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Ask The Wizard #32
I truly appreciate your website. I even took the blackjack statistics from it and created a compact, colorful guide that I carry with me in my briefcase for spontaneous trips to Las Vegas. I consistently memorize your strategies and typically perform well (though I do have moments of loss). I have two questions: you previously mentioned that you don’t limit your winnings. How do you decide when you've won enough? How do you ensure you don't fall back and lose what you've won?
My second question revolves around whether taking multiple hits can influence the game's outcome. For instance, if I have a total of 15 from five cards against a dealer's 10, am I taking a risk by asking for another card? Essentially, do the chances of busting with a five-card total of 15 differ from busting with just two cards totaling 15?
Thank you for your kind words! I'm delighted to assist you in extending your bankroll. When I gamble for enjoyment, I continue playing until it stops being enjoyable, which usually happens after significant losses or extended play. Given the fluctuating nature of blackjack, it can take many sessions before your actual results align with the expected outcomes. Additionally, a player who imposes a strict limit on their winnings may miss out on the thrill of a prolonged winning streak. Remember, this approach works for me, but it’s important that you find what suits you best. In terms of money management, I can summarize my advice with two key principles: (1) never bet money you can't afford to lose, and (2) only gamble if you find it enjoyable.
Addressing your second question, the makeup of your hand certainly matters, and this is more apparent with fewer decks in play. My blackjack appendix 3A and appendix 3B provides insight into exceptions for single- and double-deck blackjack based on hand composition. These sections indicate that the more cards you hold, the more you should consider standing. In the scenario you provided, there are specific instances in single deck blackjack where it’s best to stand with a five-card hand totaling 15, specifically A+A+A+6+6 and A+A+3+5+5. Keep in mind that in both cases, either two fives or two sixes have been removed from the deck, which are crucial cards for the player. When holding multiple cards, the best hands to stand on are 16 against a 10 and 12 against a 3.
I've just discovered your website and I really like it. Do you have a table available for hits and splits for European blackjack? It seems like there should be a solution for situations where the house takes all the doubles and splits in blackjack.
Since you inquired, I’ve included a blackjack strategy for European blackjack on my website. I also talked about this in one of my recent newsletters.
When playing blackjack online, how can you tell if the deck has been shuffled? I often play at Microgaming casinos (which you mention use a single deck), but I’m uncertain if each game starts with a new deck, and there isn’t any indication of when the deck is shuffled.
In most online casinos, shuffling occurs after every hand. Some shuffle at arbitrary intervals but don’t inform players exactly when this happens. I've observed that Microgaming casinos display a 'shuffling' notice approximately once in every four hands.
However, if you track the cards during these announcements, you might notice the same card appearing twice, which shouldn't happen in a single-deck game, assuming their shuffling process is accurate. As far as I know, they genuinely shuffle after each hand, but for unknown reasons, they only sometimes announce it. If my memory serves me right, Cryptologic casinos do indicate when they shuffle within their eight-deck game.
Is there a strategy for combining bets in roulette to enhance one's chances? For instance, a dozen bet has a payout of 2 to 1. If I place bets on the first and second dozen, I have a 63.16% chance of winning something. These odds are better than making simple red/black, even/odd, or high/low bets. While my payout becomes 1 to 1 rather than 2 to 1 (because part of my stake will always lose, since a winning number can't be in both dozens simultaneously), the odds slightly favor me now that I’ve combined my bets. Have these betting combinations been analyzed? If so, can you guide me to where I might find this information?
As long as you avoid the 0-00-1-2-3 combination, the house edge for any set of bets remains consistently at 1/19, or 5.26%. There are indeed ways to improve your winning chances, but you may end up winning less relative to your total bets.
In a six-deck setup, what is the probability that a blackjack (an ace or a ten) will occur?
Let n represent the number of decks. The likelihood of drawing a blackjack can be calculated as 2*(4/13)*(4n/(52*n-1)). For n=6, this results in a probability of 192/4043, which is approximately 4.75%.
I enjoy your website more than any other gambling platform. I'm curious about how random your Java-based baccarat game is. I've spent many hours playing it and have developed a strategy that consistently yields positive results. Yet, I hesitate to try this strategy in a casino setting because I'm uncertain about the randomness of your game. My approach involves starting with a $5 bet on Banker and increasing my bet by one unit after each loss while decreasing it by one unit after each win. I've had a maximum loss of around $300, but I often reach winnings of between $1,100 and $1,500 within roughly 200 hands. What are your thoughts on this?
My Java games utilize the random number generator from Visual J++. For personal use, it should operate fairly. I suspect any bias would only become evident over a vast number of hands. Your results likely stem from a combination of luck and a progressive betting strategy rather than a biased random number generator.