Days Of Blackjack Strategy Over?

A casino boss has admitted that the days when basic strategy in blackjack gave the player a potential edge over the casino are long gone. Nowadays players are encouraged to use basic strategy and can even buy from casinos cards that give all the basic strategy variations.

Basic strategy is supposed to be the optimal way to play blackjack and by adopting it players can reduce the house’s edge. In fact there is more than one variation of basic strategy depending on the precise blackjack house rules; however they are all very similar to each other and blackjack strategy cards are now widely available for sale at many casinos. Printed on basic strategy cards is a matrix that shows possible dealer’s face up card in ten columns and the player’s possible hands in twenty three rows. The intersection of the rows and columns give the optimal play for the specific event. Plays maybe to stand, hit, double, split and surrender.

Combining playing blackjack according to basic strategy with maybe a little card counting thrown in too was supposed to massively increase the player’s odds at winning, and indeed during the 1970s casinos lost a considerable amount of money to players who were practitioners of this.

Replying to a question on a local radio programme about gambling, the boss of a famous London casino has now said that casinos are no longer concerned with either of these techniques. He pointed out that the rules of blackjack have changed to such an extend that the house retains its edge even against basic strategy, and that anyone who thinks they can count cards in a modern casino with all its distractions is deluding themselves.  

When asked how his casino would react if the staff was to discover anyone counting cards, he said that they would probably ignore it unless the players were spotted using a mechanical device or a computer in which case they would politely be asked to leave.  

He also indicated that his casino was always very happy when anybody won a large amount of money, and that this was always good for the business.

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