Tired of losing, Help please

[PrinceDragon]

what would be a good counting strategy? im sort of familar with the hi-lo where you count A's and 10's as +1 and 2,3,4,5,6 as -1. is there any others that you would recommend to gain an advantage?

Now that's a good counting system!!!!!

Seriously,nobody pick this off all day???

P.D.

 

[FLASH1296]

I thought that I'd be kind and assume that it was a simple typo.

After all, what fruit of our dubious educational system fails to interpolate the odd + / - sign. :whip:

Of course, I imagine that in typically sophomoric unreflective fashion, he blithely ignores my staid advice; probably as effortlessly as he remains oblivious to professors who are audacious enough to say things that he deems unworthy of his full attention, no less retention.

Why waste my time speaking truth to callow youth?

I am an altruistic mentor handicapped by excessive optimism.

 

[dj56]

Flash, you seem kind of rude. I havent been playing the game for that long of time, and I am just starting to learn counting systems and seeking advice not sarcasm.

 

[FLASH1296]

Yes, I can be an abrasive character at times.
but your post subsequent to mine indicated
that you are simply ignoring priceless advice.

Indeed, simple well-meaning advice will leave you in the
classic position of experiencing how "dangerous a little bit
of knowledge" can be.

You seem to be "blaming the messenger" as (understandably,
but regrettably) you are hell-bent on attempting to beat a
particularly tough casino without a marginally adequate bankroll
(of several thousands of dollars) and without months of study
and practice. Your probability of success can be expressed as
a single digit percentage probability.

When I was your age I was just as I am describing you. Perhaps worse.
I was pretty damn impulsive, unrealistic, and emotional.
I suppose that I am trying to save you from yourself as nobody saved me.

My sincere empathy goes out to you.

 

[MAZ]

Flash, you seem kind of rude. I havent been playing the game for that long of time, and I am just starting to learn counting systems and seeking advice not sarcasm.

Don't worry about Flash, he's as about as relevant to blackjack as you are right now. Nothing against you, at least you admit to knowing nothing about it. No harm in that, just pull back your play until you get whats going on. If you don't have a viable plan to get the advantage, the best plan is to not play until you do. Unless of course you're okay with losing the money you bring to the casino and are looking to get free drinks and enjoy the atmosphere of chicks and entertainment. Either way, putting Flash on ignore is the best move you could make for now.

 

[dj56]

I have chips and my cards and am going to be practicing for a few weeks until I try the casino again. I now am just making sure I am practicing the correct way, one problem I keep running into is the true count, so say I am counting using hi-lo and am at +7 and around 2 decks have been dealt so there would be close to 5 remaining in the shoe so do I divide that 7 into the number of decks dealt 2 or remaining 5?

 

[kewljason]

Flash, you seem kind of rude. I havent been playing the game for that long of time, and I am just starting to learn counting systems and seeking advice not sarcasm.

yes dj56, Flash is rude! and arrogant! and condescending! And his advise and numbers are often incorrect. Case in point, post #18 of this thread when he states that "the house edge is worsened by .2 percent with the dealer hit 17 rule. Yes, two cents on the dollar", when in fact the house edge is improved by .2 percent not worsened. (the player advantage or disadvantage is worsened) Also .2 percent is not 2 cents on the dollar. That would be 2 percent.

Don't let his attitude bring you down and continue to seek advise from the many qualified people here who will respectfully share it with you. and there are many.

Note to flash: you are NOT handicapped by excessive optimism!! Quite the contrary.

 

[rukus]

Also make sure you're playing games with low house edge. Generally, you want 4 or less decks, a 3-2 payout for blackjack, and S17 games. Try to find games with the best rules and you will lose at a much slower rate if you play solely basic strategy. A house edge calculator is located here for your reference: http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack/house-edge-calculator.html

forget rules and number of decks. concentrate on penetration.

(well, dont really just ignore the rules/decks, but that as a factor is much more heavily outweighed by penetration).

 

[daddybo]

of Youthfulness

I thought that I'd be kind and assume that it was a simple typo.

After all, what fruit of our dubious educational system fails to interpolate the odd + / - sign. :whip:

Of course, I imagine that in typically sophomoric unreflective fashion, he blithely ignores my staid advice; probably as effortlessly as he remains oblivious to professors who are audacious enough to say things that he deems unworthy of his full attention, no less retention.

Why waste my time speaking truth to callow youth?

I am an altruistic mentor handicapped by excessive optimism.

Flash .. You Old Coot... don't you know "Youth is wasted on the Young!"?

db

 

[dj56]

Me and my fiancé have been practicing the past few days. I was reading my blackjack bluebook II on the kiss stage 3 count. So with that I just give a +1 to the blk 2,3,4,5,6,7 and a -1 to the 10,j,q,k,a. And there is no dividing from the number of decks remaining from what I could see, and I start my count with the number 9 is that correct? I'm getting the hang of it

 

[Mimosine]

listen besides an education on BJ you need some serious money to play.

to play at $10 minimum tables and not expect to lose your shirt, you'll need on the order of $10,000 in disposable cash, or guaranteed income over a given time period.

walking into a casino and flatbetting at a $10 table with $60 it's a miracle you ever walked away even.

if you were going to attack a $10 table, showing up with less than $2000 in your pocket is a mistake.

once you understand why the things I've said here are true, then you should go into a casino, and not two seconds sooner. otherwise you're just another gambler. there's nothing wrong with that necessarily, but if you think somehow that you're going to walk into a casino with $100 or $200 bucks, and walk out with $1000s then you're really on the wrong track and you're exactly the type of customer the casino will welcome back with open arms.

 

[sagefr0g]

I have chips and my cards and am going to be practicing for a few weeks until I try the casino again. I now am just making sure I am practicing the correct way, one problem I keep running into is the true count, so say I am counting using hi-lo and am at +7 and around 2 decks have been dealt so there would be close to 5 remaining in the shoe so do I divide that 7 into the number of decks dealt 2 or remaining 5?

how many decks are in the pack to be dealt from the get go? from what you describe it sounds like a seven deck game?:whip:
but i really think your probably playing a six or eight deck game.

well anyway if you have a running count of +7 then for hi/lo you can determine your true count by dividing the running count by the number of decks that have not been dealt. TC = RC/U where U = # decks undealt
so like if you had an RC = +7 and five decks left undealt then your
TC = 7/5 or TC =1 if your rounding your true counts.

 

[ihate17]

Forget about counting and think about building a bankroll

I usually take 60 to the casino each time i go im thinking of taking more i usually last about an hr or so on that and 2 times ive broke even and 4 times lost it all. yea i think hitting a soft 17 for the dealer is bs. but its the only casino even within driving distance. what are some counting strategies that work for some of you guys?

Perhaps do not forget about counting, just study and do not play till you have a bankroll.
Easily you could drive those two hours to your casino, drop your first six hands and now drive two hours home, that would be a great day.
Besides that, you just can not win while counting without a bankroll. A proficient cardcounter will make money overall but besides your wins being higher than a flat bettors wins, your losses will also be larger during bad sessions.
With $60 on you, you are bound to miss excellent winning situations. Often enough situations where you win big arise after you first take some losses. Last night, as an example, I came into a shoe at a plus count and played through the next 2+ decks without a hand over 17 and without winning a hand. As the count rose my bets went up with it. During the rest of that shoe (except the last hand) I was in max bet, 2 hand range and won every single hand except the one where the dealer showed an ace and I took insurance. The total of the shoe was a big win but that is not the point here, the point being that if I had walked into that situation with just 6 minimum bets I would have never gotten close to the money hands. Also, there is no way you can time these things. The count was very good well before I began winning.

ihate17

 

[TeamProfit]

listen besides an education on BJ you need some serious money to play.

to play at $10 minimum tables and not expect to lose your shirt, you'll need on the order of $10,000 in disposable cash, or guaranteed income over a given time period.

walking into a casino and flatbetting at a $10 table with $60 it's a miracle you ever walked away even.

if you were going to attack a $10 table, showing up with less than $2000 in your pocket is a mistake.

once you understand why the things I've said here are true, then you should go into a casino, and not two seconds sooner. otherwise you're just another gambler. there's nothing wrong with that necessarily, but if you think somehow that you're going to walk into a casino with $100 or $200 bucks, and walk out with $1000s then you're really on the wrong track and you're exactly the type of customer the casino will welcome back with open arms.

Hey everyone, I didn't find the place to introduce myself........(I'm Mel)

I have a question about mimosine's post....

I'm new to all of this and have been practicing for the last couple of weeks now, my problem is I don't have a bankroll, I was thinking of starting with $200

My Strategy so far is to backcount until the TC is +3 minimum before I decide to jump in, and then follow BS and flatbet........I'm still working on deviations , but anyways my question is

Would it be foolish of me to go into a casino with $200 and play $10 tables?

 

[rrwoods]

Hey everyone, I didn't find the place to introduce myself........(I'm Mel)

I have a question about mimosine's post....

I'm new to all of this and have been practicing for the last couple of weeks now, my problem is I don't have a bankroll, I was thinking of starting with $200

My Strategy so far is to backcount until the TC is +3 minimum before I decide to jump in, and then follow BS and flatbet........I'm still working on deviations , but anyways my question is

Would it be foolish of me to go into a casino with $200 and play $10 tables?

If you're just trying to enjoy yourself? Certainly not. You have 20 units to play with, which can probably get you an hour or two of entertainment.

If you're trying to make money? Definitely.

 

[TeamProfit]

If you're just trying to enjoy yourself? Certainly not. You have 20 units to play with, which can probably get you an hour or two of entertainment.

If you're trying to make money? Definitely.

If this is so, then how does someone build their bankroll without having to use their own income?

 

[Sonny]

If this is so, then how does someone build their bankroll without having to use their own income?

You either have to go Hail Mary and pray for some good luck, grind out a slow profit or add money to your bankroll from other sources. Here is some advice from the Frequently Asked Questions thread:

Q: I didn’t realize that I needed such a big bankroll to count cards. Can I still play with a smaller bankroll?
A: Sure, as long as you understand the risks you are taking. If you are able to add some money to your bankroll regularly then you can play a little more aggressively. Here are some tips on playing with a small bankroll and supplementing your bankroll:
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/showthread.php?t=5655
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/showthread.php?t=5939
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/showthread.php?t=9604
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/showthread.php?t=9258

-Sonny-

 

[TeamProfit]

Thank you........I will look into this

 

[FLASH1296]

"Would it be foolish of me to go into a casino with $200 and play $10 tables?"

If the table minimum was $1 you would still have a bankroll that is suitable only for one evening's play.

 

[Kasi]

"Would it be foolish of me to go into a casino with $200 and play $10 tables?"

If the table minimum was $1 you would still have a bankroll that is suitable only for one evening's play.

Oh my freaking God.

How about this? I come to your house with a 200 unit roll. You deal me a 6-5 BJ game with the crappiest rules you can imagine. I'll be generous and define an evening's play as 1000 rounds.

I'll flat bet 1 unit every round and play all rounds dealt. You can re-shuffle every round if you want.

If I have lost all my 200 units before 1000 rounds, I pay you $25000. If not, you pay me $1000.

Make it 800 rounds, and I'll pay you $100,000 and you only pay me $500. Pay me $100 but guarantee me 365 days of play.

Like losing 200 units is actually possible in this universe flat-betting in an evening's play of, say, 500 rounds, before our sun runs out of fuel.

Good point, though, sh*t does happen every 1000 trillion hours.

Of course I am ignoring the poster's back-counting scenario of entering only at +3 and flat-betting at that point. You never know, maybe he'll play 10 hands of every 100 seen and squeeze seeing 2000 rounds dealt in a 6 hour evening, that's only 300+ rds/hr, and yet manage to lose every single one of them and lose his roll.

Apparently, my morbid fascination of waiting to see to what height, breadth and depth of nonsense you can produce next prevents me from adopting the sound advice MAZ gave.

On the bright side, I have never yet been disappointed in how your next statement may, just when I thought it had, in my limited imagination, to be such an impossible achievement no one could do it, even, for a second, believing it actually exceded even your ability to actually excede the nonsense of a prior statement.

No worries mate.

You'll never make my ignore list.

The world you live in, after your lifetime of playing BJ, is absolutely and utterly and boundlessly fascinating to me.

And, even perhaps more strangely, yet I find myself agreeing with you sometimes when you expertly point out 6-unit rolls don't, generally, last too long.