Blackjacking (no poker content)

spectre

Sorry Mods, didn´t know where else to put it.

I was wondering if anyone here has tried beating online blackjack. I haven´t ever played online but I´m thinking that it would be reasonably easy to know the mathematially correct decision every time with a program.

Even if you were playing break even blackjack, I take it you could do well by bonus whoring?

Lets take it a step further and write a blackjack bot to play for us and accumulate bonuses. All this sounds rather easy, how do sites protect against this?

I´d love to hear if anyone here has been successful at this kind of caper

Mellor

A program wouldn't be nessecery, there aren't that many possible situations in blackjack. There are 29 possible starts for the player, and 10 for the dealer, this makes 290 starting situations. (unless im missing something)
From here the correct mathamatical decision is simple (and readily available online) and each time a card is taken you change to one of the other starting situations.
Even playing like this the house has an edge, so it is -EV in the long run (as counting cards isn't possible)

It is possible that a bonus couldn't be decent enough to create a +EV situation, but if this probably isn't the case as online casino operators should be savvy to this. Maybe not, I don't know for sure.

spectre

Mellor wrote: »

A program wouldn't be nessecery, there aren't that many possible situations in blackjack. There are 29 possible starts for the player, and 10 for the dealer, this makes 290 starting situations. (unless im missing something)
From here the correct mathamatical decision is simple (and readily available online) and each time a card is taken you change to one of the other starting situations.
Even playing like this the house has an edge, so it is -EV in the long run (as counting cards isn't possible)

I think it depends on the different variables like how many decks are used and how often they are shuffled. E.g. it would be unwise for an online site to use one deck without shuffling.

I think I read somewhere that certain games can have a mere 0.5% house edge if the player who plays optimally has maximum advantages (resplitting aces, house forced to stand on soft 17, etc.), without counting cards. Surely if there were games like this online, the bonuses can make the game +ve?

NickyOD

gambling forum?

Mellor

In the optimal game for the player, like you listed above, playing pefect would reduce the house edge to <1%.

As for numbers of decks and shuffles. I don't think this is relevant. An online house wouldn't ever use 1 deck. Most likely 4 and 6 is certainly an option. As for shuffles, I would be surprised if the decked wasn't shuffled everyhand. From a programing side its far easier, as well as maintaining the houses edge.

Norwich Fan Rob

this used to be a way of getting free money, when all online casinos offered big match bonus' and allowed bj to be used to satisfy wagering requirements.

i did about 50 online casinos about 4 years ago, made about 5k in about 6 weeks.

now, however, a lot of casinos have changed terms, dont allow bj for wagering purposes to clear bonus'.

some still do, so still some money to be made.

(back in my day, 888.com was best for this, u had to lodge 1k, but u got $200 bonus, only had to wager $400 to clear this, free money)

the best way to do this is to play 5 hands at a time, to a low stake, if the site allows for this.

most sites used to offer 100% match bonus, some even more, with usual wagering at x times the deposit.

jhegarty

the house has a ~1% advantage on a perfect player (who isn't card counting) so unless there is something else going on like a bonus you will loose in the long run...

hotspur

Check out sites such as:
http://www.beatingbonuses.com/
http://www.bonusbud.com/

Yes it is possible to make money with blackjack from bonuses. I've never bothered myself but a few here have. Also some sites actually allow you to play automatically, so a perfect basic strategy bot would be superfluous on some sites. I believe it's a ridiculously boring grind doing it.

bohsman

Ridiculously boring and the value is gone.

Mellor

Norwich Fan Rob wrote: »

this used to be a way of getting free money, when all online casinos offered big match bonus' and allowed bj to be used to satisfy wagering requirements.

i did about 50 online casinos about 4 years ago, made about 5k in about 6 weeks.

now, however, a lot of casinos have changed terms, dont allow bj for wagering purposes to clear bonus'.

some still do, so still some money to be made.

(back in my day, 888.com was best for this, u had to lodge 1k, but u got $200 bonus, only had to wager $400 to clear this, free money)

the best way to do this is to play 5 hands at a time, to a low stake, if the site allows for this.

most sites used to offer 100% match bonus, some even more, with usual wagering at x times the deposit.

Im surprised at such a huge leak for casinos there.
The 888 one is amazing, or at least it looks like it was. Ladbrooks have one now, but bets have to be 10% of bonus amount to count,
I thought it would be some sort of ridiculous number of hands at a certain level to make a bonus thats hardy worth it

AdMMM

I know that the Microgaming casinos actually allow you to autoplay hands and even recommends the optimal strategy for you to select. It's when I saw this that I knew that Blackjack couldn't be beaten.

Regarding bonuses, most casinos now state that Blackjack only counts towards a small percentage of the wagering requirements. I found the easiest way to clear bonuses was to put half your money on red and half on black on European Roulette. You're something like 85% to win and can clear your bonus within a few spins!

Mellor

I doubt that roulette counts towards the bonus.
And you will have much less varience if you don't put it all on red and black, ie 10% on red 10% on black, or even less
Of course it take longer, but if the zero lands you don't scrap it all

Norwich Fan Rob

ive never come accross any casino that allows roulette to clear a bonus.

most now dont allow bj, or only part allow it.

a few years ago, this was a nice way to make a few quid, its been tightened up a lot, so i dont think the same opertunities are there now.

and no, u cant beat bj online per se.

AdMMM

On the Microgaming casinos I've played on, European Roulette counted towards 50%. So I needed to wager double what I would usually have had to to clear the full bonus. Taking a low-risk 10% approach is undoubtedly smarter, but I'm an impatient man!

http://www.casinoclassic.com/help/termsconditions.asp?aff_id=aff13764#Bonus wrote:

The contributing percentages are as follows:

* Slots, American Roulette and Parlor Games count 100% towards wagering requirements
* Table Poker, all Roulettes excluding American Roulette, Casino War and Sic Bo count 50% towards wagering requirements
* Video Poker, all Blackjacks except Classic Blackjack, Craps and Baccarat count 10% towards wagering requirements
* Classic Blackjack counts 2% towards wagering requiremen

spectre

Balls, I thought I may have been on to a winner there. I want free money so bad. I knew it was to good to be true

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

RoundTower

a European NETeller account is still worth 10k+ in bonuses, if you know where to find them. I don't know where to find them, but I've heard this from a guy who does this for a living.

bohsman

bonusbud etc listed above is where to find them but its a lot of hassle for less reward these days