[pzhon]

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1% is sick high, I was thinking of something like .1-.3%. The house has only a .5% on average so a player having 1% seems very high.

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Most players don't know basic strategy. In fact, they will complain if you are using basic strategy and take the dealer's bust card. Players lose more like 3% on average. Many players could get a discount of 85% on the average cost of playing blackjack by buying a $3 basic strategy card, even if it is wrong for their particular game in a couple of marginal situations. This is why casinos like dealing blackjack, sometimes comping more than the theoretical house advantage, and put up with the expenses of dealing with card counters.

The percentage advantage you get by counting cards depends on the level of penetration and your spread. Yes, you can get 1% without too much trouble when you are betting red chips, good for less than minimum wage. It's much harder to do that when you are being watched and have to make cover plays and only vary your betting a relatively small amount.

It's much easier to make a living playing poker. Raise in EP, "OMG, the tight player is in!" and 4 players call anyway. Value bet, value bet, value bet. "Nice kicker," said the player who cold-called with ATo to guess whether he needed to hit an ace or a ten, but peeled the flop without either. "Nice catch," said the player who called down with 44 unimproved to tell you that he knows 44 is a favorite over AK, in case that's what you had.