Praying Mantis: Parker, Another Question on UBZ II

[Praying Mantis]

I am about as slow as changing my count as you are publishing your book

That said, I do have another question (continuaton from July) about UBZ2.

You indicated after you switched, you took George C's advice and used IRC 0 for SD and -4 for DD, that way your spreads stayed the same to the pivot.

My question is this...how does that affect your indices with DD. At what number do you deviate the Sweet 16? Having a pivot of 4 for each, does that mess them up? I am making a chart on your indices for SD but need info for DD. What about shoes?

Thanks in advance.

PM

[Parker]

> I am about as slow as changing my count as you are
> publishing your book

Or responding to posts? My apologies for the delay - I meant to respond sooner but for some bizarre reason was unable to find this post.

> That said, I do have another question (continuaton
> from July) about UBZ2.

> You indicated after you switched, you took George C's
> advice and used IRC 0 for SD and -4 for DD, that way
> your spreads stayed the same to the pivot.

> My question is this...how does that affect your
> indices with DD. At what number do you deviate the
> Sweet 16? Having a pivot of 4 for each, does that mess
> them up? I am making a chart on your indices for SD
> but need info for DD. What about shoes?

My original plan was to come up with one set of "compromise" indices that I could use for both SD and DD. However, I was unable to come up with anything that satisfied me - I felt I would be giving up too much EV on one game or the other.

So, I learned one set of indices for SD and a completely separate set for DD. I use about 22 indices for each game, not including the surrender indices. A few of them are the same, but not many.

A friend had provided me with risk-averse SBA-generated indices for most common games, and the numbers I use are based on these. I have a set of flash cards for each game that I use to refresh my memory immediately before playing.

I usually concentrate on one game or the other on a given trip, only switching if I happen to stumble upon an exceptionally juicy game.

Besides, playable single deck games are becoming increasingly difficult to find in Las Vegas due to crowded table conditions and/or heat at the few remaining games. About the only time I concentrate on single deck these days is when I go to Reno.

[Praying Mantis]

> So, I learned one set of indices for SD and a
> completely separate set for DD. I use about 22 indices
> for each game, not including the surrender indices. A
> few of them are the same, but not many.

Do you use UBZII for shoes, as well? I was thinking of using KO for shoe games and UBZII for pitch.

> A friend had provided me with risk-averse
> SBA-generated indices for most common games, and the
> numbers I use are based on these. I have a set of
> flash cards for each game that I use to refresh my
> memory immediately before playing.

> I usually concentrate on one game or the other on a
> given trip, only switching if I happen to stumble upon
> an exceptionally juicy game.

I guess I can't get away with a one-set group of indices for all games like KO?

May as well run SBA and draw them up and go from there.

I really appreciate your help.

PM

[Parker]

> Do you use UBZII for shoes, as well? I was thinking of
> using KO for shoe games and UBZII for pitch.

I use UBZ2 for everything. My brain is incapable of handling more than one counting system at a time. Some people are capable of learning multiple counts and switching effortlessly between them.

I hate those people. :-)

> I guess I can't get away with a one-set group of
> indices for all games like KO?

Sure you can. George C. provides a generic set of indices for 2, 4, 6, and 8 deck shoes in the UBZ2 book.

When I first learned UBZ2, I was playing a lot of single deck games, so I felt that it was worth the effort to learn a set of indices just for single deck.

These days, unless you live in/near the Reno area, playable single deck games are becoming an endangered species. Even though George C. recommends giving the single deck game special treatment, I don't think that you would be giving up a great deal of EV by using the same indices as for multi-deck, since you're not going to be playing single deck very often.

Assuming that you don't move to Reno.

> May as well run SBA and draw them up and go from
> there.

You can generate the indices, sim them, and then sim George C.'s "one size fits all" indices, and then decide if the loss in EV/gain in simplicity is an acceptable trade-off for you.

BTW, George C. indicated in the most recent edition of his book on UBZ2 that he now prefers to call it "UBZ2" rather than "UBZII." I asked him about this once, and he said that he was tired of people asking him about "that unbalanced eleven count of yours." :-)