drunkensherpa.com

Imagine being able to play a few hands of blackjack at every casino in Nevada.

Every. Single. Casino.

In the entire state. Barry Meadow lived this dream. During the fall of 1998 he made a pilgrimedge (more…)

I am delighted to announce my acceptance of a new role; as contributing editor at a hip new men’s portal: Urban Monarch. 

“Urban Monarch is a website for the modern gentleman.  It is a site for the man who pursues the evolving culture around him.”

Check out my posts here.  Click the story titles to read more. 

To check out the whole site, click the Urban Monarch logo at the top of the page.

I know what you’re thinking. 

“EVERYBODY drinks for free in Vegas, Cash, what could you possibly teach me?”. 

While this may be true in theory, the reality is often a different story entirely.  (more…)

A tale of two tables.

In Las Vegas, just like in life, there are haves and have nots. 

In life, being a ‘have not’ most likely means you’re bound to a social circle that includes other ‘have nots’.  (more…)

The time is near. 

The neon allure of the city of sin beckons, and very soon I will surrender to its pull.  My last visit to my favorite city was in November.  An amazing exercise in excess that included seeing Depeche Mode, playing blackjack with celebrities and being given VIP treatment at Light for no apparent reason whatsoever.  A shockingly fun time. 

I had gone alone, as usual on my Vegas junkets, and had played blackjack accordingly; only Wonging* into good shoes when the opportunity arose.   When I was first learning to count cards, like most people, I stuck to double deck games downtown with good penetration. 

The problem is both heat (with almost any bet spread beyond $50 total on the table) and the rapid fluctuation of the count that can mean in a given deck you only have one or two chances to max your bet.  It’s a good way to learn, but 6 deck shoes with decent penetration at a table with good rules (I cannot stress the importance of Late Surrender) is vastly superior.  There’s just a higher chance of encountering a postive situation for a longer period of time. 

So much has changed in my life since that trip.  Most significantly, has been the addition of four new friends to my life;  Taggart, Tadpole, Sifu and Gucci.  Besides the advantages (from a socializing perspective) that come from rolling with such a tight knit crew, I have also recognized the opportunity it affords me in Blackjack. 

Oh yes.  I’m talking about the holy grail of card counting; Team Play. 

We all know how significantly this style of action improves your overall odds, and slowly but surely over the last several months I’ve been training the team.  If you are unfamiliar with Team Play, I highly recommend Ben Mezrich’s “Bringing Down the House” which tells the story of the MIT blackjack team and how they utilized Team Play to win millions of dollars over a period of several years in the 1990’s.

Alot has changed in Las Vegas since Semyon Dukach and company ruled the tables, but one thing hasn’t; the ability to use Team Play.

The style of play I’ve developed varies in some ways from the traditional method.  It affords more camoflage and lower risk to maximize potential returns.  I am positively ecstatic to finally try it out in the real world. 

Over the last month or so, we’ve been practicing my new technique, refining the signals, and carefully monitoring our bankroll’s progress.  As of last night, when Taggart and I ran through a few shoes prior to heading out on the town, our overall return of 40%.  This is amazing compared to my results as a lone wolf working the tables.  Granted, the massive variables involved completely negate any statistical relevance of this success in terms of what might happen in the real casinos, but still, it’s better than watching the bankroll dwindle to nothing before we even get on the plane.

On the other hand, I’m also very nervous about the trip.  The reason being our combined bankroll.  The boys have been excellent students thus far, taking to the game very naturally.  One thing I haven’t delved too deeply into with them, however, is the math behind advantage play.  It’s such a dry topic to begin with, and I can remember my own boredom as I drudged through all the numbers and charts around risk of ruin, the infinite curve of expectation, distribution averages and the relative effect of shuffling, etc. 

The bottom line after all that research of course, is that even with counting cards, the advantage is very, very small.  In the short term, that means anything can happen.  In the long term, of course it means you are destined to win.  Getting to the long term, especially with a small to medium sized bankroll, is far from guaranteed. 

Luck is still a huge factor on these 72 hour trips, and as I’ve mentioned to them many times, luck can always trump the count.  Hopefully lady luck will smile upon us… at least enough to afford some bottle service at the club.

*Wonging: A method of betting coined by Atlantic City card counters in the late 70’s after the style of play blackjack expert Stanford Wong proposed and used. Wonging refers to back counting at a table until the count is very positive. A single bet (or a few sequences of bets) is then made at or near the table maximum. A bet spread is therefore not required since all bets are made when the count is strongly positive.

How’s it done?  Easy!  Try counting before you know basic strategy. 

Perfectly… 

From memory. 

Yes, including every soft hand, split, corner case, late surrender option, etc.  That’s all it takes to fail miserably as a ‘card counter’ and keep the casino coffers overflowing with your hard earned money.  Why?  Read on.

Many of you who know me also know one of the main reasons I’m so passionate about Blackjack.  It’s binary.  On or off.  For every single decision you’re presented with in Blackjack, there’s a right AND wrong way to play the hand. 

These choices were determined in the 1950’s by a tenacious group of Army engineers (the famed “Baldwin Group”) with way too much time on their hands, a few pocket calculators, and the will to win.  In the 40 years plus that have passed since then, this “Basic Strategy” chart has changed little.  

There are of course minor variations to it, which can be employed for even more success (Try configuring Blackjackinfo.com’s great Basic Strategy Engine to match the rules at your favorite club). 

Overall though, it’s stayed almost the same.  For almost half a century. 

Why?  It’s accurate. 

The reason this is so crucial to an aspiring card counter is easy; Basic Strategy is the foundation of Card Counting.  Without it, you may as well stick to the Keno room or scratch some lottery tickets.

Before you even think about counting, you need to have your basic strategy down. 

There is a decent basic strategy chart, which should be easy to print and start reviewing as part of Wikipedia’s Blackjack Entry  There are a couple of changes that should be made to this (perhaps I’ll post a corrected version in the near future), but it’s a good start.

Go.  Memorize.  Now.