Archive for June, 2009
If you ever read any of the slick gambling magazines that you find in casino gift shops and hotel rooms, you've probably noticed ads telling you that you can haul in mucho bucks anytime you want, that you won't have to work for a living any more, and, in fact, you can even buy your own private jet and an island in the South Pacific if you just buy one of the advertised systems, which are so easy to use that some of the lower primates could probably learn them. It's a good thing casinos don't pay off in bananas.
Ads like this remind me of the comic book ads that used to catch my attention when I was a kid. I was a Superman addict, and every issue had a few pages of ads for mail order products that indulged my fantasies of becoming the "Man of Steel." Of course, there was the familiar "I-was-a-97-pound weakling" pitch for turning my puny 12-year-old excuse for a body into something that looked like King Kong on steroids. According to the ad, with only 15 minutes per day of easy exercise, I'd be huge in a month. Or, for only a buck, I could get a secret ancient chart of the body's "pressure points," which would immediately transform me into an invincible Master of the Asian Fighting Arts. Muggers, thugs, and linebackers would gasp and tremble when I entered the room.
My favorite, however, had to be the ad for the "X-Ray Specs." Here was a 590 pair of glasses that purported to give me Superman's incredible x-ray vision—and with it the ability to see through doors, walls, and most importantly, clothing. This ad always had a cartoon illustration of some dodo wearing the specs with his tongue falling out of his mouth while he's gawking at a fully clothed dish striking a come-up-and-see-me-sometime pose.
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The strategy changes here provide most of the gains available from the Zen Count system. You may use these indices for any number of decks, and any set of rules. In shoe games, you only need the bold indices. If you play in games where the dealer hits soft 17, you will find these indices, along with many others, in the Appendix. Use basic strategy for all decisions for which no index number is provided.
TO USE THE CHART:
Stand only when your true edge is equal to or greater than the number in the table.
Double down only when your true edge is equal to or greater than the number in the table. Note that no soft doubling indices are provided here, as there is very little value to varying from basic strategy on soft doubling decisions. (If you want to use these indices, you will find them in the Appendix.)
Split all pairs according to basic strategy. A few of the ten splits have some dollar value, but it's not a great play for most card counters because it draws so much heat. There is little dollar value to varying from basic strategy on other pair-split decisions. You will find extensive pair-split indices in the Appendix. Learn these if you want, but they are worth very little in dollars and cents.
Surrender only when your true edge is equal to or greater than the number in the table. Note that these are the late surrender indices; should you discover an early surrender game, you will find the proper indices in the Appendix.
Take insurance only when your true edge is equal to or greater than the +1.
THE GENERIC ZEN STRATEGY
FOR ANY NUMBER OF DECKS
ASSUMES STAND ON SOFT 17
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 X A
STAND
16 4 2 0 3
15 -2 4 1 4
14 -1 -2 -2 3
13 0 -1 -1 -2 -2
12 1 1 0-10
DOUBLE DOWN
11 -2 -2 0
10 -2 -1 1 1
9 0 0 -1-2 2 4
8 4 3 2 1
SURRENDER
16 2 0 -2 -1
8-8 4 0
15 3 1 0 1
14 4 2 1 2
7-7 1
13 3
INSURANCE: 1
BOLD = Major indices for all games
[The light indices are important in single-and double-deck games.]
The easiest way to learn the Zen strategy indices is to start with the bold indices and learn them in blocks. Unless you play in games that include it, you may also ignore the bold indices for surrender.
The 0 Block is most important. After you learn that, learn the +1 Block, then the +2 Block, and finally, the -1 Block. Shoe game players don't have to bother with any indices other than these. If you play in handheld games, these indices are still the most important. Learn the others in blocks, if you want to add an extra few tenths of a percent to your advantage, starting with the positive indices. The negative indices are least important.
If you want to test the Zen Count system using computer simulations, and your blackjack program does not allow you to enter indices as true-count-per-quarter-deck, then you must multiply all of the Zen indices by 4, in order to use a traditional count-per-deck adjustment. The -1, +1, and +2 indices become -4, +4, and +8, respectively.
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