I occasionally dabbled in this game a mutual friend of ours Paul calls “21.” Not only did Paul call it by the name, but a movie was titled the number starring Kevin Spacey in early 2008 about a handful of Massachussetts Institute of Technology students led by their MIT Professor counting cards on their way to Las Vegas riches. There was definitely more to the story, but I’m not writing about them.
In most versions of the game Blackjack, players are dealt two cards face up with the dealer dealt one card face down and one up for players to see. You’re competing against the dealer to get a higher card count up through the value of 21. If you go over that amount, you bust and automatically lose your wager. Before you are dealt the two cards against the dealer, you have to bet the minimum amount the table requires you to the maximum limit. In some situations, you’re able to split your two cards to double your bet by adding the same amount of your original bet and getting an additional card for each of the two cards you split. This is a bit advanced, but for it’s important to understand for a later story that I heard when Brandon supposedly made more than six times the money he started with.
Face cards are worth 10, the number 10 cards are worth 10 as well with the rest of the cards worth their number value. For example, a 7 of hearts is worth 7. A 6 of clubs plus a Jack of Spades totals 16. A dealer’s hand of a Queen and a King would equal 20 and you would lose your starting bet with the 16 against the dealer’s 20.
After your first two cards are dealt & you know what the dealer has faced up, you are allowed to “hit” or take another card, “stand” which is to stay and not accept any additional cards (good to stand on a 20 for example) or a few other advanced options. The phrase “Hit or Stand” comes from the two most popular options people have after they are dealt the first 2 cards they get in playing the card game.
A starting hand for instance, you may start with a 4 of hearts and a 10 of clubs totaling 14 with the dealer is showing a face card. When the dealer is showing a 10 via a face card or a 10, there’s a high probability s/he has either one of the 4 7’s, one of the 4 8’s, one of the 4 9’s and any one of the 4 10’s, Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces giving the dealer a little short of 60% chance s/he has 17 or better (there are 31 cards out of the 52 possible in the deck which equate are a 7 through an Ace). S/he has a 29% chance (15 cards worth 10 out of the 52 possible cards) of having a 20. So, it would be wise to probably hit and take a chance that you’ll get a 7, 6, 5, 5, 3, 2 or Ace. The ace can be either an 11 or a 1.
If the dealer is showing a 6, 5, 4, 3 or 2, it has what is known as a bust card showing (the 2 being a borderline bust card). It means with the same probability in the aforementioned that the dealer has a 10 under that hand is about 29% and adding the 9’s and 8’s, the dealer has a bad starting hand against whatever you have. You want the dealer to show one of these “bust cards” which give you more of an ability to stand with a bad hand. It also gives you a bit more security in even doing some of the advanced options like “splitting” your first two cards doubling your bet. There’s also an option of “Doubling Down” where you can take one additional and ONLY ONE card with a double of your bet, but again, we can reserve the full explanation of this if we need later.
In the movie 21, the MIT students and Professor were taking advantage of a system called “counting cards.” It’s a strategy when you know you have a probability advantage against the dealer. The principle behind counting cards in blackjack is that a deck of cards with a high proportion of high cards (ten-valued cards and aces) to low cards is good for the player, while the reverse (a deck with a high proportion of low cards to high cards) is good for the dealer. A deck rich in tens and aces improves the player’s odds because blackjacks (which offer a higher payout than other winning hands) become more common, the dealer is more likely to bust a stiff hand, and double-downs are more successful.
A myth casinos propagate is that card counting is illegal. Card counting without an outside device is completely legal. There are no provisions in the rules of blackjack or United States law that prohibit card counting. Despite this, casinos still offer blackjack as a game knowing that a skilled player will have an advantage over the house. Casinos avoid losing money by preventing card counters from playing. In Las Vegas, casinos are allowed to do this because the casino is private property, and the owner can decide who is allowed to enter.
Got it? Good…
