Newbie looking for advice

[GameBoy]

I've never posted here before, but Ive been reading this board for a while. I have found a lot of great information here. Thank you all.

Here's my story.
I've been playing blackjack for about a year or so, (Not very often maybe once or twice a month) a recreational player at best. I did however make sure I understood the game well enough to play smart before I even sat down. Until recently I've been content playing basic strategy and flat betting. Sometimes winning but not as often as I would like.
Lately however my intrest in the game has grown somewhat and I am finding there is much I do not know. (of course I would never consider myself a ploppie! LOL)
I've read several books, memorized basic strategy, started practicing Hi-Lo (I can now count down a single deck in about 25 seconds), and gotten in a little casino time since I started learning to count. I'm also studying Indices But It feels like it's coming a little slow.

Basicly I just wanted to introduce myself, but I do have a couple questions.

Is there any advice you would offer to one just starting out?

And when should I really begin to play? I've heard some people say that you should not play at all until you have a substantial bankroll and are absolutly confident you can play with an edge in a casino environment. I feel however that practice in the living room is one thing, but practice at casino speed with all the distractions can be pretty valuable. Your thoughts?

 

[The Mayor]

Greetings GameBoy, it sounds like you have had the patience and discipline to start out BJ the right way, and haven't blown your bankroll on bad systems or mysticism. 25 seconds is still a tad slow on the countdown, but it is adequate for most games.

>Is there any advice you would offer to one just starting out?

As far as advice --

1) Don't overbet your bankroll
2) Don't overbet your bankroll
3) Don't overbet your bankroll

and oh yes, in case I forgot to mention

4) Don't overbet your bankroll

>And when should I really begin to play?

When you have a large enough bankroll so that your max bet (based on the games available to you) is reasonable compared to your bankroll. For example if you are playing a $5 shoe game, you probably should have a max bet of $50 (at least!) which should require a bankroll of at least $5k.

>I've heard some people say that you should not play at all until you have a substantial bankroll.

Good advice!

> and are absolutly confident you can play with an edge in a casino environment.

How will you ever know until you try? And nothing will substitute.

>I feel however that practice in the living room is one thing, but practice at casino speed with all the distractions can be pretty valuable. Your thoughts?

I can't wait to hear how it goes!

But, here is a little more advice: keep a VERY accurate journal, from day 1, and be ruthless on yourself -- don't lie in your journal. It is the only hope you have of finding out the truth.

Best luck to you!

--Mayor

 

[CC-Management]

Game Boy: Feel free to join our ranks and fill out a user profile.

 

[GameBoy]

Thanks Mayor, That sounds like good advice. I will definetly start keeping a journal.

One more question. And please don't think I'm trying to reinvent the wheel here.

Is it nesessary to use an ace neutral count system when counting aces on the side? or is this something that is practical with a system like Hi-Lo? If so, how do I adjust the count for betting efficency, and would this type of count increase playing efficency at all?

I welcome your thoughts.

 

[JR]

Here goes...I've been at this for a few months now, starting out by reading as much as I could on the internet at the various sites,liking this one the best, joining green chip at BJ21, printing out basic strategy charts from the Wizard of Odds internet site, buying Wong's 'Professional BJ' & 'BJ Strategies' and getting another book called 'Aces and Faces' courtesy of Rob McGarvey who posts here regularly--whereby I got introduced to 'online bonus hustling', practicing for 100's of hours counting down a single deck turned upside-down and pushing the cards out with my thumb and getting the time down to 15-20 sec's consistently with a personal best of 12 sec's-- while watching TV and answering the wife's incessant questions, starting to learn some of the play variations as per PBJ for single deck using the Hi-Lo count system, buying a downloadable software program called 'Sage Blackjack' to practice playing both face-down and face-up games, venturing forth into a local casino to count the cards from behind the players (backcounting) and then finally taking the plunge and sitting at the table flatbetting--trying to see if I could actually count the cards and lo and behold--I COULD!!!!!!, then taking a trip to Reno and playing all over the place playing like a mad fool and loving every minute of it at single & double deck and actually making some units!!! What a feeling of accomplishment--I swear--it's so good to be able to do it. About counting Aces--I think I read somewhere that it's not worth it as a beginning counter as the gain is not so great compared to the effort req'd and the possibility of making errors in the regular count. So, all the best to you in your new endeavor and believe me when I say that the people that I have met (although not in person) on these sites are tremendous individuals..JR

 

[The Mayor]

You said...

"then taking a trip to Reno and playing all over the place playing like a mad fool and loving every minute of it at single & double deck and actually making some units!!! What a feeling of accomplishment--I swear--it's so good to be able to do it."

I am overjoyed that your first trip was a positive one, but don't get the idea that the positive results of a single trip represents the advantage of card-counting. A good friend said something like: "you're note really a counter until you've had four big losing trips in a row." Yep.

Keep that journal, and when you have 500 hours, tell us where you stand. 500 hours is only 50,000 hands, and it takes about 100,000 to get pretty reliable indicators for the quality of your play. That's what practicing on a simulator at the beginning is so important!

Glad to have you stopping by,

--Mayor

 

[jc]

Re: Newbie looking for advice *LINK*

Any free on-line practice (free) sites with actual decks? Not random number generators so to practice counting down cards while placing corresponding bets.Have tried one at stupid stuff.com that purports to be a 6-deck 75% pen., but my results feel hincky,

 

[JR]

But it was just sooooooo much fun. I'm sure NOT looking forward to 4 IN A ROW losing sessions but as you say--don't overbet your bankroll. It's sure nice to have a 'fighting chance' against the casinos. One week to Vegas and all those coupons--YEEHAW!! Maybe I sound a bit like Rob McG ---yes I am another crazy Canuck living out west in Beautiful British Columbia. Mayor, all the best in your new ventures, you are an amazing person.

 

[Adam N. Subtractum]

ace-reckoned sidecounts...

GB, check out my archived post "21st Century Sidecounting", found in the "Best Posts" section to the left. I think you'll find what you're looking for there.

ANS

 

[GameBoy]

Re: ace-reckoned sidecounts...

Adam, That was a great post. I can really see the value of such a system. thanks for the insight. I'm still a very new counter, and at this point I feel that keeping it simple is the best aproach. but I belive in the future I will begin to play with sidecounts.

Thanks for all of the replies.