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  1. Martingale as Cover

    Over the years, many have tried to resurrect Martingale betting (doubling the bet when you lose a hand). As we all know, Martingale betting fails, in Blackjack or in any endeavor involving betting. So, what if we use Martingale betting as cover? That is, we use Martingale at times when counting cards to try to look like a poor player, in an attempt to assuage the fears of the casino. The ideas vary, but usually involve either using a Martingale when the count is negative and correct betting when
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  2. Won Hands when Hole-Carding

    On card counting forums, the question is often asked “At what count do you win the majority of hands?” The long-known answer is at no count. Even at high counts, you win fewer than half of the hands. You make money because of Blackjacks, doubles, splits, insurance, and betting.

    But, what about hole-card play? With hole-carding, you get a peek at the dealer’s downcard. Surely, you will win far more hands as you have such important information. And it is well-known that the advantages
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  3. Relative difficulty of card counting strategies

    I thought that I’d take a harder look a Blackjack card counting strategy difficulty. The point at which our minds are busiest with counting is just after the dealer has dealt the initial cards, or during the dealing of each player’s second card. At this point, we are counting pairs of cards. We know that many pairs of cards cancel each other, leaving a zero count for the pair, and that this greatly speeds counting as we can ignore that card pair. So, let us start by looking at the count of pairs
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    Strategies
  4. What happens if you are tresspassed, return, and win?

    The question has been asked, if you have been trespassed, that is told to never to enter a casino again, what happens if you do and you make a large win? Can the casino to refuse to pay you? Suppose you put a dollar in a Video Poker machine and hit the jackpot?

    This is a tough question, and varies by location and specifics. But, let us look at it from a practical point of view.

    There exists an old maxim, ostensibly by Thomas Draxis in 1616, that possession is nine points
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    Musings
  5. What should be your initial buy-in at a table?

    It should be no surprise that this is a common question. So, so many variables:

    • Do you have chips from that casino?
    • Are you known at the casino? Known in what manner?
    • Do they allow money (cash) plays and in what circumstances?
    • How big is the casino?
    • What is your “act?”

    First, it needs to made clear that this is not Poker table stakes or a tournament. You can go in your pocket at any time and pull out cash. These days, betting cash is often not allowed. But, you can
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About Blackjack: The Forum

BJTF is an advantage player site based on the principles of comity. That is, civil and considerate behavior for the mutual benefit of all involved. The goal of advantage play is the legal extraction of funds from gaming establishments by gaining a mathematic advantage and developing the skills required to use that advantage. To maximize our success, it is important to understand that we are all on the same side. Personal conflicts simply get in the way of our goals.