But like you said, you've got time to work on that. Your running count needs to be way better too. Perhaps if you being able to accurately divide 10 by 5 in your head is a source of pride for you, you may want to re-evaluate whether math really is your strong suit. As Richard Munchkin of the Blackjack Hall of Fame says at timestamp 30:32 in this video, 'it's just not that hard to divide by 5.' Don't get discouraged, but DO make sure your play is perfect.įirst of all, math doesn't need to be your thing to do True Count conversion properly. Looks up Illustrious 18/Sweet 16 once you're comfortable with everything else.Īnd don't get discouraged when you start playing, even if you start on a loss. While you can win without them, it helps to learn a couple playing deviations. Makes it easier to focus on the count when you can recognize some patterns. Also, with enough playing, you should be able to see cards and know what they add up to without having to add them up (uhh I have 3 and a 5 and I just drew a 7. It's something you want to be able to do comfortably before you go into a casino. Ideally, you don't want to be off by more than one on a 6-deck shoe. To keep a running count: practice, practice, practice. It's not even a huge deal if you use the wrong strategy, but focus on H17 if you have to pick one. S17 are somewhat rare and are usually on higher limits.

You're welcome! Keep practicing and good luck in your game!Ĭouple side notes: most of the games now days are H17.

Pros with large bank rolls often suggest using Half-Kelly (so 0.5% of your bank roll for 1% advantage) to minimize risk, while staying within optimal bankroll growth Of course it's not precise and it gets interesting when you're splitting your bets into two or three hands at a higher count. Obviously, at true 1 or below, you want to bet as little as possible or not at all. Max bet usually caps at about true 4 or true 5, as it's very rare to reach counts above that in shoe games. At a true 5, you'd bet 2% of your bank roll, so $200. At true 3 you have about 1% advantage so you put 1% of your bank roll ($100) on the table.

You gain about 0.5% edge for every true count. So let's say you have a $10,000 bankroll and you're playing a H17 DAS RSA game. In simple blackjack terms, you bet 1% of your bank roll for every 1% advantage you get. You can google it for the formula and a proper explanation. The idea is to bet a fraction of your bank roll, equivalent to your advantage. What I use is something close to Kelly Betting. It's a good question and I'd love to see input from more professional players too.

Blackjack betting deviations