harry321 said:
Bought Uston's Million Dollar Blackjack but found this forum and it appears that the consensus among ye experts is that the book is obsolete. Didn't see reasoning behind this though, and wanted to know if that system could serve my purposes. The local casino has both a 2 deck shoe with a 10x max bet and a 6 deck shoe with same max bet (dealer sticks soft 17 no surrendering no limit on splits and no doubling splits). I'm not necesarilly looking to count blackjack for a long period of time but rather a quick score, so why should I or shouldn't I be using the Zen counting system instead, (also does the Zen count entail a lot of extra work or difficulty to learn from Uston)?
I have run through a lot of decks over a several month period just getting a feel for the game and probably have above average proclivity to do something like this. What kind of time frame am I looking at to get to a solid skill level? Thanks for any help.
The more experienced members can give you the low down on the house vs. player edge you could gain. They don't sound like bad games though.
Here's my piece of advice:
Why go for the first round knock out? Think about it. Two things could happen:
1. You hit a big score and start thinking it's easy money.
2. You blow everything.
Both scenarios carry a negative thought pattern.
If you score big dough you'll expect this every time. That won't likely happen. Each time you go back you'll expect the same return and either leave disappointed or blow your wad trying to force things to happen,
Conversely if number 2 happens you will not only feel awful but conclude that "card playing doesn't work" and never develop the long term strategy.
Why not play a bunch of low limit tables and learn to handle all the emotional swings? Get the optimism tempered with the understanding that some losing streak are just the "cost of doing business"
I'm not ready to graduate to the big tables yet. Even if i had the bankroll. In a way this is an advantage: I know my limits. Am simply not willing to drop ten grand in one session.
There's a reason a MLB coach keeps his 100 MPH rookie pitcher down in the the minors for a couple years. He isn't ready for the pressure of the majors.
I think this may have been a problem for the MIT team. granted they performed really well but they had two problems:
The money they played with came from someone else. Investors.
The were young. Young people simply can not have the appreciation for money that older people do. they think it grows on trees or is some kind of game. it isn't. This is serious schit pal.
I rate my progress both in
A. Learning the basics such as Basic Strategy and Card counting with variations depending upon the TC.
B. Knowing how to shrug off a loss and not feel like crap for days after. This comes with experience.
I've been a businessman for decades. much of that experience rubs off in card play. From being a salesman (knowing how to entertain the dealer and pit crew) to the selection of bet/risk and quick decisions.
An old man once told me: "Wiley my lad, there ain't no putting an old man's head on a young man". I learned a lot from this old fart. he was dead on accurate.
Young people, or inexperienced people do not have the where with all to keep focussed.
This is the reason why card play is becoming a great retirement type job for me. I'm getting older and need a job which doesn't require exhaustive physical effort. And I'm sick and tired of the bitchy customers who are out to F with my head.
So stick to the low tables until you have a head for the bigger games. Watch out for both cock sureness and pessimism. These are the flip side of the same coin.
Cards are just like life.
