question for noobs

[blackchipjim]

Ok guys or gals this is a open question to the newcomers to counting or to this site. I sure alot of us who hang around this site see alot of questions posed to us but here's one to you. What do you expect to get from playing and counting cards in this game. What would you consider sucess at the game and at what point would you consider yourself accomplished? The members on this site should comment on answers but bear in mind they came here for answers not criticism. blackchipjim

 

[runningaces]

Here's what I'm looking for

Well Jim, I at first was just looking to make a lttle extra cash to maybe payoff one of my 3 vehicles ( 10k) and help my oldest son with a down payment (15k) on a house he will be purchasing soon. I have a very good 9-5 going so I had no pressure to make money when I set out on my first AP about 2 months ago.

I've noted in other posts and I'm not bragging because to some people this might be peanuts, but I've now made 33k since my 1st session of BJ. So I guess my original goal has been acheived. Well, I'm not going to stop yet. I'm going to milk this thing for as much as I can. I'm going to continue to go to Vegas ( my 4th trip to Vegas has been booked) and also I have quite a few Indian casinos nearby.

I don't consider myself accomplished, even though I've made good money I know I'm nowhere near as good as some of you. So a new goal is to just get better every time I play. I think alot of these newbies prob. can count cards but to put it all together with camoflouge in the casino is the key. It's not like you can just wait for the count to go high and then totally fire away and expect to not get banned eventually.

This site has helped me alot, some of you vets. have given me great advice. Thanks alot!

 

[BJinNJ]

My goal is to...

raise some money for an early retirement.
Dr and Mrs. J from Blackjack for Blood is my goal, but I can start
with a larger BR, due to steady employment.

My first trip to a casino is within the next month. Been studying
and training for about 6 months, with 2 months off due to Xmas OT.
First trip will likely be flat betting BS, just to get some casino
awareness.

The advantage for AP is very small, so I expect to lose about as
often as I win, with a slight bias to the win side. Hopefully, any big
loss will come after I've had enough success to weather it. My
casino neighborhood is CT and AC, so I'll backcount a lot.
However, regular 3/2 day trips to Vegas are possible, due to the
nature of my job. The plan is to play at least twice per month,
ala Dr./Mrs. J.

Thanks to everyone on this forum, on Don/Parker's forum and on
S Wong's forum for all the info and inspiration. Gonna put it to a
test soon. Oh, yeah... and thanks to Qfit too!

BJinNJ

 

[EasyRhino]

I find it emotionally useful to have no goals whatsoever when counting cards, that way it's hard to be disappointed by the inevitable dissapointments.

However, if I'm in a corner, I'll admit that one goal I've had was to build up enough bankroll where I can get comped cool stuff, and yet not have a losing expectation while gambling. So I suppose I've moderately succeeded there.

 

[sagefr0g]

Well Jim, I at first was just looking to make a lttle extra cash to maybe payoff one of my 3 vehicles ( 10k) and help my oldest son with a down payment (15k) on a house he will be purchasing soon. I... but I've now made 33k since my 1st session of BJ. So I guess my original goal has been acheived. .....!

well i hope you took care of the 10K car and helped your son with the 15K....
then you can do the vegas thing with the rest and build an empire or someth ing. lol

 

[sagefr0g]

raise some money for an early retirement.
Dr and Mrs. J from Blackjack for Blood is my goal, but I can start
with a larger BR, due to steady employment.

......

just a suggestion. it's your money and impending retirement.
but maybe you could risk say a small portion of said large bankroll. see how it goes. then work from there. you know since your just starting and all.

 

[sagefr0g]

I find it emotionally useful to have no goals whatsoever when counting cards, that way it's hard to be disappointed by the inevitable dissapointments.

i 'm close with you on that. i expect to lose every hand. before i play it. even the ones where i bet big lol.

However, if I'm in a corner, I'll admit that one goal I've had was to build up enough bankroll where I can get comped cool stuff, and yet not have a losing expectation while gambling. So I suppose I've moderately succeeded there.

i was used to gonna get rich. now, well i'd like to come out ahead, way ahead lol. but truly i'm at the point now where i've adopted Kasi's philosphy of "No big deal, nothing life changing".

 

[InPlay]

Have fun and hope you make a few bucks. If this is yout primary source of income lots of luck.

 

[InPlay]

I find it emotionally useful to have no goals whatsoever when counting cards, that way it's hard to be disappointed by the inevitable dissapointments.

However, if I'm in a corner, I'll admit that one goal I've had was to build up enough bankroll where I can get comped cool stuff, and yet not have a losing expectation while gambling. So I suppose I've moderately succeeded there.

What is your defention of moderately succeeded there? Since I have been gambling for over 40 years, but only been playing BJ for 8 and makeing only $35,800 as a BJ player what would that qualify me as ? I keep records so my figures are very accurate. My records are by years Jan 1 thru Dec 31. Since I have had 2 loseing years in a row would that be considered bad luck or what ?

 

[BJinNJ]

Thanks for your concern...

just a suggestion. it's your money and impending retirement.
but maybe you could risk say a small portion of said large bankroll. see how it goes. then work from there. you know since your just starting and all.

My retirement funds are completely separate from any AP funds.
It would be nice to supplement existing retirement funds with some AP
success. Plus, I still work and can replenish the BR from time to time,
if necessary, without affecting 401K contributions, etc. Remember,
it's EARLY retirement I'm aiming for! Oh, and some fun, too. :grin:

Actually, team play seems like the way to go, but I want plenty of
experience first.

BJinNJ

 

[la_dee_daa]

STICK it to the casino by beating them at their own game!!!!!!! maybe make a few bucks..... not going to plan:laugh: i hope you all are doing that for me at least because in not:sad:

 

[BJApprentice21]

To be one of the best

I plan on turning this into a career/business.

I plan on "Breaking Vegas".

I want to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in a couple of years with a team I will eventually put together.

I want to be able to "retire" at the age of 25 if I wanted to...which I wont want to.

I want the vegas life...the comps, the games, the women, the cars...everything.

I want and expect out of this what most would call...unrealistic.

I honestly expect to double my tiny, little measly $15,000 BR within 3 months, and earn $100,000 by the end of the year. Am I nuts?

 

[Sonny]

I honestly expect to double my tiny, little measly $15,000 BR within 3 months, and earn $100,000 by the end of the year. Am I nuts?

Yes. Either you are going to have to play with an insane amout of risk or you are going to have to play 170 hours per month. Both are very unrealistic goals. In reality you will probably start out making about $30/hour with swings around $500-$1000 per hour. If you can actually stick it out through some horrendeous losing streaks (months at a time, maybe a losing year or two!) then you might eventually double your bankroll. Then you might be able to make $50/hour if you aren't sick of it by then. If breaking Vegas was that easy, we would all retire at 25.

-Sonny-

 

[runningaces]

Yes. Either you are going to have to play with an insane amout of risk or you are going to have to play 170 hours per month. Both are very unrealistic goals. In reality you will probably start out making about $30/hour with swings around $500-$1000 per hour. If you can actually stick it out through some horrendeous losing streaks (months at a time, maybe a losing year or two!) then you might eventually double your bankroll. Then you might be able to make $50/hour if you aren't sick of it by then. If breaking Vegas was that easy, we would all retire at 25.

-Sonny-

I must have been just luckier than hell with my start to this, it's not a job to me so I don't do it every day, but I've hit n run at least 40 times the last 2 months and I'm up astronomically over what you vets say I should be. I've never played over an hour in 1 session in Vegas, I get up and leave when I get up around 700-1000 in a session ( buy ins range from 1000-2000). I wouldn't do this for $30-$50 an hour if thats what an avg. return is on 15k bankroll. I got a few more BJ trips planned, have to see after another 100 hours of play what my bankroll looks like.

 

[BJApprentice21]

Yes.

Sums it up :laugh:. Yeah I knew it wouldn't be that easy...but I'm still very optimistic. I've been wayyyy too lazy to sit down, and calculate some possibilities starting with 10k-15k...All i know is variance is going to be a @#*$& until I get to about 10,000 hands assuming I always have a 1% adv. at every game I play...even then I still might lose my entire Session BR...and this is all just ASSUMING I make it that far before the variance really hurts me...Sigh...You know what I think I'll do all the math tonight. You've inspired me in a way lol. New thread tomorrow.

 

[sagefr0g]

My retirement funds are completely separate from any AP funds.
It would be nice to supplement existing retirement funds with some AP
success. Plus, I still work and can replenish the BR from time to time,
if necessary, without affecting 401K contributions, etc. Remember,
it's EARLY retirement I'm aiming for! Oh, and some fun, too. :grin:

Actually, team play seems like the way to go, but I want plenty of
experience first.

BJinNJ

gotcha. well i'm early retired and trust me lovin it. and i was shooting for the same idea that blackjack could be a supplement for pension and investments.
and actually it was working ok. but well i hit what is probably one way or the other a normal downswing. you know either fairly severe negative fluctuation or fairly severe crappy play on my part. what ever but well i think for now i've pretty much abandoned the idea of blackjack providing a significant supplement for my retirement. if stocks and costs of living would do better maybe i'd change my view and take another shot at it. but for now in early retirement my financial where with all doesn't give me much of a back up for prospects of what i'd like to be able to fall back on should a significant working bankroll need to be replenished and i'm not about to take what i got and put it into a bankroll that would be able to maybe produce a significant supplement to my retirement income lol. so for now i'm just floundering around with this little bankroll i've been lucky enough to build up from three hundred dollars lol. taking the heck it's fun perspective and not expecting anything really life changing to happen. so anyway i hope it all works out for you. thing is just i hope you watch your bottom line and don't let your self get hurt.

 

[Kasi]

i expect to lose every hand. before i play it. /QUOTE]

And I thought I was a pessimist lol.

I don't know - a card-counter with no goals or expectations just somehow seems like a little bit of a contradiction in terms to me.

Then again maybe I actually am a card-counter and just didn't know it lol.

 

[la_dee_daa]

Then again maybe I actually am a card-counter and just didn't know it lol.

what !! your just some guy who counts the cards uses indicies and so on. If everyone claimed to be a card counter by being able to do this or similar strategies such as progression and so on hunches you know, 90% of the people who ever played blackjack would qualify:joker:

don't go thinking your some "card counter" now thats just silly:laugh:

i expect to lose every hand. before i play it. /QUOTE]

well that is a goal its a low goal but a goal. think of it this way no matter what you will meet your goal.. score:grin:.... and the rest of the time you will beat your goal. its reverse positive thinking applied in a positive manner.

 

[Kasi]

I must have been just luckier than hell with my start to this, .

Perhaps even so lucky that such results make it almost impossible you really are betting according to any card-counting plan(s).

Perhaps results are expected because you are.

I guess only you know to what extent you stick, even loosely, to a betting plan or not, even if that plan might involve a huge spread and then book.

If you can relate it to a plan, in some way, lol, that's cool.

If not then maybe you're more like me just betting whatever I feel like it whenever I feel like it just because the count is + and I want to come ahead on that buy-in.

No big deal - I think it's great you're doing so well whether perhaps a little lucky or as a skillful counter. Money is money lol.

 

[Kasi]

don't go thinking your some "card counter" now thats just silly:laugh:

Don't worry - not likely lol.

Although, believe it or not, in Tahoe I actually did play in a way that satisfied my definition of a counter. Neither here nor there I guess lol.

What do you think is the dividing line between, say, someone like me and a "real" counter? After all, we both count, vary our bets, use indexes etc. Maybe we even both happen to have actually won a few bucks. Maybe I'm a counter with a really weird bet spread lol.

Anyway, I imagine everyone might have a little different definition of how they view it. Mine is pretty narrow, I admit lol.

BTW, I know I never got back to you on that betting stuff you were doing from a while back and I apologise for that. Not that it matters, and probably might even be bad news lol, but alot what you were doing made sense to me.

That oughtta scare the cr*p out of you lol.