GAINING HOLE CARD AND COMMUNITY CARD INFORMATION IN ULTIMATE TEXAS HOLD ’ EM
The next most vulnerable and profitable alternative game for the advantage player is Ultimate Texas Hold ’ em ( or one of its derivatives ). In this game , the advantage player is looking to identify a dealer hole card and one of the five community cards . If he or she only sees the dealer ’ s hole card , the practical gain over the game is about 10 percent . Using mathematics of 40 rounds , times $ 100 ante , times 10 percent , the calculated per-hour earning value for the advantage player is about $ 400 .
This return might not seem like much when compared to the earning
BLACKJACK : If the advantage player can get a glimpse of the dealer ’ s bottom card during the hole-card delivery process , the player can gain up to a 13 percent computerperfect edge primarily through aggressive double down and split decisions when it is apparent the dealer has a busting hand . value of the previous alternative game of MSP , but when compared to the EV of the professional-level blackjack card counter who looks to earn $ 150 to $ 200 an hour betting $ 100 units , the return is more than twice as much .
This is calculated providing the advantage player is seeing only one of the dealer ’ s hole cards . If the player can see both a hole card and one community card ( either flop or river , with the river slightly more valuable ), the player can expect to gain a total of 20 percent , or an EV of $ 800 per hour !
GAINING HOLE-CARD INFORMATION IN THREE CARD POKER
The “ magnet table game ” for most advantage play and cheating attacks is Three Card Poker . For a couple of decades now , this alternative game has seen its share of hole-carding , use of marked cards , and card switching , and is considered the most vulnerable of the alternative game family .
In TCP , the advantage player seeing one of the dealer ’ s three hole cards can reverse the game ’ s basic house advantage of 3.4 percent and gain an additional 3 percent edge . The hole-card information strategy is simple . If the spied hole card is not a qualifier ( Queen , King or Ace ), the player raises on any hand . If the card seen is a qualifier , the player needs the same card with an additional 9-2 or better to raise . For example , if the exposed hole card is a King , the player needs to hold a three-card hand of King-9-2 to raise .
Return from this hole-card attack is much less than the other alternative games mentioned previously . TCP is subject to an estimated earning value of about $ 120 per hour . This estimate is based on the calculation of 40 rounds , times $ 100 ante , times 3 percent edge . This estimated return is in parity with the expectations of the professional-level blackjack card counter , but can be gained without the level of attention focus on someone playing blackjack and making substantial betting increases .
OLD HABITS ARE HARD TO BREAK : ATTACKING THE DEALER ’ S HOLE CARD IN BLACKJACK
If for some reason the previous three alternative games are not an option , the fallback plan for the advantage player lays with blackjack , but is not through the technique of card counting .
The next attractive method is seeing the bottom card or hole card of the dealer ’ s hand . Blackjack hole-carding is usually associated with weak dealers in the hand pitch format , but that ’ s not totally true . Where there are more opportunities to find weak dealer bottom card insertion techniques in hand-dealt games , shoe-dealt games can also be attacked using the same theory .
If the advantage player can get a glimpse of the dealer ’ s bottom card during the hole-card delivery process , the player can gain up to a 13 percent computer-perfect edge primarily through aggressive double down and split decisions when it is apparent the dealer has a busting hand .
A slightly less aggressive strategy will gain around 10 percent . This is approximately 10 times greater than the 1 percent edge the professionallevel card counter can attain . If our blackjack hole-card player wagers $ 100 a hand and plays an average of 100 hands per hour , his or her return would be $ 100 , times 100 hands , times 10 percent , for about a $ 1,000 theoretical win . The problem experienced when attacking blackjack is any winner is immediately placed under a microscope and analyzed , while winners in alternative games seem to be ignored .
20 Global Gaming Business FEBRUARY 2025