iGaming - You Can't Really Beat The House; Can You?

Meet Nicholas Colon; Nicholas is a brain box – he holds numerous degrees, including an MS Degree in Applied Physics; he has been a visiting lecturer at DUKE, Clemson and Michigan State Universities; he is a published author. What does he write about, and where you can find him? You could try the Blackjack ball, an annual gathering of the world's top "Advantage Gaming" card players; he writes about every aspect of advantage gaming. Nicholas was player manager of the MIT Blackjack team – and now he is going to teach you how to win at cards.

Impossible, right? The House always wins – everybody knows that – but actually that's because most people see Gaming as a bit of fun, some light relief – guys like Nicholas live and breathe it – they study every detail, look at the tables from every angle. And eventually, their studies pay off – literally.

Admit it, when you hit the casino with friends, maybe after a few beers or to have some fun with your partner, you are not paying attention to every card that's dealt. You want the thrill of the cry of "Blackjack!" even though it happens so rarely and is barely even relevant to what the game is all about. The casino in that context is like the circus or the cinema – but have you ever stopped to wonder how those actors, acrobats, dealers and high stakes gamblers do it?

Smoke and mirrors? Sleight of hand? In the world of gaming, not a bit of it. Card counting – understanding what cards are in play, what could come into play, and which cards can be ruled out based on memory recall – is a mathematician's game.

Now, I'm not going to tell you how it's done in this article (although I am going to try and give you some of the rudimentaries based on Mr Colon's mind-bending theses which you can read more about here) but it's worth considering in light of the fact that online Casinos are changing gambling habits.

That's right – there is quite a difference between playing for fun in a Vegas Casino, say, and sitting in the home office or family snug and really crunching the numbers. Nobody is saying you can make a career out of it (although many ordinary people do and find themselves sitting at a table playing for life changing sums of money – not many, but a few) but a game like Blackjack takes on a whole new fascination when you really start to think about it.

So are you sitting comfortably?

It all begins with a "basic" card counting strategy; "Blackjack is a casino game that can be beaten" says Colon. One of the reasons for this is that it doesn't conform to the "law of independent trials" – that past events do not affect future outcomes. Playing Blackjack involves working your way through a deck or decks of cards, which hands the "basic strategist" a crucial advantage – provided they can play "perfectly, rapidly and automatically", Colon says.

That is not so easy – first you have to learn the 6 basic strategy plays – then you have to understand in what order to prioritise them. Example – Hard Hitting and Standing – dealer has a 4,5, or a 6 – keep hitting until you have 12, stand on 13, 14, 15, 16 vs dealer 2,3,4,5.

With me so far? How about "Pair Splitting"? Always split aces and 8's. Never split 10s or 5s. Split 9s, 2 through 9, except 7.

Ok, so it's not easy, but neither is riding a hover board – it takes practice, and like all study, it can be pretty rewarding - not just financially – it's mentally stimulating too. There's a reason card sharps are often portrayed as charismatic, or larger than life – they are seriously quick witted, and practise, practise practise – it's what makes any good sportsman great.

So if you're still with me, I'm afraid there is a lot more to learn. After the beginners (yes, beginners!) stuff there is still the high-low card counting system and the bet variation and adjusted index numbers strategies to go. These are classed as intermediate strategies and it's going to take some work to master them – but at least there is some good news – Colon has created a 5 step process to help new gamers learn, summarised briefly below;

Step 1 – memorise basic strategy and be able to count down a single deck in 25 seconds

Step 2 – Play basic strategy while counting a three deck shoe with a maximum of 3 counting mistakes

Step 3 – Continue your deck estimation drills

Step 4 - Play basic strategy while counting a six deck shoe with a maximum of one counting mistake

Step 5 - Memorize adjusted strategy numbers

Maybe he should add a step 6 – lay down with a cooling towel draped over your forehead and wait until the numbers stop swimming in front of your eyes! To think you thought a "3 deck shoe" was one and a half pairs of Timberland's!

Seriously, Gaming strategies can be overwhelming at first and most of us don't have the advantage of a stellar academic background that Mr. Colon enjoys. Still, now he has decided to share some of the tricks of the trade, there's an opportunity to get ahead of the game. And who knows – maybe you'll cash in.