Is blackjack beatable

Answer 1

"The more you play, the more you lose" seems to be the normal rule. However, there are some people that are proclaiming that Blackjack is beatable. These people use sophisticated tools to train.
The answer is yes and no. The rules of any blackjack game change from location to location. Some of these rules are good for the player (double after splitting, early surrender, fewer decks, more penetration, etc.), some are bad (no pair splitting, dealer hits soft 17, no surrender, more than 4 decks, low penetration, and use of continous shuffling machines). Employing basic strategy in a game with decent rules will cut the house advantage to a very low percentage (play long enough however and the casino will still get all your money).
With a card counting system like the High Opt I you will have an advantage over the house. Here's the bad news: depending on how hard you work and how smart you are - it may take weeks, months, or even longer before you have the necessary skill to beat the casino. More bad news: the casinos are more adept than ever at ferreting out the good players - who are then asked to leave and not come back or they just shuffle-up every time you have an advantage.

The reason you are easy to spot is because you must change your bet sizes - the more greedy you are, the easier you are to spot. Plus technology like computer programs which can track your play are a reality. My suggestion: put your efforts toward card games like Poker where you can beat other people and the house doesn't care.

Card Counting

A professional card counter, can reduce the house advantage to 0% (they win 50% of the time). The house advantage with basic strategy is 4%, meaning you will win less then 1/2 of the time.

In order to beat the house, a professional card counter, will make deviations to his betting amount, and to the way he/she plays. For example, while everyone knows you should never take insurance, even professional card counters will take insurance when the deck is at a certain plus count.

Good dealers will look to see when an advantage player changes the bets and by how much. 4-6 units tends to be the bet change quantity to watch for.

If a player plays basic strategy, and uses a positive progressive betting strategy, then it's also possible to beat the house, without card counting, however the likelihood is lessened in comparison to card counting with progressive betting.

Keep in mind, that a player who keeps their bet at the same quantity AND plays basic strategy, WILL lose over time.