Nov 23, 2017 Aces are counted as 11 when this would not make the total more than 21. If there are two aces, only one (at most) can be counted as 11. Aces are counted as 1 otherwise. Examples: A34 = 18 (11+3+4) A47 = 12 (1 + 4 + 7 = 12, because 11 + 7 + 4 22. Straight flushEdit. A straight flush is a poker hand containing five cards of sequential rank, all of the same suit, such as Q♥ J♥ 10♥ 9♥ 8♥ (a 'queen-high straight flush'). It ranks below five of a kind and above four of a kind. As part of a straight flush, an ace can rank either above a king or below a two.
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the ace of spades. This embellishment on the ace of spades started when King James VI of Scotland and I of England required an insignia of the printing house to be printed on the ace of spades. This insignia was necessary for identifying the printing house and stamping it as having paid the new stamp tax.[1] Although this requirement was abolished in 1960, the tradition has been kept by many card makers.[2] In other countries the stamp and embellishments are usually found on ace cards; clubs in France, diamonds in Russia, and hearts in Genoa because they have the most blank space.
The word 'ace' comes from the Old French word as (from Latin 'as') meaning 'a unit', from the name of a small Roman coin. It originally meant the side of a die with only one pip, before it was a term for a playing card.[3] Since this was the lowest roll of the die, it traditionally meant 'bad luck' in Middle English, but as the ace is often the highest playing card, its meaning has since changed to mean 'high-quality, excellence'.
Ace promotion[edit]
Historically, the ace had a low value and this still holds in many popular European games (in fact many European decks, including the French- and Latin-suited decks, do not use the 'A' index, instead keeping the numeral '1'). The modern convention of 'ace high' seemed to have happened in stages. Card games, before they arrived in Europe, had suits that were in reverse ranking. In the Chinese game of Mǎ diào, which lacked court cards, the suit of coins was inverted so the 1 of Coins was the highest in its suit.[4][5] In the Ganjifa games of Persia, India, and Arabia, only the pip cards of half the suits were reversed so the 1 ranked just below the lowest court card. This convention carried over to early European games like Ombre, Maw, and Trionfi (Tarot). During the 15th and 16th centuries, the ranking of all suits were becoming progressive. A few games from this period like Triomphe, has the ace between the ten and the jack. The earliest known game in which the ace is the highest card of its suit is Trappola.[6] In Ace-Ten games like Brusquembille, Pinochle and Sixty-six, the ace dragged the 10 along with it to the top so the ranking became A-10-K. Some games promoted the deuces and treys too like Put, Truc, and Tressette. 'King high' games were still being made in the 17th century, for example Cribbage. Many games, such as poker and blackjack, allow the player to choose whether the ace is used as a high or low card. This duality allows players in some other games to use it as both at once; some variants of Rummy allow players to form melds, of rank K-A-2 or similar. This is known colloquially as 'going around the corner'.
It was not only the French deck which experienced this promotion, but some games involving the Swiss and German deck also evolved into using the Daus (deuce) as the highest card.[7] The ace had disappeared during the 15th century, so the deuce took its place.[6] The Ass (ace) and Daus (deuce) were conflated into a single card and the names are used interchangeably along with Sau (sow) as early cards of that rank depicted a pig. Some decks in southern Germany use 'A' for the index because 'D' is reserved for Dame (Queen) in French-suited decks. Confusion is also avoided as German-suited decks lack numbered cards below '7' or '6'. Despite using French-suited cards, Russians call the Ace a Deuce (tuz), a vestige of a period when German cards were predominant in central and eastern Europe.
References[edit]
- ^Mann, Sylvia (1990). All Cards on the Table. Leinfelden: Jonas Verlag. pp. 128–130.
- ^Knuckle, White, A Brief History of Playing Cards
- ^Parlett, David (1990). The Oxford Guide to Card Games. Oxford: Oxford. p. 32.
- ^Lo, Andrew (2000). 'The Late Ming Game of Ma Diao'. The Playing-Card. 29 (3): 115–136.
- ^Lo, Andrew (2000). 'The Game of Leaves'. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 63 (3): 389, 390, 405. doi:10.1017/s0041977x00008466.
- ^ abDummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. London: Duckworth. pp. 25–55.
- ^John McLeod. 'Games played with German suited cards'. pagat.com/. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
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On This Page
Introduction
Basic strategy blackjack players sometimes ask me for a simple way to overcome the small house edge in blackjack, with little worry over being recognized as a card counter. This is often done with the motive of milking the casinos for comps and offers. What follows is, in my opinion, the easiest card counting strategy to achieve the above goal and still put the odds in the player's favor.
How It Works
- Establish what your minimum and maximum bets will be. Usually the maximum will be 8, 16, or 32 times the minimum bet, or any power of 2, but you can use whatever bet spread you wish.
- At the beginning of each shoe, start with your minimum bet, and a count of zero.
- For each five observed, add one to the count.
- For each ace observed, subtract one from the count.
- If the count is greater than or equal to two, then double your last bet, up to your maximum bet.
- If the count is less than or equal to one, then make the minimum bet.
- Use basic strategy for all playing decisions.
This strategy was designed to be most effective on a six- or eight-deck game. I recommend playing only on games with liberal Strip rules, which are as follows:
- 4-8 decks
- Blackjack pays 3 to 2
- Dealer stands on soft 17
- Double after split allowed
- Late surrender allowed
- Re-splitting aces allowed
- 75%+ penetration
Such games are easy to find in Las Vegas, although sometimes a higher minimum bet is required. In the low-roller pits, the dealer will usually hit on a soft 17, which is bad, costing the player 0.22%.
Simulation Results
The following results were provided by Norm Wattenberger using his Casino Vérité software. The rules above were used, with six decks, and 75% penetration. In my opinion, Casino Vérité is the most robust and accurate blackjack simulation software on the market. It can be used to test just about any card counting strategy under any set of rules and conditions.
Ace/Five Count Statistics
| Spread | Player Advantage | Average Initial Bet | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-8 | 0.30% | 2.7 | 3.1 |
| 1-16 | 0.45% | 4.2 | 5.3 |
| 1-32 | 0.57% | 7.1 | 6.5 |
SCORE is an acronym, coined by Don Schlesinger, for Standardized Comparison Of Risk and Expectation. It is defined as the advantage squared divided by the variance. The SCORE may also be interpreted as the expected hourly win per hand for a player with a $10,000 bankroll, who sizes his bets according to the Kelly Criterion, to achieve a 13.5% risk of ruin. As a basis of comparison, a Hi-Lo counter, with a 1 to 8 spread, under the same rules, has a SCORE of 8.40, compared to the 3.1 of the Ace/Five count.
Source: 'Blackjack Attack,' third edition by Don Schlesinger.
Earlier Strategies
After publishing this section, somebody accused me of stealing the idea from Edward Thorp. Indeed, in 1969 Thorp did discuss a similar strategy in his book 'Beat the Dealer,' in the fourth chapter titled 'A Winning Strategy.' The difference is that Thorp's strategy tracks fives remaining against total cards remaining. Later, in 1971, Lawrence Revere published a similar strategy as Thorp's in 'Playing Blackjack as a Business,' chapter 7 titled 'The Revere Five Count Strategy.'
Practice
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In Poker Does Ace Count As 1
Acknowledgments
- Norm Wattenberger: For the simulation results, using his Casino Vérité software.
- Don Schlesinger: For his many edits to this page.