Card Counting Blackjack game

Is card counting worth it?

September 10, 2015 – 01:26 pm

I had no idea that live blackjack online tables feature a “shoe” and not an automatic shuffle machine! I noticed it today when I checked my balance of my (almost forgotten) account at an online bookmaker that advertised their live casino games in their home page. I thought that maybe skillful gamblers can make money by card counting at these games, so I joined and tried my “luck”. The short answer is that card counters may be able to make money in the long run playing live blackjack online, but due to the slow speed of the games and the very bad penetration, they should better look for better investments elsewhere.

At first it was a pleasant surprise to find out that I could once again practice my card counting skills! It has been 10 years since the last time I visited a real casino and counted cards (read some stories about my blackjack career). Fortunately I still remembered the basic strategy and the Hi-Lo counting system, although I seem to have forgotten all the variations according to the true count. Anyway, long story short, I decided to sit down at one of those live blackjack tables, while I would be searching online for other card counters’ opinions related to these games.

It turns out that most of them complain about the speed of the games. True, just 20 hands had been dealt during the hour I spent playing live blackjack online. What is even worse is the fact that the 7-seat tables are usually full, even the ones of high stakes (50 euros minimum!). That really slows the game down.

Another discouraging fact is that players are only allowed to bet on their own hand or spot. At real casinos card counters usually bet the minimum on their hand when the odds are against them and place more bets (bigger as well) on other people’s hands when they have an edge versus the casino. In order to make money at blackjack, we need to increase our betting substantially when the “true count” number is more than two. At live blackjack online tables I wasn’t able to place bets to hands dealt next to me, or open another spot (or “box”).

Source: jimmakos.com

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Back-counting, also known as "wonging", refers to a style of card-counting in casino blackjack. It consists of standing behind a blackjack table that other players are playing on, and counting the cards as they are dealt. The player will enter or "wong in" to the game when the count reaches a point at which the player has an advantage. The...

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