Learning the plus minus system as demonstrated in this video is the second of three important things you must do in order to beat cards.
1. You must know basic strategy
2. You need to know how to count cards
3. You need to know how to deviate your play and you bet when the count is right.
Hi,
I’ve seen alot of people discuss the Hi Lo system for BJ. 2-6 = +1 7-9=0 10-A=-1 But
Personally I would like to see more about the 10 count by Edward O Thorpe’s Original Beat The Dealer Book. I found an upgrade of Edwards 10 count that looks promising. where 2-9=+1, All Face Cards excluding the A’s =-2 and Aces are side counted so you have better accuracy at predicting BJ and Insurance.
Check it out please. I would like to know what you have to say about this system compared to the Hi Lo system High-Low Card Count Shattered
Thanks
SBS, thanks for your question.
I personally don’t know anyone who has ever used the revised 10 count, nor anyone who has used the 10 count, since good single deck games disappeared 40 years ago. That’s why the Hi-Lo count was created… you need a count that keeps the count relative to the number of decks. And the bottom line is that 7,8, and 9 do not have the same dangerous effect on the dealer making their hand that 2-6 have. That’s why there is no current count being used that treats 8 or 9 as the same as 2-6.
The guy on that video seems like a tool. We’ve won plenty with Hi-Lo, as did every other successful team that I know of in the past 20 years. If one iteration of the MIT team went bankrupt, I know many others that made plenty of money (people don’t know that there were several “MIT” teams over the course of 20 years).
Anyway, we’ve had great success with Hi-Lo. His system works, but is not very effective at games with multiple decks, making it not very versitile. Which is why we use Hi-Lo.
Eveyone’s got a system… the question is, will it work.
Ok. So I did a little more research, and the count shown in that video, JSTATII, IS decent. What it lacks in value from lumping 2-6 with 7-9, it tries to make up for with keeping the side count of Aces. So, as I suspected, it’s probably more effective as a Single or Double Deck count. But his claims that Hi-Lo isn’t effective are complete BS (and I don’t mean basic strategy).
I don’t recommend using complex counts, unless you think you’ll only play single or double deck. And that’s a pretty limiting way of approaching blackjack.
I heard of a ten count. it says that nontens get +1 and tens get -2 with a side count of aces. can you tell me what you think
Marko,
Read my comment above.
sorry the page didn’t load at the time and i didn’t see it
ive never played bj b4 until i arrived in egypt and got hooked after watching ur guys videos and i plan on taking it far. im learning fast but i ran into a problem. theirs 2 kinds of casinos one w/auto shufflers and hand dealt. the auto ones deal until they have about a deck and put it right back in so only thing i use is BS. the hand dealers burn 3 cards and then after ur done they burn last themselfs. what advice do have for counting? how does this affect my game? thx.
Isaac,
The Card Shuffler is called a CSM (continuous shuffling machine). It makes the cards completely random and makes it impossible to count. Sorry. Complain to the casino and take yourself elsewhere.
thx admin. but what about the 3card burn at the start of each hand and after all the players are done hitting the dealer takes a card(instead of having it already) when the dearler does the shuffling? how does this affect my counting and or BS?
A 3 card burn is manageable. You have to consider any burned cards at the beginning of the shoe to be equivalent to any cards behind the cut card. Three cards will not effect your advantage too much unless the dealer is already cutting 1.5 to 2 decks off the back.
Thx again admin. The dealer is cutting 1.5 to 2 decks off the back. Do think i should even play bj at the casinos i explained? I guess im screwed untill i get back to the states next year.
Depending on the rules, 1.5 to 2 decks getting cut off is fine.
I don’t fully understand it, if the count is 0+ your change on getting T+ is higher but the Dealer has the Same chance on getting T+
what is my advantage?
And what about online Blackjack?
How does online BlackJack works?
With a positive count, you and the dealer have the same chance of getting tens and aces, however, when the dealer gets a blackjack, you lose 1 bet. When YOU get a blackjack, you get paid 3:2, or 1.5 bets. So you get more for a blackjack than the dealer gets.
Also, with a high count, the dealer will bust more often when they are showing a bust card (2-6).
Sorry, but we don’t deal with online blackjack.
Hi,
I know you said you dont deal with online blackjack but isnt it the same principle? also, once you keep a running count for every single card that comes out of the shoe and you continue that count, how often should you calculate the true count? After every hand? when a full deck has been played? Thanks guys
I can’t really give any advice for online blackjack. As far as we know, there are no regularly beatable online blackjack games.
We know a hell of a lot of professional gamblers, none of which make money playing online blackjack. But if you want to pioneer it, go for it and let us know how it goes.
Ok, I get Basic strategy and counting cards is important . But once we know the running count, what the heck do we do? What does it mean ? What actions do we take for the running count ? For example if its a -2 do we not hit ? or +1 do we hit ? I guess thats where the Basic Strategy comes to play ? Sorry for Rambiling just found the website today and want to learn your strategies so I can be a success in the casino! Im printing the charts and studying them.
Los,
Have you watched all the videos? It should all make sense by the end. Basically, the progression is:
1. Perfect Basic Strategy
2. Counting
3. Using Counting (thru converting to the True Count) to bet when you have the advantage
4. Using counting (thru converting to the True Count) to deviation from basic strategy when it’s advantageous to deviate.