How To Use Poker Calculators And Blackjack Cheat Sheets To Your Advantage
Blackjack is a game with a simple premise, but with complex strategies. The simple task of getting a hand of cards closest to 21 without being bust has become a science with decades of study. As a result of that science, cheat sheets were born.
Certainly, there is no way to “break” a game of chance and win 100% of the time, not even at the Comet Room. But there are tools and tricks to greatly reduce the house edge.
One of the clearest examples of these tools is blackjack cheat sheets. These tables can dramatically improve any player’s odds, even a newbie.
What are blackjack cheat sheets?
Victory in blackjack basically depends on taking the right actions at the right time. A player who knows when to stand, hit, split, double and surrender will be very successful.
Obtaining such knowledge can, of course, take several years of experience and analysis. Luckily, cheat sheets offer a simple alternative that any newbie can apply.
Cheat sheets (also known as strategy tables) are tables that detail all the possible situations in a game of blackjack with their respective recommended action. Is the dealer’s open card an ace and the player has a pair of 2s? The sheet indicates what to do. Does the dealer have a 7 and the player two aces? Again, the sheet indicates what to do.
The table can be overwhelming at first, although it is actually quite easy to use. The “player” column indicates the hand that the user receives, while the “dealer’s hand” row refers to the dealer’s up card.
To use the cheat sheet, you need to find the player’s hand in the columns and the dealer’s up card in the rows. That way, it is possible to find the action with the best chance of winning.
Thanks to the cheat sheet, the user’s chances of winning are greatly increased. In a game without any kind of strategy, the house edge can be up to 3%. However, with this tool, the advantage is reduced to less than 1%!
Poker Calculators
With a Poker Calculator, you can easily estimate many useful parameters when making decisions at the tables.
Calculate the EV or expected value and you will solve your doubts about the profitability of each movement. Consider what can happen in subsequent plays, calculate your implicit odds and improve your calls.
Poker calculators also allow you to calculate the Minimum Success Rate. You can use this information to know:
- How much your opponent must fold for your bluff to be profitable.
- How many bluffs your opponent must have for your call to be profitable.
You can also estimate your Equity and calculate your probability of winning at the showdown. To do this, enter your outs and you will get the equity according to the remaining plays. This is very useful for studying the profitability of semi-bluffs.
Finally, you can calculate your win rate whether you are a cash player, tournaments or spins. You can estimate your earnings depending on:
- The level you play
- Your playing volume
- Your win rate at the tables
With all these functions, Poker Calculators are a fundamental tool for studying and understanding the mathematical foundations of the game.
Compare different parameters
You can experiment by comparing how the profitability of a play changes by changing different parameters. By modifying the bet sizes, fold percentages and your equity you will get different results. So, you can find thresholds with greater profitability. Studying with a poker calculator will make you earn more money in the long run.
