Dear Mark,
Is card counting
illegal? Frank R.
Frank, is using your brain illegal? No.
Unfortunately, when it comes to card counting, the casino would prefer
you check your brain at the front door. So though not illegal, what the
casino can and will do is bar the counter from playing and back you off
the game. If you're going to play this cat and mouse game to gain a one
percent plus advantage, expect a pit bull (boss) to come and pleasantly
say, "Frank, we appreciate your patronage but we're going to ask you to
stop playing blackjack here. Feel free to play any of the other table
games we offer." (Yeah, like games that have a house advantage higher
than the interest rate you pay on your Visa card.)
Fortunately, Frank, not all casinos bar
counters. Atlantic City, by law, cannot run you off. Instead, they
impose tougher blackjack rules, multi-deck games and limit deck
penetration to keep the skilled counter at bay.
Though many in the industry believe the
casino has every right to back off proficient players, I personally feel
the minuscule amounts lost to card counters are trivial compared to the
money made from the uninformed masses of poor players — not to mention bad
counters.
Dear Mark,
Before going to Las
Vegas my sister filled out a dummy keno ticket and asked me to play it
20 times. On it she had the number 55 circled by itself and the numbers
10 and 20 circled together. Each ticket cost $3. What exactly was I
playing? Joe C.
It's called a combination ticket, meaning
different proposition bets on one keno ticket. The singular number
circled, 55, was her "king number," which was to be played in
combination with the other two numbers, plus played alone. She was
playing a one-spot (55), a two-spot (10 and 20), and one three-spot (10,
20 and 55).
Dear Mark,
Basic strategy in
blackjack dictates that I hit a soft 18 (A-7) against a 9, a 10-count card
or an ace. I feel a soft 18 is powerful enough and will take my
occasional licks against the dealer who turns over a better hand. What
would you recommend I do with a soft 18? Alison B.
HIT IT.
If, Alison, in my mythical casino, which
I'll call "22 Always WINS," I gave you the opportunity to automatically
be dealt an 18 on each and every hand of blackjack, would you sit down
and play? Not so fast my friend. For every one million hands of 18 my
certified friendly dealers deal you, you will lose 280 more hands than
you would win. Small spuds yes, but it tells you that 18's a losing hand
over the long haul. This is why basic strategy cards advise hitting a
soft 18 in certain situations.
Dear Mark,
Most dealers, friends
and even you advise against taking insurance in blackjack. How about
when I have a 20 and I'm playing on a single-deck game? I hate losing
when I have such a strong hand. Stuart M.
Question to you,
Stuart: Who is holding at least two of the cards the dealer needs to
make their blackjack? YOU. Insuring a hand composed of two 10 cards on a
single deck game gives the house a 14.3% edge, making this one of the
worst bets in the casino.
Dear Mark,
Why is it so important
to hit to a 17 when the dealer shows a 7 through ace? I tend to stay on
my 15s and 16s and avoid busting. Is this a correct strategy? Beth B.
The dealer's chances of having a 17 or
more when he shows a 7, 8, 9, 10 or ace are between 74% and 83%. Correct
basic strategy dictates that you always hit your 15 or 16.
