Just after Greg Raymer won the 2004 World Poker Championship, I met him at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, CA. When I asked him what counsel he had for people learning to play poker, he said that players often feel they must use fancy moves to win at poker. When, in fact, ABC poker will usually get them much further, especially in tournaments.
With that in mind, here are my Poker/Life ABC’s. For me, within each poker lesson, there is a life lesson.
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Blackjack has been around for awhile, we all have played it with friends, family or maybe even at the casino. Having a secret strategy to count cards in blackjack to some seems folly. Some would even argue that with black jack, there is no way to know and it is all just luck. This could not be further from the truth, in fact, card counting in blackjack at the blackjack table can be quite profitable when done correctly. Casinos have had to continuously modify the blackjack table and try to even their odds against the card counter. The reason they can only modify the game is due to card counting not being illegal. Unless a person is using a device, such as a calculator, a casino cannot have you arrested or press charges of any kind against you. They can, however, ban you from the casino and have you removed for any reason they see fit due to it being private property, and they will too. So, the stipulation here if you wish to learn how to count cards is, you must use your brain. I know some of you might read that and say to yourself “well, I’m not Rainman and I’m not a mathematician, so I can’t do it” You are wrong!
Counting cards comes in many forms applicable to blackjack. Some are very complicated and do require quite a brilliant mind to accomplish, but others are quite simple once you grasp the basics. Basic strategy is very important to master before you test it out at a casino. The basic concept is to watch the cards dealt and use a system to calculate the odds of winning. Low-value cards are good for your odds of winning, high value cards are good for the dealer. Essentially, you are deciphering when you as a player have an advantage over the house. Since 21 is the objective of blackjack, or to get as close to 21 as possible, the more high cards in the deck the better your chances of the dealer busting or you getting a natural. In its most simple form this is accomplished by using a system of numbers to keep a count on cards dealt, most systems use intervals of +1, 0, -1, for each group of cards. Low cards being +1 and high cards being -1, neutral cards being 0. Usually the lows are 2,3,4,5,6, the neutrals are 7,8,9, and the highs are, 10, J, Q, K, A. The reason there are neutral card numbers is simply because they have little influence on the positive or negative effect on the variables you will be keeping track of.
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For a sports betting system to be profitable it needs to have a winning percentage of 52.38% when betting on the favourite, and 47.62% when betting on the underdog. These percentages are based on the common odds of 11 to 10, or in other words, risk $11 to win $10. As the odds increase, the required winning percentage when betting on the favourite increases, and when betting on the underdog decreases. Read on for details on how to use this valuable information in your own sports betting system.
One would think that achieving a winning percentage greater than 52.38% is easily achievable. However, if you look at the results of sports handicappers, both professional and amateur, the reality is that achieving this figure is more difficult than it first appears. One of the challenges you will face if you try to view and compare handicappers results is getting access to the raw data. Handicappers picks can be scattered across many different mediums, from subscription emails, to forum posts, to secure websites requiring login. This is where tools and services which aggregate handicappers picks is invaluable, as they provide a one-stop-shop where you can view picks, compare results and make informed decisions.
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