I went to Atlantic City on Saturday and played blackjack from 10am to 5pm, with a 45 minute break for lunch.
Here's a somewhat rambling summary of my experience (hopefully some of it will be interesting and worthwhile for some of you):
I had a small bankroll as this was my first time out, and didn't have much of a bet spread, since I didn't want to lose my whole bankroll quickly. My plan was to backcount and then wong in mid shoe when the count went positive, sit out hands as much as possible when the count became slightly negative, and leave the table when the count became very negative.
Overall, I lost 32 units for the day.
In the morning, I was able to backcount the tables and wong in without much difficulty (as the tables were pretty empty). Also, sitting out hands wasn't much of a problem for the same reason. As the day progressed, it became very crowded and thus very difficult to stand watching a table with an open spot and then jump in on a good count. I had to sit down whenever there was an opening, and just vary my bet based on the count.
A couple of times when I sat out hands or varied my number of spots played between 1 and 2, ploppies expressed their anger towards me. One woman told me "You have to let me know when you're going to play". I was so surprised that I didn't have a good retort for her. I should have said, "When you see my chips on the table, you'll know I'm playing!" Some guy told me that I can't keep jumping in and out of the game. When I told him that I can do that if I want and that I am equally either helping or hurting him, he still told me that he didn't want me to do that. I told him to stop betting so much then.
A dealer told me that by jumping in and out of the game I am messing up the flow of the game and causing the other players to lose! My friend yelled at the dealer, and we switched to a different table!
At one table, I was by far the lowest bettor. Other players were betting 5 times as much as my max bet. So, I was surprised when the dealer (who I thought I had a very good rapport with) yelled out "Playing multiple hands" when I started playing 2 spots.
I love when "ploppies" try to help or teach me. After I bought insurance on a very high count (and lost it), a woman "taught" me that you should only buy insurance when you have a natural blackjack. I thanked her and told her that I didn't know that.
High moment of the trip: Doubling down a max bet on my 8 vs dealer 6 on a high count and winning!
Low moment of the trip: Against a dealer 6 with a max bet on the table, I had 3's which I split. On the first 3, I was dealt another 3, so I split again. I was then dealt a 10 all three of my 3's. Of course, the dealer drew a 5 and then a 10, and beat me, so I lost 3 max bets.
Overall, I was pretty frustrated and felt beat up by the experience. Wonging in and out is quite a chore. Looks like it would be a lot easier (and more enjoyable) to just vary my bets based on the count (with a bigger bet spread) and leave the table when the count is too negative.
Here's a somewhat rambling summary of my experience (hopefully some of it will be interesting and worthwhile for some of you):
I had a small bankroll as this was my first time out, and didn't have much of a bet spread, since I didn't want to lose my whole bankroll quickly. My plan was to backcount and then wong in mid shoe when the count went positive, sit out hands as much as possible when the count became slightly negative, and leave the table when the count became very negative.
Overall, I lost 32 units for the day.
In the morning, I was able to backcount the tables and wong in without much difficulty (as the tables were pretty empty). Also, sitting out hands wasn't much of a problem for the same reason. As the day progressed, it became very crowded and thus very difficult to stand watching a table with an open spot and then jump in on a good count. I had to sit down whenever there was an opening, and just vary my bet based on the count.
A couple of times when I sat out hands or varied my number of spots played between 1 and 2, ploppies expressed their anger towards me. One woman told me "You have to let me know when you're going to play". I was so surprised that I didn't have a good retort for her. I should have said, "When you see my chips on the table, you'll know I'm playing!" Some guy told me that I can't keep jumping in and out of the game. When I told him that I can do that if I want and that I am equally either helping or hurting him, he still told me that he didn't want me to do that. I told him to stop betting so much then.
A dealer told me that by jumping in and out of the game I am messing up the flow of the game and causing the other players to lose! My friend yelled at the dealer, and we switched to a different table!
At one table, I was by far the lowest bettor. Other players were betting 5 times as much as my max bet. So, I was surprised when the dealer (who I thought I had a very good rapport with) yelled out "Playing multiple hands" when I started playing 2 spots.
I love when "ploppies" try to help or teach me. After I bought insurance on a very high count (and lost it), a woman "taught" me that you should only buy insurance when you have a natural blackjack. I thanked her and told her that I didn't know that.
High moment of the trip: Doubling down a max bet on my 8 vs dealer 6 on a high count and winning!
Low moment of the trip: Against a dealer 6 with a max bet on the table, I had 3's which I split. On the first 3, I was dealt another 3, so I split again. I was then dealt a 10 all three of my 3's. Of course, the dealer drew a 5 and then a 10, and beat me, so I lost 3 max bets.
Overall, I was pretty frustrated and felt beat up by the experience. Wonging in and out is quite a chore. Looks like it would be a lot easier (and more enjoyable) to just vary my bets based on the count (with a bigger bet spread) and leave the table when the count is too negative.
