Basic strategy
Question
I keep hearing about Basic Strategy, but what exactly is that?
Answer
When players and authors refer to the “Basic Strategy,” we’re talking about the correct strategy to pursue knowing only three cards, your two hole cards, and the dealer’s upcard. This book shows you the correct basic strategy for the game of blackjack wherever it is played.
Where to sit?
Question
What is the best place to sit at the blackjack table? I have heard that the last player to receive the cards, the one at the dealer’s right is in the most profitable position.
Answer
The seat you’re referring to is called “third base,” as opposed to “first base,” the seat to the dealer’s left which receives cards first. The third basemen get to see all the cards played by the other players before he makes his strategy decision. Some players feel that the third baseman “controls” what card the dealer will draw since, in a marginal hit and stand situations, he can draw and take away the card the dealer would have received, or he can stand and force the dealer to take a card he would not have otherwise been dealt. This belief of giving or taking away the dealer’s card is a huge fallacy in blackjack, and we’ll cover a bit more about this under Q and As coming up.
Splitting tens
Question
Am I allowed to split tens and is it a good play?
Answer
That’s going too far. Card counters aren’t necessarily even smart people, though they certainly are smart players. Card counting is fairly simple, so simple in fact that just about anyone can learn how to count cards in under one hour. It’s that simple. It is a mistaken notion that card counters memorize every card in the deck as it is played. Card counting is actually a system of keeping track of one set of cards against another. All a player needs to do to “count cards” is to memorize just one number in his or her head. Counters do not memorize every card played as most players think, in fact, very few people on earth could actually do that. You would really need a great memory to manage that feat.
Blackjack: is it really beatable?
Question
If the casino can be beaten at blackjack why do they offer the game? After all, they’re not in business to lose money.
Answer
So few players follow the correct winning strategies at blackjack, if they even know them at all, that the game prospers and brings huge profits to the casinos. It has never failed to amaze me as to how few knowledgeable players there really are. After all, if every player out there followed my strategies, the casinos would shut down the game as we know it in two minutes.
Soft and hard totals
Question
What are soft totals and hard totals?
Answer
Soft totals are hands that contain an ace that is used as 11 points, for example, A3, a soft 14. Hard totals are hands where there is no ace or the ace counts as just one point. If the soft total of A3 drew a 10, the hand would now be a hard 14, or simply, a 14.
Does the third basemen influence play?
Question
It seems that the third baseman has a big influence on what the dealer will draw. Your comments?
Answer
This is a fallacy. Sure, if the third basemen draw a card, the dealer will not get that card but the next one off the top of the deck. However, the card or cards this player chooses to take, or not take, could just as easily help one side as the other. Unless the third basement has knowledge of those upcoming cards, there is no validity that a good-playing third baseman will help or hurt your chances. It’s the complete luck of the draw in this situation. That player’s decision will help just as often as it will hurt.
AVERY’S BLACKJACK BACKGROUND
Question
At what age did you start gambling and how were you able to be successful?
Answer
I became a professional casino player before I was 21, and used disguises to make myself appear older. One of my favorite places to play was the old Dunes on the Las Vegas Strip, which has since been imploded and replaced by the Bellagio. I also liked playing at the Golden Gate, a grind joint in downtown Vegas which couldn’t seem to beat me. (Incidentally, the Golden Gate used to make the best 99¢ shrimp cocktail in Vegas—now they’re $1.99.) But of course, I spread my action everywhere in town, giving each casino a bang for my buck.
Lastly Comment
There were other skillful players I ran across, but the difference between me and them was that I always controlled the game, the game never controlled me. I wanted to beat the casino and win money, period. I was either up to my game and played it right, or I wasn’t and I walked from the tables until I was ready to return with confidence and an edge. I don’t know how many otherwise skillful players I know or hear about that got buried in one disastrous losing session because their emotions ran away with them. They had the playing skills, but not the emotional ones.
