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This is really disturbing. For all of the sleaziness of Vegas, any time I've asked a dealer or pit boss about the house advantage in a particular game, or the c

This is really disturbing. For all of the sleaziness of Vegas, any time I've asked a dealer or pit boss about the house advantage in a particular game, or the correct play for a particular hand, they've told me cheerfully and correctly. They sell strategy cards in all of the gift shops -- and you can have them on the table with you while you are playing. There's no need for them to lie -- they already have the advantage, all they need to do is get you to play long enough to let the odds do their thing.

kxo 12y ago
Except that in the case of live poker, they're getting theirs via the rake. I assume you're talking about blackjack: unless there is a CSM at the table or an absurd 6:5 blackjack payout (you shouldn't be there in either event, period) you can absolutely play to your advantage.
- raverbashing 12y ago
  Well, the basic strategy for Blackjack is still slightly in favour of the house But yeah, you might track cards (good luck doing that with 10 decks though)
  - jacobkg 12y ago
    Most blackjack card counting strategies are no more difficult with a higher number of decks. Instead of counting actual 'cards', one instead keeps a running total of points based on the cards that come out. In fact a higher number of decks can improve one's advantage when counting because when the count turns in your favor it can happen with more of the deck left to come (so a longer period of advantageous play) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_counting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_counting
    - CPLX 12y ago
      This is incorrect, the larger the number of decks, as a general rule, the smaller the advantage of card counting becomes.
      - kxo 12y ago
        If you're counting in a (rare) two-deck game with a full table, time between shuffles is so low that it isn't worth it from a hand/hour standpoint.
        CPLX 12y ago
        That's nonsensical. The EV of an hour would depend far more on the table limit than any other factor. If I could find a table that would let me vary the bet from $1 to $10,000 a hand on a two deck game they could have Parkinson's patients with oven mitts on shuffling with chopsticks for all I care.
loumf 12y ago
They will tell you to insure a blackjack, which is wrong. I believe that's just ignorance though.
learnstats2 12y ago
http://wizardofodds.com/ask-the-wizard/website/ http://wizardofodds.com/ask-the-wizard/website/ "Some casino gift shops sell basic strategy charts the size of a business card. However, these charts have at least one mistake about half the time." A basic strategy depends on the exact rules of the game and these might be small or subtle mistakes, but they are there.

kxo 12y ago

Except that in the case of live poker, they're getting theirs via the rake. I assume you're talking about blackjack: unless there is a CSM at the table or an absurd 6:5 blackjack payout (you shouldn't be there in either event, period) you can absolutely play to your advantage.

raverbashing 12y ago
Well, the basic strategy for Blackjack is still slightly in favour of the house But yeah, you might track cards (good luck doing that with 10 decks though)
- jacobkg 12y ago
  Most blackjack card counting strategies are no more difficult with a higher number of decks. Instead of counting actual 'cards', one instead keeps a running total of points based on the cards that come out. In fact a higher number of decks can improve one's advantage when counting because when the count turns in your favor it can happen with more of the deck left to come (so a longer period of advantageous play) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_counting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_counting
  - CPLX 12y ago
    This is incorrect, the larger the number of decks, as a general rule, the smaller the advantage of card counting becomes.
    - kxo 12y ago
      If you're counting in a (rare) two-deck game with a full table, time between shuffles is so low that it isn't worth it from a hand/hour standpoint.
      - CPLX 12y ago
        That's nonsensical. The EV of an hour would depend far more on the table limit than any other factor. If I could find a table that would let me vary the bet from $1 to $10,000 a hand on a two deck game they could have Parkinson's patients with oven mitts on shuffling with chopsticks for all I care.

loumf 12y ago

They will tell you to insure a blackjack, which is wrong. I believe that's just ignorance though.

learnstats2 12y ago

http://wizardofodds.com/ask-the-wizard/website/ http://wizardofodds.com/ask-the-wizard/website/ "Some casino gift shops sell basic strategy charts the size of a business card. However, these charts have at least one mistake about half the time." A basic strategy depends on the exact rules of the game and these might be small or subtle mistakes, but they are there.