As an ex-card counter then blackjack was my first avenue into the road of professional gambling. In fact anyone who knows my history also knows that this was my passion and love long before I turned pro at online poker in 2002. Many people have asked me down the years why I placed so much faith in the simple hi-lo counting system that I talked about in my book Princes of Darkness: The World of High stakes Blackjack. Well the answer is simple and it is to do with simplicity.
Now of course the more powerful counting systems afford you a better immediate edge. What I am talking about here are live casinos and not online ones of course where card counting isn’t possible. So just why did we use the simple hi-lo in my first and second blackjack teams? Well I have always found that the simplicity of the hi-lo counting system makes counting for long sessions easier to accomplish. This means that you can squeeze in longer playing sessions and increased longevity increases the weekly profit margin.
Using a simple card counting system also means that it is easier to interact with casino personnel and that is imperative for longevity also. There is little point in being detected by casino staff and then being prevented from playing blackjack. I have known many good technical counters down the years and nearly all of them busted out for one reason or another. As a rule then it was to do to the fact that they didn’t possess the other skills that were relevant to making money in blackjack.
These are good game selection, getting substantial amounts across the table undetected, disguising true wins and camouflage techniques to disguise your skill which you can also learn from online poker sites like Judi Bola Online. These are the true measures of a blackjack player or a team. So in my experience then the simple hi-lo count is the optimal card counting system from a standpoint of practicality. If you like playing online blackjack then Blackjack Surrender would definitely be of interest to you. Blackjack Surrender is a variant of the basic game of Blackjack and it can be played online for free or for real money. It is easy to play and quick and easy to download. This ‘game-with-a-twist’ is ideal for those who play online slots and casino games regularly as it keeps things interesting.
The subtle difference in Blackjack Surrender is you are allowed to fold your hand at half the price of your original bet. Imagine you had just placed a bet of $10 on a hand of Blackjack and you were dealt 16 with a dealer up card of ten, you may decide to Surrender, in which case you will lose $5 but will have $5 returned to your account and the hand does not go on any further.
To give yourself the maximum opportunity to profit you need to understand basic Blackjack strategy and rules and also when the best times to surrender actually are. Here are some tips on when it is better to surrender. The most obvious time to surrender is just like the example previously given. If you are dealt 16 and the dealer has a high card then it is a profitable surrender. If you have 5, 6, 7 or 8 you should continue to play and surrendering shouldn’t even be contemplated.
There are some other rules in Blackjack Surrender that you should be aware of: players are only allowed to split their hands once, only one card is drawn to split aces, players can double down after splitting their hand, the dealer must check for blackjack with an ace or ten showing and players who receive seven cards without going bust will automatically win the hand unless the dealer hits blackjack.
