Playing deviations are times that you deviate from Basic Strategy based on the count. Learn about them in this video.
Playing Deviations
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Section 6 - Beating Blackjack: Deviations
Video Categories
- Video Categories
- Section 1 – Card Counting Concepts
- Section 2 – Understand the Game
- Section 3 – The Importance of Rules
- Section 4 – Beating Blackjack: Basic Stategy
- Section 5 – Beating Blackjack: Card Counting
- Section 6 – Beating Blackjack: Deviations
- Section 7A – Beyond the Basics
- Section 7B – Beyond the Basics – General
- Section 8A – Advanced Blackjack – Cover and Team Play
- Section 8B – Advanced Blackjack Play – Casino Relations
- Section 9 – Advanced Blackjack – Beating the Game
im confused about what the numbers on the chart actually mean?
Those numbers indicate the true count at which you’ll deviate from basic strategy.
For example: If you have a 16 v. 9, basic strategy says to hit. However, if you have a true 3 or higher, you’re better off STANDING against the dealer’s 9.
There’s great discussion about this on the Member Forum.
Hope that helps!
so the betting deviaton’s are only availeble for premium members?
that would’t suck because you told me it would’t be 100% free.
i want them betting deviations!
So basically deviation works like a warning..for example. If I have a hand of hard 15 10+5 , and the dealer a 8 Basic ST would tell me to hit, but if I played the hand with a deviation(which is like a warning that my probability of getting a 10 or face card are pretty high… i actually played that hand with myself after viewing this vid i stood against the dealers 8 he flipped another eight for total of 16 then busted with a face card. Am I viewing this correctly?
No, Alain.
They’re right here.
We would never lie to you like that!
Yeah, that’s sort of the idea. But you would actually always hit 15 against an 8.
You have to think of it in terms of EV: If you play hundreds of hours, with a 16 against a dealer’s 10, when the count is negative, you will lose less money by hitting. But when the count is positive, you will lose less money by standing a 16 against a dealer’s 10. Sometimes you’ll lose by following deviations, but you will make more money in the long haul by using playing deviations.
ok i keep losing money and i have BS, counting cards, and 15 deviations memorized. i tried playing the dollar table that had over under for 13 with 25 dollars and lost it all in 5min. the true count has been 3 4 5 many of times during these plays and i cant win. if you any advice to help it would be very appreciated thank you.
my truee counts are 3 4 5 very good positives and i try wonging in and staying until it gets negative and i cant win even on the dollar tables with anover under 13
Dre,
There are 3 reasons why you might be losing:
1. You’re making mistakes (counting, playing, betting)
2. Your bet spread isn’t big enough. Typically, you need at least a 1-6 bet spread, sometimes larger, to beat the house.
3. The game has lots of variance. You can’t expect to win every time you go to the casino. Every card counter has had vicious losing streaks. But a good card counter WILL win much more money than they lose over time.
Hope that helps! Hang in there, keep working on perfecting your skills, and give it time.
hey colin thanks for the reply.
whats a 1-6 bet spread?
Also i only play about 6 to 10 hands per shoe waiting for a true count of atleast +1 do you know why this might be and how i can make more money in a shorter amount of time? Thank you!
A 1-6 bet spread means your top bet is at least 6 times your minimum bet. So it could look like $5 at true 0, $10 at true 1, $15 at 2, $20 @3, $25@4, $30 @ true 5 and above.
Approximately 30% of the hands you watch will be above a true 1. That’s the nature of the game. It’s not a get rich quick. It’s more of a get rich slowly and patiently. (=
ok thank you for all the advice it is helping my play a lot. i am very glad i ran into this site first. also one reason i might have been losing on the $1 table is because my true count was off b/c it was an 8 deck, not a 6, and i didnt even think of asking until i saw this site, so thanks again.
If I went to a casino with $500 as my bankroll what is the best betting strategy I should use based on the true count, what should be my bet unit be to optimize my total winnings?
Tom,
There isn’t a black and white answer to that. The rules, penetration, risk tolerance, etc all effect your betting strategy. I’d probably use a $5 unit and avoid all negative counts to optimize winnings. Even better would be to only wong in. You have to be patient and do more standing and watching than playing, but that would optimize your EV.
Hi Colin,
I have a couple of questions. I have basic strategy and the illustrious 18 and fabulous 4 memorized from another site (I won’t mention it here but if you want it I will tell you). Then I look at your deviation charts and they are different in 2 respects. 1. Some of your deviations are in different situations than the ones I know and 2. Some of the numbers in the same situation are different (like I have memorized that you DD on a ten against a ten if true count is above 7.5). Is the reason for (1) because there are like 100 some total deviations and the 22 I know or the 21 you give result in the same net advantage and so it doesn’t really matter which you use? And does the reason for (2) have to do with a different rules or decks, or is one deviation chart just wrong? Thanks
Greg,
The main reason for different numbers of deviations is kind of preference on how many you want to learn, relative to the value of each deviation. Some deviations add lots of value (because of frequency or the value they add each time they appear), others are relatively worthless (because they hardly ever occur, and when they DO pop up, they don’t add much value). We went with the 20-21 we thought were the most valuable. The difference between ours our the I18+Fab4 is VERY nominal. Ours are the ones we required players for our team to memorize and implement.
2. There are a couple reasons for the difference in the actual deviation numbers:
– Most of them are not integers. For example, on 6 deck, you should buy insurance at a true 3.2. Well, that’s annoying, so most everyone rounds deviations to the nearest integer. But if the deviation point is something like 3.5, some people will say to deviate at a true 3, others at a true 4.
– Deviations are generated based on certain rules. Someone might assume Re-splitting of Aces and 1.0 pen. Someone else is assuming No RSA and 2.0 penetration.
– Some people use “Risk-Averse Indices.” These change the “actual” deviation point to take into account the risk/reward in the short-run. For example, I know some players NEVER double 10 vs a 10, because it’s risky in the short-run, relative to the added EV. That’s probably why the other site said 7.5.
Hope that helps! I’m sure 90% of the deviations are the same between ours and theirs, and the EV difference between the 2 deviation strategies is probably pretty small.