questions about reko, ko indices

In the ko book, it says there are indices for single and double deck for 12v4, 12v5, and 12v6. In reko, there are indices for this also. I don't understand. I thought that basic strategy tells you to stand on these hands anyway. It couldn't possibly mean to hit at counts at or above the index.

Also, in ko full, the indices are different than the preferred. I thought it just added more than the preferred for example 16v10 at -8 in full and -4 in preferred for 6 deck.

Hit when below the index. KO tends to become more accurate as the shoe is dealt down (likewise with betting). The decisions that are less accurate are the ones that happen when you have only small money on the table. As the shoe is dealt down KO becomes gradually more accurate.

KO full I believe has the actual index, KO preferred are a somewhat enlarged number of compromise index numbers.

Ok, so for reko, it says to stand at 12v4 at +2 or higher and hit otherwise. That would mean, in a six decker, off the top of the deck you would be hitting a 12 against a 4 (cause irc is -20) when basic strategy (which assumes a perfectly neutral count) tells you to stay. I dont get it.

The actual index for 12 vs 4 in an unbalanced count for a six deck game is probably around -8. With REKO you're trading accuracy for simplicity in two ways..

1. In unbalanced counts the IRC determines the point in the shoe where the count is most accurate. You're trading accuracy early in the shoe when it matters least for accuracy later in the shoe when it matters most. If you're going to make an error in hitting 12 vs 4,5,6 you want to be making it when you are guaranteed not to have real money on the table. That means hitting it incorrectly early in the shoe so that you're more likely to stand on it correctly later in the shoe (and hit correctly later in the shoe when your count is more accurate).

2. REKO only has one index, +2. You've traded accuracy for simplicity in this regard also. The actual index for 12 vs 4 is somewhere around -8, but for 12 vs 5,6 +2 is not very far off at all. I believe Norm simmed adding a -2 or -4 index to REKO and found it added virtually nothing to the power of the system and any gain was not worth polluting the purpose of keeping his version of KO "really easy"

"In unbalanced counts the IRC determines the point in the shoe where the count is most accurate." It should say Pivot Point instead of IRC.

Your answer was very thorough, but I'd ask a simple question: What if there were no index at all in REKO, for 12 v. 4, and you stood all the time, instead of making all those wrong early hits? You would STILL be standing when you had the big money out, and would be missing on the hits only with one-unit bets.

It isn't clear to me what a +2 -- very inaccurate -- index brings (literally) to the table, that standing all the time wouldn't do even better.

Don

I think this problem was analyzed. In his book Norm says

Eight Decks

There is one variation for eight decks. We remove the 12v4 variation and just use Basic Strategy for this play. It turns out that with eight decks, that variation does not work well with REKO.

No doubt for the very reason you mentioned.

There is a vesion of reKO in Norms newest software versions were reKo is indexed correctly (like KO complete). If playing full reKO in s17 6 deck game,12vs4 would be hit at -7 or less.

...points" of Basic Strategy is to hit T2 v 4. You can verify this via the charts at bjmath.com (if they're still up there) and in several books. This does not mean ALL twelves -- mainly the Ten-Two combo. But 12v4 is one of the closest calls of all.

I believe that you are referring to the "fine points" of BS that pertains only to SD.
T2 vs 4 = hit. Multi deck=stand.

Multi deck BS for T2 vs 4:
4D S17, 6D S17 � hit!
4D H17, 6D H17 � stand!
8D � stand!

...me the trouble.

...I spoke of: http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/ev/ev.htm