EORs. Betting Correlation is defined as the correlation between card point values and the effect of removal of cards. It is used to predict how well a counting system predicts good betting situations and can approach 1.00 (100% correlation). The higher the BC, the more effectively the strategy can determine the correct bet. BC is particularly important in shoe games (three to eight decks).

Playing Efficiency (PE)

Before I continue, I need to admit that I greatly over-simplified the discussion on Effects of Removal. The EORs that I included are for betting only. There are in fact many sets of EORs as they can be used to measure effectiveness of betting decisions, playing decisions, insurance decisions, playing decisions for individual hands, and can be affected by the number of indexes that you use. You can read The Theory of Blackjack for a full understanding.

Playing efficiency is used to predict how well a counting system predicts the correct playing decisions and can approach .70 (70% efficiency). That number can be increased with side counts. The higher the PE, the more effectively the strategy can determine the correct playing decision. To reach 100%, you would need to track every card separately to calculate the correct play. Playing efficiency is particularly important in pitch games (one or two decks).

Insurance Correlation (IC)

Insurance Correlation is defined as the correlation between a strategy’s card tag values and the value of cards in insurance situations. A point value of -9 for tens and +4 for all other cards would be perfect for predicting if an insurance bet should be placed, as we are interested only in the ratio of tens to non-tens in the remaining cards. The higher the IC, the better the strategy is at correctly identifying insurance opportunities. Insurance is the most important index.

Level

The level of a strategy refers to the number of different positive values assigned to cards. Level II and III counting strategies are more efficient, but quite a bit more difficult for most people. Level IV & V counting strategies also exist. But this is overkill.

 © 2009 Norman Wattenberger