Black Jack Deck

[Inventarius]

I never played Black Jack before, so I tried it.
You cannot win big money, because the game doesn´t allow it, allthough the rules are very friendly for the player (Black Jack und double rules).
If you play with a good strategy you will still lose.
You will have to count cards, too to make some profit.
So.it becomes important how the deck is built in this game.
At first, I wasn´t sure, if there was a deck at all and I suspected, that the cards were drawn completely random.
Now I tested a bit more and still I´m not sure.
But I have a theory and wanted to ask, what others think about it.
It seems to me, that there are six decks mixed together, but they are not dealt to the end.
After maybe 275 cards they are shuffled again.
(Edit: Could also be a shuffle card in the deck)
If you leave the room and start again, the cards are mixed again and because of that, you can probably make some profits.

[DJCaseyD]

No idea, but I have no time for figuring out how to count cards. :)

I broke even playing for a while with sound blackjack strategy. I guess that's all I can hope for.

[Inventarius]

Originally posted by DJCaseyD:

I broke even playing for a while with sound blackjack strategy. I guess that's all I can hope for.

You lose about 1% with a sound strategy, so with only a little bit of luck you can also win for some time, but in the end you will lose some money.
When I first tried the game I lost much money on the high betting levels after winning some money on the lower ones and I´m still interrested, if the betting amonut plays a role here, because I have extremly bad results after doubling, too.
I will try a little more, and I want revenge, but maybe I played not too well, when I started.
Now, with my complete stategy worked out (high-low count, higher bets and close the game at the right moments) I´m beginning to win again.
I will see, if it still works on the higher levels. First I will have to win some money again, but I should better play poker for that.
But Black Jack can be interesting for some time, maybe I should go to a casino and try it.

[DJCaseyD]

Yeah, it's the one game in a real casino that a player comes closest to having an advantage in. Try one of those $1 video Blackjack machines they have now if you just want to see what it's like. I did that for the first time and actually made a few dollars.

[Inventarius]

I played and tested a little more.
I still believe in the six decks, but wonder if there is a certain point, when the cards are shuffled again or if there is a shuffle card in the deck. In all my tests the shuffling must have come at the exact same point, but I read that shuffle cards are normal and it could be happened by chance.
I will have to test again maybe.
Raising due to to the true count gets difficult, if there is a shuffle card and I set a higher ratio to raise allready. Playing short sessions and leaving the room as soon as the count isn´t very good anymore seems to be always the right decision.
Higher bets influencing odds still is the big question for me.
I count my wins after raising and up to now, its okay.
I win 53% after doubling and that still looks bad to me, because these are the best hands, but I don´t know what should be normal here.

Edit:
Another test again showed, that the last deck (roughly) won´t be dealt.
Wins according to bet size (250 standard):
Double : 55% gets better
500 : 51,5 %
1000 : 35 % !!! Mysterious, allthough this bets should have been made under very good conditions. Their number isnt´t still very big, so it might be not very significant, but I´m getting afraid to bet this. Let´s see, if it gets better.
Without betting 1000 I make constant profits now.

[Inventarius]

Originally posted by Inventarius:

Let´s see, if it gets better.

It did, and maybe values are getting normal.
Long series of losses to 1000 bets and in my first games with very high bet sizes could most likely had something to do with a wrong expectation of the true count due to some effect I do not know. The shuffle card would still be the easiest explanation. Don´t play longer than 250 cards, I do not trust the game after that and start a new one.
I read about odds with some of my most problematic double hands (10 vs 9 and 11 vs 10) .
With 11 vs 10 it´s 54% compared to 56% without doubling. Other double hands are better and I have 55,5 % after doubling up to now, that shouldn´t be too wrong, especcially if it´s raising further.
After raising to 500 I get 52% at the moment and my score with betting 1000 raised to 43% with winning more often than losing compared to the last time. Both values don´t include higher wins because of black jacks, because I only counted the number of wins.
At the moment the game looks pretty normal to me and you can win some chips, if you use enough resources.

[Inventarius]

I began to count the wins with the normal bet and it´s better than expected.
But as I never play with a negative count and restart the game, that seems logical. In this games the profit of the restart mechanic gets paid.
250 bet: 49,5 %
500 bet: 50,7 %
1000 bet: 47,3 % (52,5% the last 1000 games)
(Percentage numbers are the number of wins, profit is higher due to blackjacks and doubling)
Doubling: 59%
Profit gets bigger and at the moment I can´t see, that the game is rigged.