I have a very weird math related thought that is stuck in my head that makes me think that there is something more powerful than card counting (as its currently practiced) out there and just "undiscovered". here it is - warning, you need to like a math challenge to "get" where I am going and this is a bit long....
The "problem" with current counting methods is that they are all generated in base 10 math, cranked out on computers and each card is assigned a decimal value of worth to the player or house. The base 10 results indicate that 2-6 removals are good and 10-ace removals are bad for the player. In simulations and even the real world this indicates increases and decreases in probable hand outcomes which translates into a shift in advantage between player and house.
The truth of the game is that it is played in a non-linear "base blackjack" world where the "integers" are 1 (maybe), 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,10,10,10,11(maybe). One of the cards has two possible values and can "collapse" from a higher "state" to a lower one under certain circumstances and the number system is non-linear in that each succesive value is not neccesarily +1 more than the one that proceeded it. Because one card has this "collapse" ability in "base blackjack" math you have to treat each "integer" as if it can switch as well but a 2 can only switch to a 2 whereas an ace can switch from an 11 to a 1 and sometimes it starts as an 11 and other times it doesnt.
The other truth of the game is that you arent really adding up your cards and their values because of the ace during a game, you are actually counting in "base blackjack" not base 10 as you determine the value of your hand. Its much more like two differing lengths of train track and the card values are train cars of differing length. The dealer has a peice of track that must contain a train between 17 and 21 units in length, you can have one from 4 to 21 units in length beyond that you both lose.
An Additional truth about the game is that mathmatically "infinity" in "base blackjack" doesnt exist, its a closed number system where the highest total possible is 26 for a single hand for the dealer and 30 for the player. You also only have addition and a very limited amount of subtraction (as an ace collapses) in this number system as it relates to the game.
Because there are so many 10 unit length train cars the really critical issue becomes the aces ability to collapse in length from 11 to 1 and then the small cards become the filler cars amidst an abundance of 10 unit cars and therefore their supply is more critical to the outcome of hands than the 10 unit cars.
I really feel strongly that the ratio of low cards and aces to every other remaining card in the deck is more key than the low versus high ration that counting tracks. In fact counting is almost too "decimal" to translate in a math system that actually runs on "base blackjack" where the "integers" arent numers they're more like q-bits (quantum bits, in cutting edge computing these bits can have more than one vaule at any given time). The other weird think about the system is that black jack numbers have rules becuase one of them has a rule. This means that they arent numbers they are more like "nodes" for lack of a better term. A node would be a set of values plus a rule. The "7" node has two values 7 and 7, its rule is that no metter what its always a seven. The Ace has two values 11 and 1 and its rule is that its value is eleven unless the card total is greater than 10 in which case its a 1. This rule would have to be redefined as would most of the math in a game where the dealer had to stand on hard 17's only.
Finally, to create the most accurate counting system that would make you look damned near clairvoyant at the tables you would have to write a program in base blackjack that ran ever premutation of possible hands the dealer could hold and every one the player could hold within the finite limits of the numebr system and then seperate out all the valid hands from the bust hands and compare the compositions of the hands that let the player win over the dealer to determine which cards in which ratios give the player the advantage. What you will find is a lot more than the idea that the 5 is the best card for a dealer, you will find a series of critical card ratios that can be ranked in strength and from that you will be able to generate an entirely new counting method that is absolutely native to math in the world of the blackjack number system.
In the same way that the metric system is based on earth distances and common weights, volumes and measures of water you would have a math system that works for planet blackjack the way the metric system works for planet earth. To use decimal math to win at blackjack is to stick with illogical inches, yards, miles, pints, and gallons.
Everything I have written here is the truth about blackjack, whats unknown is what it will produce. I would love to talk in greater depth about this and if I am right step one will be to contact me and step 2 will be to delete this post from a public message board ;-)
