If I were to specialize in playing one particular game which one looks to stay stable? It appears like the single and double deck games are changed the most with things like 6 to 5 payoff and fake double deck.
Is six or eight deck more stable or do games that the dealer hits soft seventeen more stable than the ones where the dealer stands on soft seventeen? I would just hate to practice one game and then find that opportunities in it are dying off.
then become expert at 6D, including side-counts and indicies to whichever CC'ing system that you use.
Most EVERY US casino currently offers 6D, though quality, basically PENETRATION, varies highly, often Dealer-to-Dealer.
Then, if you are ever UNLUCKY enough to be stuck in a store that offers only a deeply dealt SD or DD game, you will find that you can almost automatically make conversions/adjustments, and play these "LOUSY" offerings with a high level of skill.
phantom007.
The 6 deck game is more commonplace...I believe that is what you are asking. Thus, you can find those games more readily.
Your question about rules (dealer stand of soft 17 vs hit; DAS, surrender) I take to mean that you want to know how to evaluate a game's potential for your winning. The best book on that is BlackJack Attack by D. Schlessinger. In Chapter 10 he gives information on how to compare commonly found games and determine which is the best game for you to play. Included in hie evaluation are common rules, number of decks, bet spreads, and penetration. Often times, better penetration will more than compensate for a poor rule. Schlessinger's work will help you.
I know that six deck is the most common game in America. That is more important to me than stability but I do not know which game is more stable.
I am asking which game is more likely not to be changed in the future. I realize that nobody can be sure but I thought some of the knowledgeable people here could make an educated guess.
I did purchase a copy of Blackjack Attack 3. It is a very informative book. Thankyou.
scary
Well, I am still not sure of what you asking about by stable.
If you mean stability of the true count from hand to hand the 6 & 8 deck games are best. As the count changes slowly there (at least until you near the end of the shoe) one can hide his counting as you will increase your bet size slowly as well.
If you are refering to longevity of casinos offering a game, I would think the most commonplace game, 6 deck, will be around the longest. True, blackjack has changed, albeit slowly, over the years. In the 50's blackjack was single deck dealt face up to the last card. In the 60's single deck games began to be dealt face down to only 75% penetration, and Northern Nevada began to limit double downs to 10's & 11's. In the 80's the 4 deck game became prevalent. Now, it is 6 deck dealt to about 75%, often times with dealer hitting a soft 17, and the single deck game, when you can find it, is only dealt to 1/2 of the deck in downtown Vegas casinos. The evolution has been towards more decks and poorer penetration. At the same time, counters have come up with better methods to maintain their advantage.
But given the rate of change, I would think blackjack as we play it now will be around for several years to come, with the only changes being to the casino's shaving more edge for themselves. What you can do to stay ahead is improve your game by learning a stronger counting system, adding shuffletracking, or a few of the shady tricks some authors mention in their books.
