? Re counting cards in blackjack

[Not a cat 5651]

I've been working on learning the standard Hi-Lo system and have gotten decent, though a very fast dealer can still make my head spin at times.

Assuming I get that part down, what's the optimal betting strategy?  If you're at a 2 deck table, betting the minimum and switching to max once the count gets to +10 is probably good from a pure mathematics standpoint, but I imagine some pit bosses are going to get very interested.

Any advice on a safe range of wager variance that's not going to draw attention?

[CoTex 1160]

They’re going to smash your hand with a hammer.

[blacklab 11926]

General rule is if count/(number of decks left) >+1 you should raise your bet.

So if the count goes to +4 after the first hand, or is +3 when you are half way through or +1 near the end raise your bet.

Really depends where you are at and what stakes you're playing for the amount of the raise. No one will really care if you go 4x your low bet, start getting closer to 10x your low bet and people may start watching. Also depends on stakes. $5-$50 probably won't matter, $25-$250 will.

I went to Shreveport one time and ranging from $5 to $25 and the pit boss was staring me down. I brought my girlfriend the following week and would kick her under the table to raise her bet and she was going from $5 to $100 and they never even looked at her.

 Louisiana can no longer boot you for counting, you're free to range as big as you want.

Never got any heat in Vegas last year going from $5 to $50.

[immamac 42832]

8 minutes ago, blacklab said:

General rule is if count/(number of decks left) >+1 you should raise your bet.

So if the count goes to +4 after the first hand, or is +3 when you are half way through or +1 near the end raise your bet.

Really depends where you are at and what stakes you're playing for the amount of the raise. No one will really care if you go 4x your low bet, start getting closer to 10x your low bet and people may start watching. Also depends on stakes. $5-$50 probably won't matter, $25-$250 will.

I went to Shreveport one time and ranging from $5 to $25 and the pit boss was staring me down. I brought my girlfriend the following week and would kick her under the table to raise her bet and she was going from $5 to $100 and they never even looked at her.

 Louisiana can no longer boot you for counting, you're free to range as big as you want.

Never got any heat in Vegas last year going from $5 to $50.

You think this is because they don't really care if someone isn't in there all the time doing this for income and maybe just popping in and showing off a little bit getting up a few grand and everyone else donking away. It's basically within the variance that's tolerable for them vs someone making big bets and taken them for 100k+? 

[blacklab 11926]

Yes, from pit bosses I've talked to as long as others at the table are losing more than the counter is winning they don't really care too much. When they are winning more than the table is losing and it's into the thousands then they really start to care.

If you haven't already you should watch this

https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Edge-Professional-Blackjack-Adventure/dp/B07QMS68TC

[Not a cat 5651]

34 minutes ago, blacklab said:

 

 Louisiana can no longer boot you for counting, you're free to range as big as you want.

Never got any heat in Vegas last year going from $5 to $50.

I did not know that about Louisiana.  I recall reading that Atlantic city passed something similar decades ago and counters ate them alive until the NJ commission changed it.

Have Louisiana casinos reacted by going 6-5 payout or otherwise stacking odds further against the players?

 

[blacklab 11926]

I don't know, haven't been there in years. 

[BillyGoatHill 4312]

1 hour ago, blacklab said:

Yes, from pit bosses I've talked to as long as others at the table are losing more than the counter is winning they don't really care too much. When they are winning more than the table is losing and it's into the thousands then they really start to care.

If you haven't already you should watch this

https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Edge-Professional-Blackjack-Adventure/dp/B07QMS68TC

Watched that the other night.

Pretty well done and insightful. While he came out ahead at the end of the year, what a grind.

[KaiserSoze 998]

3 hours ago, blacklab said:

If you haven't already you should watch this

https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Edge-Professional-Blackjack-Adventure/dp/B07QMS68TC

I don't go to casinos much anymore but was joining some friends in Lake Charles last month for a golf & gambling weekend at the Horseshoe so ahead of that I ended up watching that Blackjack Adventure documentary.

It was a fun and educational watch- I'd kinda always wondered about how casinos handled card counters and learning that there's a whole cottage industry for identifying and tracking them was new to me.

Edited June 15 by KaiserSoze

[MagicSoccerSpray 1732]

10 hours ago, blacklab said:

Louisiana can no longer boot you for counting,

 

Seriously? When did this start? Expand please? Thanks

[blacklab 11926]

2018

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/new-law-aimed-to-protect-skilled-card-players-but-whos-enforcing-it/article_210ec118-ece8-11e8-b728-934b308424f5.html

I do have one person I know who moved to shreveport and makes a decent living, but from the article it doesn't look like the law is really enforced.

In the late 90's I went up there about once a month. Probably only been back about 5 times in the last 25 years

[Not a cat 5651]

If we can't trust Louisiana law officers to enforce the law as written against a local big business that brings millions into the community, then what has this world come to?

[closetohumping 17431]

Frowned upon fyi

[CoTex 1160]

How good can the odds get if you're an excellent counter?  Can you tilt the table in favor of the player or just get to even?

[Classic Rock 272]

It’s not illegal. It’s frowned upon. Like masturbating on an airplane.

[blacklab 11926]

3 hours ago, CoTex said:

How good can the odds get if you're an excellent counter?  Can you tilt the table in favor of the player or just get to even?

You can get a 5-10% edge when counting and changing your bets. 

Watch the video above, even with a 10% edge the variance can be a bitch

[Beer Drinker 615]

The tables I have sat at in Louisiana (Nugget and L'Auberge) had 6 deck shoes with an auto shuffle machine. Where are 2 deck tables?

[MagicSoccerSpray 1732]

17 hours ago, Beer Drinker said:

The tables I have sat at in Louisiana (Nugget and L'Auberge) had 6 deck shoes with an auto shuffle machine. Where are 2 deck tables?

 

I was in Lake Charles last month and the GN had 2-deck tables paying 3:2. You just have to look/ask for them. They were $25/hand.