I stole this from"Instructional Services" you can call them at 702-897-1008 to learn how to order a plastic playing card with this information on it. You can also buy these cards at the CVS that is at the top of the Fremont Street across from the movie theater and kitty corner from the El Cortez. They cost about $2.00
I don't hold much stock in playing by the "book". The book is design to slow down your pace of losing. It does not swing the odds into your favor. But if your looking for a good time and are interested in the free drinks. What the hell.
With your hand being the left column and the dealer up card being the top. You are suppose to hit on the yellows, stand on the purple, double down on the reds, and split on the blues. And the books says don't ever buy insurance.
Here are some suggestions on shaking the book up. If your playing a single deck and you pulled two 10s the odds of the dealer having 21 are much less than if you pulled a 5 and a 9. "Insurance" is not insurance. It is a bet on whether the dealer has 21. you should be more incline to buy when crap cards are dealt to you and your friends and less incline to buy when your at the table all sitting on 20s - yet people always "insure" their good hands and take the risk on their poor hands.
Next is how to play off the dealer's Ace after the round of insurance passes. This is where the "book" is flat out wrong and so are the people. YOU KNOW THE DEALER DOES NOT HAVE A 10. The odds are fairly high that the dealer is sitting on a crap hand that may even bust. DO NOT CHASE IT LIKE THE OTHER FOOLS AT THE TABLE. 8 is the middle of the deck with the tens. Remove the tens from the equation and the middle of the deck becomes a 5 with 8 becoming the middle of the deck on the dealer hit card. Add that all up and an Ace showing for the dealer after the dealer proves she did not have a ten in the hoe adds up to fairly high chances she will bust. I would normally be incline to play against a dealer's Ace the same way the book says to play against a dealer's 8.
I also believe the book is wrong when is says never double against an Ace. Again you know the dealer does not have the ten in the hole. Now that you know the dealer does not have the 10, it is as safe to double down against the Ace as it normally would be against the dealer with an up 8 card. Like wise you should be as aggressive with the splitting of cards against an Ace as you are against an 8. In my opinion the book does not properly recalc the odds on the cards with the knowledge the dealer has no 10 down. You have to take the appropriate risks at the right time if you want to win.
The next issue I have with the book is on splitting Aces. Unless your card counting and know it's a good time - It's not as good as one would think. You get one card and one card only. Spilt Aces and your likely to have one hand 18 or under and another hand 19 or over with a net result of a push. the 6,7,8,9 s account 30% of the deck gives you a winning hand out of the gate. Pull a crap card and you are guarentee another shot. With round two of your remaining 70% chance you now have 48% chance of pulling a winning hand. The two round option puts you well over the 50% chance of winning versus odds on push with the split. Where the book goes wrong is most Vegas casinos modified their rules and only allow one hit on splitting Aces. It wasn't always like that.
Where I think the book comes in handy is in taking breaks from card counting. If you count every deck the house then starts counting themselves. If you are in a position where the house reshuffles on all your good counts - your screwed. By playing by the "book" for a couple of decks and card counting a couple of decks and keep switching back and forth. You will be able to play uninterrupted for hours.
Many of you love to ask questions while at the table. Unlike poker the players all have a common enemy, so the comradely/animosity is much greater. If your looking for guidance, it's human nature to take it from the loud mouth know it all at home plate. He is only pretending to know how to play. The mild manner sociopath at first base is the real card counter. When he bets large he is betting that the dealer will bust. When he bets small he is betting the dealer won't bust. If you pull a 14 against the dealer's seven. You stand if he has a large bet large and you hit if he has a small bet. When your at the transition points in the book you basically want to play more aggressively on hitting on a low count and give the dealer a chance to beat herself on the high count. Likewise you split and double down more aggressively on a dealer's high count versus the low count. This way you can get your sound advise without disrupting the card counter's concentration (or more importantly calling attention to the pit boss) and get to play and drink at the same time.
The next issue I have with the book is on splitting Aces. Unless your card counting and know it's a good time - It's not as good as one would think. You get one card and one card only. Spilt Aces and your likely to have one hand 18 or under and another hand 19 or over with a net result of a push. the 6,7,8,9 s account 30% of the deck gives you a winning hand out of the gate. Pull a crap card and you are guarentee another shot. With round two of your remaining 70% chance you now have 48% chance of pulling a winning hand. The two round option puts you well over the 50% chance of winning versus odds on push with the split. Where the book goes wrong is most Vegas casinos modified their rules and only allow one hit on splitting Aces. It wasn't always like that.
Where I think the book comes in handy is in taking breaks from card counting. If you count every deck the house then starts counting themselves. If you are in a position where the house reshuffles on all your good counts - your screwed. By playing by the "book" for a couple of decks and card counting a couple of decks and keep switching back and forth. You will be able to play uninterrupted for hours.
Many of you love to ask questions while at the table. Unlike poker the players all have a common enemy, so the comradely/animosity is much greater. If your looking for guidance, it's human nature to take it from the loud mouth know it all at home plate. He is only pretending to know how to play. The mild manner sociopath at first base is the real card counter. When he bets large he is betting that the dealer will bust. When he bets small he is betting the dealer won't bust. If you pull a 14 against the dealer's seven. You stand if he has a large bet large and you hit if he has a small bet. When your at the transition points in the book you basically want to play more aggressively on hitting on a low count and give the dealer a chance to beat herself on the high count. Likewise you split and double down more aggressively on a dealer's high count versus the low count. This way you can get your sound advise without disrupting the card counter's concentration (or more importantly calling attention to the pit boss) and get to play and drink at the same time.
