I was going to post more about count checks this week, but I got a question from a reader that i decided to answer instead. We'll get back to count checks next week.
This readers question, request actually, is for me to outline what I do when I go out to play blackjack. And I will be happy to talk about that, with a couple of warnings. Even though I play baclkjack very seriously, I am not a professional player. There are very few people in the world that can legitimately lay claim to that title. But you can be a good player, maybe what the casino would call an advantage player, without being a professional.
What separates a professional from everyone else, is usually the bankroll (which will be a small part of their total net worth) and the proper attitude. You have to have both, otherwise your betting decisions, along with your hit/stand decisions will be tempered by a fear of losing. Your ability has to be top notch also, of course. You need incredible focus and observation skills without looking like you are using them. So to be a pro, you need to have enough money in the bank to never, ever worry about losing this hand, or the next 500 hands either. I am not that person, so I am not a professional. I am an advantage player, however, and what I do you can do too, with just practice and concentration.
So, that having been said, how to I play blackjack, and more importantly, how to I think that you should play? First of all, bankroll. If you dont have at least $200 cash in your pocket that doesn't need to be spent on rent, food or car payments, you really have no business sitting down at a table. Play a video poker or slot machine instead. It will be less stressful, more fun and you could (conceivably) hit a jackpot.
And $200 is for a $5 minimum game, by the way. If you are at a $25 minimum game, you really need $1k. Right now in my life, money is a little tight, so I am a $5 player. So, I take my $200 and go to a casino. First, I scope out the pit. What are the dealers like? Any young, weak, sloppy or new dealers at a table? I like those. I'll play at a good dealers table if I have to, somebody who is quick and accurate with a perfect shuffle professional demeanor, but not if there is a better alternative.
Also, I look for good games. Never, ever, ever play at a table with a 6 to 5 blackjack payout. Those types of games are becoming more popular, and, as a player I hate them. I wouldn't play at one of those if the cocktail waitress gave me a hand job in during shuffles. And neither should you.
And don't play at a double deck or shoe game if the burn a lot of cards after a shuffle. I'm talking about burning half a deck or so. Not getting to see (count) those cards is a huge disadvantage to the player. I prefer single deck games with just one player, or no one, at the game playing with me. Single deck games are easier to count, since you have a shuffle much more often, and easier to track aces for the same reason. If you get down to the last hand before a shuffle and no aces have come out, you have a very advantages situation for the player.
I'll play at a 6 or 8 deck shoe also, because you can use a true count conversion from the running count to get an fairly accurate reading on what cards might be coming out next, play if you ace track and shuffle track you can usually do pretty well. Shoe games are not really any harder to count than single deck games, but they require more work and concentration to do so.
So I will first look for a single deck, $5 or $10 minimum game with 3/2 payout on a BJ, and a dealer that takes their time and is maybe a little sloppy in the way they handle cards and chips. I like to flat bet at first, occasionally using a winning progression, doubling my bet after a win, if the count is positive, and then dropping back down to my base bet whether I win, lose or draw. Every time I get up fifty or so, I rat-hole it (put in my pocket) and i usually walk away when I get down $50 or so.
After that I just watch the cards, looking for a high positive count with very few aces out. When that happens, I up my bet to $25 or $30, and then go back down. I never make the side bets (pair bonuses and royal matches on blackjacks). I rarely take insurance, usually only doing so when the true count is negative, just to throw anyone counting me off my trail. I raise my bet occasionally in a negative count for the same reason. It leaves open the possibility that I am a "hunch better".
I rarely split to 2 hands, but will do so if I get up over a hundred and the count is really positive, say a true count of plus 6 or more, and the remaining deck is ace rich. Remember, when you split to two hands each hand must be at least double the table minimum. If I split to two initial hands and win both, I usually leave that table, at least for a while. It's better to keep them guessing about what my true betting strategy is. If they confirm me as a counter and back me off the game, I do not give them my name. I dont argue, just cash out at the cage and leave.
I never use a players club card, and if they ask me if I want one I say no. I never give anyone my name, at least not my real one. I also order a coke or coffee from the cocktail waitress and tip one or two dollars from my wallet, not from my chips on the table.I will smile and talk with and high five the other players, and try to make it appear that I am not paying attention to the cards or the shuffle, even though I am. I like to wear a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. If I get a lot of attention from the pit boss, I make a mental not to to come back to that casino for at least 10 days, and not to come back on the same day of the week. Also, I never play at the same place two days in a row.
I leave if I lose half my initial bankroll. No exceptions. If I keep winning, I'll stay there all night, but as I win I rat-hole my winnings so that I am playing with house money, and never get in to my rat-hole if I start to lose. Eventually the cards will go against me, and then I leave. Hopefully with a hundred or so more than I went in with. I play what is called a "hit and run" style, hoping to just grind out a little profit on most times I venture in to play. I never win enough to attract the attention or the IRS, and hopefully no one in surveillance either.
Well, that's it. Any questions or comments, please post them below. See you next week.
This readers question, request actually, is for me to outline what I do when I go out to play blackjack. And I will be happy to talk about that, with a couple of warnings. Even though I play baclkjack very seriously, I am not a professional player. There are very few people in the world that can legitimately lay claim to that title. But you can be a good player, maybe what the casino would call an advantage player, without being a professional.
What separates a professional from everyone else, is usually the bankroll (which will be a small part of their total net worth) and the proper attitude. You have to have both, otherwise your betting decisions, along with your hit/stand decisions will be tempered by a fear of losing. Your ability has to be top notch also, of course. You need incredible focus and observation skills without looking like you are using them. So to be a pro, you need to have enough money in the bank to never, ever worry about losing this hand, or the next 500 hands either. I am not that person, so I am not a professional. I am an advantage player, however, and what I do you can do too, with just practice and concentration.
So, that having been said, how to I play blackjack, and more importantly, how to I think that you should play? First of all, bankroll. If you dont have at least $200 cash in your pocket that doesn't need to be spent on rent, food or car payments, you really have no business sitting down at a table. Play a video poker or slot machine instead. It will be less stressful, more fun and you could (conceivably) hit a jackpot.
And $200 is for a $5 minimum game, by the way. If you are at a $25 minimum game, you really need $1k. Right now in my life, money is a little tight, so I am a $5 player. So, I take my $200 and go to a casino. First, I scope out the pit. What are the dealers like? Any young, weak, sloppy or new dealers at a table? I like those. I'll play at a good dealers table if I have to, somebody who is quick and accurate with a perfect shuffle professional demeanor, but not if there is a better alternative.
Also, I look for good games. Never, ever, ever play at a table with a 6 to 5 blackjack payout. Those types of games are becoming more popular, and, as a player I hate them. I wouldn't play at one of those if the cocktail waitress gave me a hand job in during shuffles. And neither should you.
And don't play at a double deck or shoe game if the burn a lot of cards after a shuffle. I'm talking about burning half a deck or so. Not getting to see (count) those cards is a huge disadvantage to the player. I prefer single deck games with just one player, or no one, at the game playing with me. Single deck games are easier to count, since you have a shuffle much more often, and easier to track aces for the same reason. If you get down to the last hand before a shuffle and no aces have come out, you have a very advantages situation for the player.
I'll play at a 6 or 8 deck shoe also, because you can use a true count conversion from the running count to get an fairly accurate reading on what cards might be coming out next, play if you ace track and shuffle track you can usually do pretty well. Shoe games are not really any harder to count than single deck games, but they require more work and concentration to do so.
So I will first look for a single deck, $5 or $10 minimum game with 3/2 payout on a BJ, and a dealer that takes their time and is maybe a little sloppy in the way they handle cards and chips. I like to flat bet at first, occasionally using a winning progression, doubling my bet after a win, if the count is positive, and then dropping back down to my base bet whether I win, lose or draw. Every time I get up fifty or so, I rat-hole it (put in my pocket) and i usually walk away when I get down $50 or so.
After that I just watch the cards, looking for a high positive count with very few aces out. When that happens, I up my bet to $25 or $30, and then go back down. I never make the side bets (pair bonuses and royal matches on blackjacks). I rarely take insurance, usually only doing so when the true count is negative, just to throw anyone counting me off my trail. I raise my bet occasionally in a negative count for the same reason. It leaves open the possibility that I am a "hunch better".
I rarely split to 2 hands, but will do so if I get up over a hundred and the count is really positive, say a true count of plus 6 or more, and the remaining deck is ace rich. Remember, when you split to two hands each hand must be at least double the table minimum. If I split to two initial hands and win both, I usually leave that table, at least for a while. It's better to keep them guessing about what my true betting strategy is. If they confirm me as a counter and back me off the game, I do not give them my name. I dont argue, just cash out at the cage and leave.
I never use a players club card, and if they ask me if I want one I say no. I never give anyone my name, at least not my real one. I also order a coke or coffee from the cocktail waitress and tip one or two dollars from my wallet, not from my chips on the table.I will smile and talk with and high five the other players, and try to make it appear that I am not paying attention to the cards or the shuffle, even though I am. I like to wear a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. If I get a lot of attention from the pit boss, I make a mental not to to come back to that casino for at least 10 days, and not to come back on the same day of the week. Also, I never play at the same place two days in a row.
I leave if I lose half my initial bankroll. No exceptions. If I keep winning, I'll stay there all night, but as I win I rat-hole my winnings so that I am playing with house money, and never get in to my rat-hole if I start to lose. Eventually the cards will go against me, and then I leave. Hopefully with a hundred or so more than I went in with. I play what is called a "hit and run" style, hoping to just grind out a little profit on most times I venture in to play. I never win enough to attract the attention or the IRS, and hopefully no one in surveillance either.
Well, that's it. Any questions or comments, please post them below. See you next week.
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