BlackJack @ PartyPoker

[Dodoubled]

I've played Party BlackJack, too. Not much, but just enough to get a feel for it. And enough to drop about 20 bucks.

Anyhow, some thoughts.
1.) It is possible to get +EV in blackjack, but there are a ton of factors that go into it. Playing perfect basic strategy is only the beginning. Deck size, the true count (the proportion of 10-cards and aces to the number of 2s through 6s, divided by the number of decks in the shoe) all factor into it. Even the best players (read, "counters") are only looking for an advantage of +1 percent or so -- and even that might be generous.
2.) That said, the biggest advantage an online blackjack game has over you is the inability for you to count anything whatsoever because we don't know the randomness with which the cards are shuffled. Does the computer use a single deck, a four-deck shoe, a six-deck shoe or an eight-deck shoe? Or, does the computer shuffle every single time, nullifying any semblance of a true count? My bet is on the latter.
Remember, this isn't like poker, where a single deck is shuffled before each hand. A player's advantage in blackjack banks on what has been played, and more importantly, what hasn't.

[PShabi]

You've played party blackjack and don't even know how many decks they use? The house edge has to be pretty great there.

Anyway, Party has an 8 deck shoe that is reshuffled EVERY HAND. You cannot count. There is no way to make Party Poker blackjack even close to breakeven.

[Dodoubled]

Thanks, Pshabi.
I figured it had to be around an eight-deck shoe, but I never saw any written documentation about it. Then again, I never actually sought any written documentation on it, so I'll trust you.
As for the reshuffling bit, you're right ... that's why it's impossible to get any real advantage over the computer dealer. That's why online poker is so vastly, vastly superior.

[MAYHEM45]

All this being said, there is actually a way to beat online blackjack.

It's called casino whoring, and its one of the ways I helped build my under 100$ bankroll. Basically it puts an edge in the players hands using a bonus to eat up the -EV.

[PShabi]

Yep. Quite popular and quite profitable.

[Hawt]

I have been contemplating doing this since Mayhem showed it to me. Perhaps I will hold off in depositing into Bodog to get the PokerTracker bonus and try this out to build up a bit. I can't really afford to lose my deposit though.