Adjusting play in blackjack with the count

Dear Frank:

Blackjack high count could mean you should stand on 16 or better — low could mean you should hit some on 18?

High count means the dealer is more likely to bust — and you too. Could this mean you should alter your card play as well as your betting?

Got this idea when learning hold'em poker — the constant calculation between what to play and what the pot odds are.

Maybe you could keep a side count on 7s or 5s. Illegal (in the casinos) blackjack computers supposedly give a 5% edge by keeping track of every card and telling you how to adjust your card play, not your betting.

Adjusting your card play might even be enough to beat the casino and would be relatively undetectable. Adjusting your card play could conceivably throw off the casinos about your betting adjustments — making you look less like a counter because you are deviating from perfect strategy.

Card play adjustment counting might even lead to wholly different cards being considered as small (7 and under or 5 and under). Have no ability to do the math at all. Just got the general idea.

Let me know what you think in a hurry or I may get overanxious and spread it around.

Yours truly,
Drew

Dear Drew:

No hitting on 18. High counts do mean you will bust more and so will the dealer, but the dealer is stuck with his playing decisions, the player isn't. Yes, you would stand on 16 versus a 10. There would be other changes in play as well, depending on what the count actually is. Also you get paid 3-to-2 on blackjacks (DO NOT PLAY 6-to-5 blackjack games). You bet higher in high counts; lower in low counts.

Instead of keeping track of 7s or 5s or other individual cards, the easiest way to beat the game is to learn "Speed Count" along with the Optimum Basic Strategy (OBS) that goes along with Speed Count. This is the easiest way to beat the game and get a real mathematical edge. This information can be found in my book Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution!

Your perceptions are on the right track, but it is a track others have laid out more clearly.

For your letter I am giving you a free 30-day subscription to my private, members-only website at www.goldentouchcraps.com. We have over 5,000 members on this site and I think you will enjoy the discussions on our message boards.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete

This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net.