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How to improve your card counting skills and enhance your
profits of it by Henry Tamburin
by Henry
Tamburin
I received this interesting question from a reader.
"I just started learning and using a card counting system to play
blackjack. Although I'm winning more then losing, I'd like to increase
my profits. What's the best way to go about this?"
One obvious way that a card counter can increase profits is to just bet more
money.
But that is ill advised unless you also increase your bankroll. If you don't
do the latter you will increase your risk of going broke in the short term.
This is the classic "Risk of Ruin" that has in fact ruined many
card counters. Therefore, if you are a solo counter increasing your bet size
without increasing your bankroll is not one of the ways I’d recommend
enhancing profits.
There is a way, however, to increase your bets without any increase in risk.
That’s to get a trusting partner who would be willing to pool his bankroll
with yours and split the profits (or losses). This teamwork effort can be beneficial
to all partners.
The depth of the penetration or the percentage of cards dealt prior to the
shuffle is another important factor that can increase a counter’s profit.
For example, a 6-deck game in which 75% of the cards are dealt before the dealer
reshuffles is much more profitable for a card counter compared to one in which
only 50% of the cards are dealt.
The fact is that the latter example (50%) is not really worth a counter’s
time).
In some casinos, dealers have some leeway in where they place the cut card
and hence the penetration. Therefore, scout around for dealers in a casino to
see which ones are dealing the most cards and that’s the table you should
be playing. You can also subscribe to publications that maintain current databases
of playing rules including penetration for blackjack games across the country.
An example is Blackjack Insider Newsletter that provides reporting on blackjack
playing conditions, including penetration at several casino locations.
Double deck games are often better for counters. Essentially a game with fewer
decks has greater fluctuations in deck compositions allowing the card counter
more opportunity to have a favorable advantage and increase bets. For example,
in a single deck game the counter has the edge nearly 40% of the time, whereas
in an 8-deck game it drops to about 20%.
You can also enhance profits by not staying and betting when the count goes
negative. One way to accomplish this is to back count games then jump in and
play when the count goes positive and leave when the count goes negative. This
way you are only making bets when you have the edge.
Unfortunately, most casinos are sensitive to players who jump in and out of
games because they understand that back counting is a tool used by counters
to enhance profits. Therefore, they will post “No-Mid Shoe Entry”
signs or limit a player to betting only the table minimum when entering a game
in the middle of the shoe. But this is not a universal policy and there are
still plenty of casinos that allow players to enter in the middle of the shoe
and thus back counting can be used carefully to enhance profits.
Another way to enhance profits is to put on a good “act” that will
allow you longevity when you play blackjack. If you get barred from playing
blackjack because of your skills, your profit potential will essentially be
0. Therefore, it’s important you not give yourself away. One of the beauties
of the new simple counting system, Speed Count, which I teach is that behaves
much differently than traditional counting systems with built in camouflage
resulting in Speed Counters being able to play longer (and win more).
Lastly, I’d suggest you do the following. Get yourself a blackjack software
program that will test your card counting skills. I say this because a counter’s
edge is very small and a few errors in keeping the count could easily wipe out
their edge. The program I recommend is Smart Blackjack.
Henry
Tamburin
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