Blackjack Team Play:
Team play in blackjack is a concept that
should be explored by every advantage player. Although winning at card
counting can be very lucrative team play done correctly can be even
more lucrative. Let's look at team play and what it means.
By definition, it means two or more card counters pooling their resources
and talents for the common goal of making money counting cards. There is one huge benefit to blackjack team play
that we need to discuss. Bankroll... This simple concept is what makes blackjack team
play so appealing. Simply stated, If you have a $5000 bankroll your
big bet would be $33.33, according to the Money Management chapter. But, let's say you and two friends form
a team and you all have $5000, you now have a $15,000 bankroll and each
of you can use your individual $5,000 as if it was $15,000. This
gives each of you the playing power of a $15,000 bankroll. Your big
bet would now be $100.This alone is enough reason to form a team. This concept involves each player going
out on his own and playing his own sessions. Because of the money involved the teammates
must be friends and they must be honest otherwise this team will be
doomed to failure. Trust is the key factor in blackjack team play. The other factor
is ability. You must be able to determine your teammates card counting
ability and help each other improve. After all, you wouldn't want someone
on your team that plays badly and loses more than he wins. Compensation also becomes an issue. Does
each player keep his own winnings. I don't think so. Whatever plan for
payment the team decides on must be adhered to. Suggestions… On payoff day…there must be an agreed
upon payoff day. Pool the profits. Then turn in your expenses… you
should have agreed on what expenses are to be repaid. Pay each player for his expenses, then
split the profits using a prearranged formula. The one I like is to
divide the profit into two equal parts. Each player will receive an
equal share of the first half. The second half will be paid by the hours
each player has logged. Let's do a theoretical split. There are
four players. They decide to split the profits on the 1st
of each month. On Jan. 1st they pool $17,000 in profit, quite
a tidy profit. All players turn in their expenses. There are $1000 in
expenses leaving $16,000 to split four ways. Pile #1 has $8,000 to be
split equally, so each player receives $2,000. Pile #2 also has $8,000
to split according to hours played.
Add all of the hours together and you
get 200 total hours then divide 200 hours into $8,000 to determine the
hourly rate. That's $40 per hour. Now multiply each players hours played
by 40 to determine their pay.
Again, I must stress that each player
must be honest and trustworthy otherwise the team will not last long.
Honesty and trust are, by far the biggest reasons for teams failing. There are two team concepts that I'd
like to explore some more. But first something must be said about playing
alone, without a team or partner. Although team play is not necessary
to be a winning counter your win rate is ultimately determined by how
big of a spread you can use without taking heat. A one to ten spread
is probably the biggest spread you can use without drawing heat. Sometimes
it's less. It's all related to your dealer, the
floor person and the pit boss. If they don't care or are distracted
by other things or if you disguise your play very well you should have
no trouble with a 1 to 10 spread. However, if none of these things are
true you may be looking for a new casino or, at the very least a different
pit. Now, let's explore the team concept... With two or more players a whole new
world opens up. Player number one sits at the same table for the entire
session and flat bets the table minimum, never changing his bet. When
the shoe turns plus, usually +2 or +3, he signals his partner and he
enters the shoe placing table maximum bets or a predetermined bet. For instance the table minimum is $5
so player number one will bet $5 for the entire session. The table maximum
is $500 so the second player will come in with $500 bets. You have just destroyed the 1 to 10 spread
and made it 1 to 100. This is the optimal way to play winning Blackjack. There are drawbacks to this method, number
one is that there may not be a seat at your table when the count changes
and number two is that some casinos may not allow midshoe entry. Team
play is the reason for this rule. I have seen signs on the higher limit
tables saying no midshoe entry, or words to that effect, but usually
no signs on the lower limit tables. So you must look for the casinos with
the best playing conditions. Another team concept has been created
by the greed of the casinos. It's called "backbetting". Some casinos allow players standing behind
the table to bet on a seated players hand. Some casinos even have boxes
behind the players betting box for backbettors. This ladies and gentlemen can be your
license to print money. There are pitfalls to this concept if you are
working alone. First, you need to stand behind the table long enough
to count the deck down and also get a grasp of who, if anyone is a good
basic strategy player. Then you make your bet on the good basic strategy
players hand. But, suppose on this hand he goes brain dead and hits
a 16 against the dealers 4 up card. He gets a ten and busts. This is
not where you want to put your money. On the other hand, suppose that the player
that is playing third base is your teammate. You know that he plays
perfect basic strategy and he knows the count. After all, he has given
you a signal that the count is right for a big bet. So, you simply backbet
his hand. You stay there until the count either goes negative or the
shoe is over. At that point you toss the dealer a tip and also your
partner. As I've stated before, I am a firm believer
in tipping the dealer. the added dimension of tipping the seated player
will also have a good effect on your image and, after all the money
gets split at the end of the session who cares who has the money. These methods can be used by two or more
players on a team. You may want to set up two or three tables with table
minimum bettors and two or more players waiting for signals to enter
the shoe. One word, backbetting is best used when
the table is full, otherwise the pit crew may begin to wonder why you
are betting on someone elses hand when there are seats open at that
table. These are the ways I use team play. There
are more concepts but I've found these to be to my liking and fit my
style of play. One more thing. Team up with people you
trust, for obvious reasons. I suggest that if you are serious about
team play you read as much as you can on the subject.
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