CC- Not a pipe dream

I just wanted to post a thread about some realities that I have found come with CC'ing. For someone just learning about and getting into counting, it is easy to feel a false hope of easy money. From reading posts and talking to others about this exciting avenue it just seemed fitting to post some things I have learned to help newbies possibly see what's possible.......while searching for the pie in the sky. :laugh:

CC takes lots of practice and that even after you know how to implement it well.

You will not ALWAYS win your sessions

You CAN lose significant money (this is relative of course) in a session or string of sessions EVEN with a $5 unit.

It is possible to get into the 2nd and even 3rd standard deviation in the negative realms. And because of this your BR probably needs to be larger than it is.

You will not get rich quick. So just through greed out the window now. lol

Having memorized your system and indices and experiencing some genuine standard deviation, black jack will possibly end up NOT maintaining that super exciting glorified image you have of it.

Having dealers and the pit feel bad for you because you appear to be a losing addict actually helps you when you win later. :grin:

Most of the people around you won't get what you are doing because they don't have the knowledge and you shouldn't talk about it to them anyway. This makes the whole experience seem "covert" in a way.

When you get hit for $500 in an hour but previously wished and wondered when you could play a $25 unit, just multiply that hit by 5 and ponder it.

After extended play, you may blurt out some "count" while you are trying to pay for the candy bar you are buying when you stop to get gas. :joker:

Some ploppies will cus you and hate your guts for effing up their perfect shoe from the card God's.

All in all my experiences with CC have been great and I have learned so much about myself and people in the process. IT WORKS! There is no doubt. It just might not be as glorious as you have imagined it to be. Learn as much as you can, practice as much as you can, and be realistic. If you are way ahead of your EV just try and remember that the math will most likely bring you back to where you are supposed to be at some point. May the flow of cards be in your favor.

You Are Not a Special Snowflake

If one can correctly determine their style of play and the range of possible results over a session or group of sessions then they can have an idea of what to expect. A problem is the real world is not a sim; one is not certain of their skill or exact advantage at any given point, so results beyond -3 SD can happen. Use of camo easily increases variance. Of course no one expects bad things to happen to them because they are a special little snow flake!

If one is counting :laugh: on that hourly ev to be met frequently then they are in for a big surprise!:cry::whip:

Much agreed avenger. It's amazing what can ACTUALLY happen at the tables despite my knowledge of what is to be "expected". Well, I find it amazing at least.

swamper said:

Much agreed avenger. It's amazing what can ACTUALLY happen at the tables despite my knowledge of what is to be "expected". Well, I find it amazing at least.

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Keep trudging along. You will be more amazed. And conversely, less amazed as you've seen it happen time and time again.

we should all contribute to making a "Sticky Thread" for many of the newbies that browse this site with all of the beginners information that you might need.

So many of the posts on Blackjack General are intertwined that one, inclusive " INTRO to AP" sticky could possibly do the trick of cutting down on dupe posts.

Midwestern said:

we should all contribute to making a "Sticky Thread" for many of the newbies that browse this site with all of the beginners information that you might need.

So many of the posts on Blackjack General are intertwined that one, inclusive " INTRO to AP" sticky could possibly do the trick of cutting down on dupe posts.

Click to expand...

A great many threads on this site could be reduced if people simply learned to use the search feature. There's fairly comprehensive discussions of just about every aspect of basic counting on the boards already.

RJT.

swamper said:

You will not ALWAYS win your sessions.

You CAN lose significant money (this is relative of course) in a session or string of sessions EVEN with a $5 unit.

It is possible to get into the 2nd and even 3rd standard deviation in the negative realms. And because of this your BR probably needs to be larger than it is.

Click to expand...

And when you're just starting and hit your first significant losing streak only to discover that it's standard, you'll probably feel ill.

You will not get rich quick. So just through greed out the window now. lol

Click to expand...

And most will not get close to rich - ever. If 'rich' is a goal, the potential CC should define 'rich' and do the math. If that's there goal and they're smart, they'll probably opt-out at that point.

Having dealers and the pit feel bad for you because you appear to be a losing addict actually helps you when you win later. :grin:

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Being stuck never feels good, but if you don't have the luxury of playing a bunch of different stores, you may find dealers and pit crew almost rooting for you in the middle of a downswing. Hopefully they won't root long, though, but when they stop, it's a good thing!

The standard cliche applies, of course:

"It's a hard way to make an easy living."

Best ~ L.I.A.

So true...

So true LIA. Most will never get rich. I certainly won't, not from counting anyway :eyepatch:. That never was my goal though, I love the chase of perfecting a skill.

And yes RJT, there are great many of wonderful posts detailing SOOOO much about the basics. Those posts helped me greatly.

CC is hard work. A love for the game is essential. AZ

aslan said:

CC is hard work. A love for the game is essential. AZ

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X2! That boils it down to the essence.

Best of variance to all,
Coyote

Card Counting

1/2 of the people who play have mild results up or down and may be unimpressed or mildly pleased depending on their expectations of the game. 1/4 win big right off the bat and think Blackjack is a license to print money such that when they begin their first losing streak they think it's unique to them. The other 1/4 get crushed horribly from the start and bust out and are the ones who say Card Counting is a fraud.

if i have a £500 bankroll, and i play on tables with £5 min, how much can i expect to make? i know i wont get rich, but will it be enough to live off and have a decent lifestyle?

Is this a serious question ?

With a bankroll of 100 units, there's little chance of your winnings providing "a decent lifestyle" - unless you have a decent job, paying a decent wage, to complement it (or other form of income).

More likely you'll bust out as your bankroll is insufficient to overcome the inevitable variance swings that will occur. If you're spreading 1-16 on a high count, then you could be betting 16% of your bankroll on a single hand - catch a cold on 6 of these in short succession (might be less if you get the chance to double down) and your bankroll is toast.

If your posting was a genuine question, you need to spend some time in studying the numbers behind the game - it's not just about one for bad, two for good.