Dear Mark,
How big of a disadvantage does the blackjack player who counts cards have against
continuous shuffle machines? How about online play? How often do they shuffle
cards? Jack M.
Casinos thwart card counters by using different countermeasures. They can use
more decks, which decrease the player's advantage, or they can shuffle prematurely.
The downside to frequent shuffling against a suspected card-counter is that
it takes time, and if the dealer isn’t pitching cards to non-counting players
and putting their kiss goodbye chips in the tray, the casino’s losing money.
Casinos can speed up play, and simultaneously curb counters with automatic
shuffling machines.
Some shuffling machines shuffle-up one set of cards while another is in play.
Others, known as Continuous Shuffle Machines, allow the dealer to simply return
used cards to a single shoe, which allows play without any interruption. Because
Continuous Shuffle Machines essentially allow minimal deck penetration, the
advantage of traditional counting techniques is completely lost.
As for online casinos, the deck is reshuffled at the start of each hand, giving
the card counter zip advantage. You will see some online casinos show an animation
of the dealer shuffling the cards intermittently to give the illusion that the
cards are being shuffled infrequently, but the cards are nonetheless actually
shuffled after every round. It’s for show, Jack, not for wrapping you in
dough.
Dear Mark,
Have you ever heard of an abbreviated game of Pai Gow poker that uses less than
the traditional seven cards? Gary B.
Pai Gow Poker is a seven-card poker game played with a standard 52-card deck
and a joker. The art of the game is to skillfully arrange your cards into two
poker hands, one of five cards and the other of two. To win, both your five-card
hand and your two-card hand must beat the banker’s corresponding hands.
When setting your hands, remember your five-card hand must have a higher poker
ranking than your two-card hand. Winning one hand while losing the other is
a push or tie, where you neither win nor lose.
Your question, Gary, describes a nifty little game called Pyramid poker, a
simplified version of Pai Gow poker, where, instead of seven cards, three cards
are dealt to each player. Pyramid poker also uses a standard 52-card deck but
does not include a joker.
Both the dealer and player are each dealt three cards, which are arranged into
a two-card hand and a one-card hand. As in Pai Gow Poker, the one-card hand
must have a lower value than the two-card hand. The hand rankings are just as
in poker except there can be no straights or flushes with the two-card hand,
and aces are always high.
Once the player sets his two hands, the player’s one-card hand is compared
to the dealer's one-card hand, and then the player's two-card hand is measured
against the dealer's two-card hand. In order to win, both hands of the player
must be higher than both of the dealer's. If only one hand is higher and the
other loses, then the bet is a tie, or push. You lose only if the dealer wins
both hands.
If hands are of equal face value -- say for instance you both have a Queen
in your one-card hands -- it’s called a copy, which automatically goes
to the dealer, giving the casino a built-in house edge of approximately 3.5%.
Although you can find Pyramid Poker in some of the larger gaming jurisdictions,
it’s not yet here in the woods of Northern Michigan, but I have, Gary,
given it a kitchen table workout. It’s fun, and faster than Pai Gow Poker,
and probably worth adding to my play list amongst friends, but that 3.5% casino
advantage by way of copies is a bit steep for me.
I’m short on space, Gary, but I will do a Q&A on optimal playing strategy
in the future if someone writes in with an interest.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "If you got talent, Las Vegas is the
land of milk and honey. If you don't, it's a burial ground." --Benny Binion
