Is it possible to successfully card count a Spanish 21 game?
What count system would one use?
I was going to open a new thread, but since this is here I might as well ask.
Is there much point side-counting aces in 8D H17 SP21/Pontoon? The EoR of aces is much lower than S17 and I'm thinking that it's probably just not worth the effort.
I was formulating a balanced level 2 count with ASC as follows (2-K):
1 1 2 2 1 0 0 1 2 2 2
Or would an ace reckoned level 2 be more efficient? And if so, what tags would I change to balance the count?
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't using a level 2 or 3 count with side counts reduce variance significantly? You're saying that it has demonic variance, but then recommend a system that has significantly worse variance than other counts that are better suited to SP21.
An Ace Reckoned Count cannot be efficient.Originally Posted by Bushie;238701
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While the Ace needs to be side-counted as +/- 5 in a
S 17 game, +/-3 suffices nicely in a H17 game.
As you can guess from above, Aces are crucial in Spanish21.
The closest that one can get for an Ace Reckoned H17
game is ... 1 2 3 3 0 0 -2 -3
Yes, that is a Level 3 Count but it is somewhat weak.
If you must ... use a Level 2 Count ... 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 0 -1 -2 -2
Note: that a Level 2 Count is decidedly weak and ill-advised.
Side Counted Aces are very important in Spanish21 ...
far more so than it is in blackjack.
Note: the E.O.R. for 8's in Spanish21 is not zero. It is higher than the 9!
We do not tag it as doing so would reduce P.E. since it acts as a low card.
Spanish21 is a very complex game compared to blackjack and simplifying it is
a very poor idea.
Last edited by ZenMaster_Flash; 01-10-2018 at 05:38 AM.
In the Atlantic City vicinity, where the Spanish 21 dealer stands on a soft 17, the house edge is lower than that in blackjack (even S17 blackjack games), the dealer errors are higher than what is found in blackjack, the comp rate (per a given average bet for a given amount of time) is higher than blackjack....
While I am not a full-time AP, when I do count cards, it is now exclusively in Spanish 21, as opposed to blackjack. I use a pretty complicated count, that includes a level 3 ace side-count, which was simulated to my satisfaction. It includes lots of index numbers that differ based on how many cards I have, and 6-7-8 draws. There are stronger counts available as well (which I wish I knew). The game is more complicated, and takes more time to practice and learn.
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