MM: NRS formula and shuffle tracking

[MM]

I just read a post on another site about shuffle tracking. Is this kind of thing covered in BJA3? Also, is it a valid formula, and is it worthwhile for me to spend the next week learning it and studying it.

For those no mid-shoe entry games, I think this would definitely help me if it is valid.

[Don Schlesinger]

> I just read a post on another site about
> shuffle tracking. Is this kind of thing
> covered in BJA3?

No, there is no discussion of ST in BJA3. Others have covered the topic more competently than I could.

> Also, is it a valid
> formula, and is it worthwhile for me to
> spend the next week learning it and studying
> it.

The NRS formula is an advanced concept of shuffle-tracking. Are you already a skilled counter and tracker?

> For those no mid-shoe entry games, I think
> this would definitely help me if it is
> valid.

It is quite valid.

Don

[Bettie]

> For those no mid-shoe entry games, I think
> this would definitely help me if it is
> valid.

It's absolutely valid, but won't help you with "no mid-shoe entry" games as shuffle tracking is not effective for single- or double-deck games.

Bettie

[MM]

> It's absolutely valid, but won't help you
> with "no mid-shoe entry" games as
> shuffle tracking is not effective for
> single- or double-deck games.

> Bettie

Don,
I am a competent counter, but not a competent tracker. I just want to know where to put the cut card. I tried ace location techniques a while back and was able to locate them within say 4 or 5 cards and even hit some blackjacks with big bets out without card counting but gave it up because it goes into scarey territory. If I can shuffle track, I figure I can take less bathroom breaks !!

Bettie,
Nice talking to you on the phone, again. You guys at RGE really go out of your way to help your customers. Here in the midwest, we have no mid-shoe entry signs on our 6 deck games as well.

[Bettie]

> Bettie,
> Nice talking to you on the phone, again. You
> guys at RGE really go out of your way to
> help your customers. Here in the midwest, we
> have no mid-shoe entry signs on our 6 deck
> games as well.

Ouch! I suggest that you first get George C.'s "Shuffle Tracking for Beginners," and use that as a starter text to get into Arnold Snyder's "Shuffle Tracker's Cookbook." Snyder also delves a bit into tracking in "Blackbelt in Blackjack," the third edition of which will be available in November from Cordoza Publishing.

Also, go buy 12 - 18 decks. Number one of the six-deck "shoes" 1 through 312, and use that one to practice cutting to a specific number. You can also use it to practice eyeing how many cards are in the discard tray. Have a friend take a chunk off the front and put it in a discard tray, then guess how many are in there.

On another six-deck "shoe," color the edges of various "slugs." Using different colors, color various sizes - 6 cards, 18, 26, 52 - and then you can place them in various parts of the discards and practice the shuffle to see where they end up.

The last six-deck "shoe" is for you to come up with any other practice technique might be useful for you in your particular local casinos. For more details on practice techniques, get Snyder's book and study!

Thanks for the compliment, btw - it's nice to know that customers respond to our personal touch.

Bettie

[Jake {|:>)]

NRS is valid and worth study after you become familiar with the basics. You don't need the formula to track. For a beginner the best thing to do is cut a favorable slug to about in front of the cut card. Your slug will normally be diluted by 2 in a one pass shuffle and 4 in a 2 pass shuffle. Counting the shoe down to your slug gives you a 'natural approach' to your slug. Also your TC conversion will tend to be conservative since you will be dividing by your playzone size plus the cutoffs. And if you have made an error or the 'playzone' has been dominated or diluted by cards from the 'unknowns', this will often show up in your RC most of the time.

And yes, if your slug is bad cards cut them behind the cut card and use about .8 of the slug count as your starting count for the shoe.

The NRS once you know the basics is necessary to determine how to modify your running count and TC calculation for a given ratio of known/unknown cards in a playzone.

When you want more accuracy then you need the NRS formula to calculate your adjustments for a game.
Just stick the Statman formula (get it from bjmath.com) on a spreadsheet. Calculate it for the game and tracking method you play.

So bottom line you don't need the theory to beat the hell out of a vulnerable game. And the NRS formula will not help you to identify these games.

Good tracks
{|:>)
Jake

[Don Schlesinger]

Thanks, Jake, for much more clarification than I would have been able to give.

Don