it is still valuable.
How about new counters playing with mixed denomination chips? I don't know if you feel this is a mistake, but if you're a new counter, you're most likely a red chipper. I think it's a bad idea to mix green and red chips when it's time to spread more than 3 units. Unless your good at quickly knowing the values and making the right bet, then it can become confusing.
Personally, I'm not scared of negative counts. You're playing the minimum and the most conservative, taking the least risk on those hands, just a couple dollars an hour. The count can turn around after a couple rounds, and one could miss a good situation if they left the table. The times when players lose the most is in high counts, like you mentioned in a previous video. That is when you are taking the most risk, with the biggest bets out on the felt with about 52% chance of winning.
Yes, I have found that I have won most consistently when the count is quite negative. I have lost my shirt, pants and ass when the count is really high. Yes, you can win big when the count is high, but sometimes the 'little wins' along the way in the negative allow you to bet bigger and afford the loss when the count gets high. Let's just say that I've never gone broke by playing through a negative count. I just bet the minimum.
That's fine. But many new card counters skyrocket their RoR and kill their profit margin by playing negative counts. If you have bankroll for it and a big enough bet spread, negatives are ok.
@@guibox3 That's because winning or losing hands is not correlated to the count. You can be max betting into a very negative count at true 3, and not even know it. That's the gamble. Thinking you have the edge, and actually having the edge are entirely different situations. That is why I prefer wonging without a spread. Less risk and more protection from "trick" counts.
I think I'm the worst Gambler ever. Lost more than 6 figures even though played with following basic strategy. But never knew card count strategy. I'll try to learn. I've been addictive and desparate while I lost most.
Ida sat there for 30 mins if you asked. I've always been like that, not many things embarrass me or mess up my head. Especially when it has to do with something for me to gain.
I’ve just got a question about the shoes. How long do u think it will be until all casinos use automatic shuffle? I hope it doesn’t happen but wud love to know ur opinion on this, thanks CJ.
automatic shuffle machines are still beatable. actually they are preferred because it means less time hand shuffling for the dealer. I think you are meaning to ask about CONTINUOUS shufflers. yeah, those are not beatable. check out our video about continuous shuffle machines (CSMs).
Many use Automatic shuffle but it doesn’t matter. All that does is save the dealer time from not having to shuffle the cards. It is the continuous shuffle machines where they continually add the cards back in after a few hands are dealt that you want to avoid, but those are expensive expensive and not many casinos have them.
In negative counts you should be as little as possible, preferably ZERO by walking away from the table, if you want to play, bet the minimum. As for increasing your bets, different systems have different points, but generally the higher the count the greater the player's advantage and they should be accordingly. IF you could get away with it, the ideal way to play would be to bet the smallest amount at zero or negative counts while betting large, without overbetting your bankroll, during positive counts, but doing so would look odd and draw suspicion which is why betting ramps are used.
If my bankroll is small, will betting 5 hands of 50$ instead of 1 hand of 250$ when the count is positive generate me the same ev as one 250$ bet or will my positive count be divided by 5 bets
Well when the count is high you want to pile on as much money on the table as you can (Not overbetting, ill explain), in the next 15 hands lets say how much money would you have put on the table with each strategy? $250 * 15 hands = $3,750 whereas, $50 * 15 hands = $750 you can also think of this as you are underbetting each of the 5 hands. Lets say you are playing a 1-12 betspread, the TC is 3, and you are using $20 bets, at TC 3 you will want to bet 3 * 2 * 20 = $120 if you split that $120 on 4 spots, you are only betting $30/spot. So if you want to play multiple spots you should bet 120/spot
Hi I was playing your basic strategy drill and my chandwas soft 15 and the dealers was 10 . So is thought it had to go against my intuition and surrender. But apperently i had to hit. So surrendder is not applicable for soft totals ?
Soft hands have a second chance. They are basically better than any hard hand in the teens. You would surrender a hard 15 against a 10 because a hard 15 is a really bad hand, and a dealer 10 is good for the dealer.
ANYBODY HERE SEEN --THE CINCINNATI KID? " you are good kid, you are good. but as long as i am around you are second best." the best laid plans can go wrong.
If the count has gone negative and you make an excuse to leave the table.......if you come back later, you will have missed a lot of cards to maintain the count. So what do you do? Go find another table?
Anyone have an opinion on statistical betting strats, like bet the min after a win and double after each consecutive loss. I suppose it would only work if min and max bet are wide enough. If you have a win-loss streak like W-W-L-L-L-L-L-W, with bets like 1+1-1-2-4-8-16+32 = 3, so you win back all your losses no matter what you do.
They made a video on that. Progressive betting does not work. You would lose in the long run with any betting strategy. Do not assume that you will hit that win every time. Eventually, you will hit that losing streak that will clear out everything you won because you keep on doubling your losses.
What If I want to go very stealth? I mean, load as much of this into my mind and essentially gamble? I want it to be nearly impossible to tell that i'm counting cards.
Ok when you do have a bad shoe. Will it be favorable to add another hand? I play Blackjack a lot and I had some good days makinng 300 - 800 dollars but had more bad days. And yes it does get frustrating and I tried counting and still failed . Just dk what to do.
could you elaborate more on what you mean by a "bad shoe?" I'm guessing you mean the count indicates player advantage, but you're losing. The answer is you stick to your pre-determined bet spread and keep pushing your bets out there. Doesn't matter if you've lost 10 straight hands or won 10 straight. EV is EV. But it sounds to me like your game may be in need of a tune up. I would suggest staying out of the casino altogether and getting some practice time in.
hitoshura2800 Spanish 21 I think you should play the same way regular black jack. I see a lot them hit at 12 or 13 to again 15 and then they lost. And they said they have more changes to win bc the deck have no ten(10). No ten but still have J,Q,K
It help if you play w another player but don't make it ovious ur w that person peek over their cards and c the dealers and u can make a decision to hit or stand
Hey Jan, there are lots of casinos you can count cards at in the US and Canada. But some countries like France have almost exclusively continuous shuffle machines.
Dude, why do you keep commenting on BJA's channel trying to push your gambling ploy? If your happy with it, just go do it, and quit trying to fish out people who want to learn an actual long term winning system. You still ain't taken me up on my offer to compare spreadsheets of life time wins. I'll go head up with you, or any gambler any day of the week. But it sounds like you have nothing to add or take away from this channel. You should just go make your own and teach your gambling antics to the masses. Advantage play is not your thing.
It also makes double downs more successful, and the dealer will bust more often with a low starting card. It also makes cards more predictable, because a lot of cards are 10 already, so playing deviations _may_ be more effective. I'm not too experienced at card counting, but everything seems to be pointing at the player when the count is high.
@@Blackjackapprenticeship What Im saying is when the count gets good it also gets good for the dealer to hit face cards. You do understand that right. A lot of times the dealer ends up with 2 face cards (20). You bet big and boom dealer gets the hand you were hoping for.
@@JohnSmith-jt3bh True, the dealer will be just as likely to draw 20 or blackjack as you are, however, apart from the extra 1.5 payout we get on blackjacks, this also means the dealer will bust more of his stiff hands, and you will be more likely to win more of your double downs as well. Therein lies the advantage. But remember, even when you have a TC of +7 and have your max bet out, you still only have about a 3% advantage. However, the house has about a 0.5% advantage and look how much they spend on lights, carpeting, furniture, machines, etc. So in the long run, that 3% advantage is huge.
Just a couple of questions Colin/ the Card Counting world if you don't mind me asking :) 1) Is basic strategy more or less effective with a CSM or does it stay the same. I was just wondering as obviously there is no proper running/ true count. 2) The only casino within my city (Birmingham, England) that uses a shoe has an opaque shoe that means I can't see how many decks are left to play. Im sure with good practice I could judge how many decks are put into the shoe but does that mean I just have to work out ther true count as soon as the hand starts to be dealt? Or should I wait and practice at estimating how many decks have been dealt and then go and calculate a true count using that estimation? Thanks for taking your time to read this guys, have a good day ;)
1. You cannot count cards effectively at a CSM: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hpPEq0rnBOo.html 2. You can beat that with practice or with a count like KO (which doesn't demand true count conversion). KO might be your best bet!
If you're afraid to hit when you're supposed to, like on Soft 17, or even Soft 18 vs. 9, let alone hard 16 vs. 10, you shouldn't play blackjack. Making difficult plays on bad hands is simply part of the game, and if you cannot do it you have little chance of winning. For example, hitting hard 16 vs. deal 10 is hard, and it may seem like you bust all the time, but the Basic Strategy says to do it, hit hard 16 vs. 10 because in the long run, on average, you will lose less than if you stand on it. I believe one of the biggest mistakes people make is standing on hard 16 vs. 10, this is a very costly mistake. And as is mentioned, a side count is not necessary, Hi-Lo is fine by itself. Personally, I would go to a level 2 count before I tried keeping a side count.
I used to want to try and play blackjack at a Casino...then I started watching these videos...I don't even understand 1/3 of the words and phrases he uses. haha.
we have tons of free resources on our website. start with those. after you have those down pat, sign up for a membership. you'll then have access to our video course, which has everything you need to know to beat the game. after that, sign up for a bootcamp and get tested out.
Yo, Colin. But if you play primarily SD and DD isn't PE more important? I know you don't care about HIOPT II ASC, but wouldn't it be worth it to use almost any advanced count?
When do you hit A card or when do you pass, when do you split and when do you double if you play hi-lo? I mean 20 you pass but if you got a 12 or a 13 against a Q with real count +2? If i would play hi-lo i assume i would get a high card. So is this where you gamble or is this the moment you stick with the count?
Very valuable info! Also never surrender 16 in a sixdeck. Waste of money! Hit when dealer shows a ten know when to stand when the dealer shows a Facecard. 16 for me is fair game and it doesn't scare me as much as being landed a 14, or a dealer flashing an ace, or splitting aces against a 10, you just play the hand your dealt, NO SURRENDER!
I heard that with a 16 you only have a 23% chance of winning the hand so you're expected to lose less money over time if you surrender that 16. If the 16 is two 8s and you split them you have a 35% chance of winning each hand. If the casino doesn't offer surrender then you should always hit your 2 card 16s. The same author said that if you have 16 with 3 or more cards to stay because you took low value cards from the shoe which slightly increase your odds of pulling a bust card.
@@mrpyro07 with a sixdeck, the standard game in most casinos, you're not only counting cards you're relying on shuffle patterns and variances for a win. After midshoe, a player has better odds of winning if they stand on 16 versus a Facecard, but hitting against a 10, Ive learned it from years of play. You'll either bust the dealer, or the next card that comes out of the shoe would have bust your hand, depending on the count.
mathematicians running computer simulations of millions of hands figured out a long time ago that surrender is a very valuable play in certain specific situations. To not surrender when the correct play is to surrender is giving away EV.
Once you practice long enough outside the casino using chips and implementing all the teachings presented here you will see the EV materialize... this in turn will give you the confidence nessasary to win in real live play. Their is no such thing as luck... however, sometimes you are more fortunate than others because the order of the cards came out in the way it most benefitted you... call it whatever you like... it's your personal preparedness meeting the opportunities as they appear and taking advantage of them...
Yes, luck exists, but if you're counting cards and have a lot of bad luck, you're probably not a very good card counter. Blackjack is a mathematical game, and while there is certainly variance, what people who don't know math/statistics call "luck," at some point, "luck," either way, good or bad, runs out and game regresses to the numbers/mean. Counting cards allows you to play probabilities, reducing luck. A good counter comes out ahead in the long run because of their skill, not great luck.
