Blackjack anyone?

[CPT Savajo]

I was just curious to see if anyone on here has an interest in casino style Blackjack. In particular, the casino busting technique of card counting and advantage play.

[J.Wayne]

No but I'd love to hit a poker game tonight. Any locations?

[TechOne]

I think I am pretty darn good at BlackJack...never lost more than half my winnings.

[ramblinman69]

Originally Posted by CPT Savajo

I was just curious to see if anyone on here has an interest in casino style Blackjack. In particular, the casino busting technique of card counting and advantage play.

I am also a degenerate gambler to go along with all of my other vices. But yes, I do have an interest in the above activities mate.

[g0lfnutt]

I have an interest in card counting but with the single deck games almost a thing of the past card counting has become next to impossible. The combination of 6 or 7 decks in play and the reshuffle before the last deck is even dealt has reduced the advantage to almost nil.

I play basic strategy and use a personally modified Martingale betting system and have been very successful with it. On average I will start with $200 and will stop when I have won double or triple my bankroll. On a bad night I will walk away with what I started with or at most $50 in the red.

[CPT Savajo]

Originally Posted by g0lfnutt

I have an interest in card counting but with the single deck games almost a thing of the past card counting has become next to impossible. The combination of 6 or 7 decks in play and the reshuffle before the last deck is even dealt has reduced the advantage to almost nil.

I play basic strategy and use a personally modified Martingale betting system and have been very successful with it. On average I will start with $200 and will stop when I have won double or triple my bankroll. On a bad night I will walk away with what I started with or at most $50 in the red.

While the games have deteriorated over the years in the rules that are offered and penetration offered, the games are still very beatable and the house knows this to be true.
It's completely false to say that, "The combination of 6 or 7 decks in play and the reshuffle before the last deck is even dealt has reduced the advantage to almost nil." That is not true. What that does tell me is that your not seeking out better games.

If you use a Martingale betting system you are more than likely going to lose all of your money because you will be doubling up your bets and chasing losses while betting into an unfavorable deck or decks (because your not counting) when the house has the edge. It's good that your using basic strategy however because 99.999% of the players absolutely have no clue as to how to play the game properly, the way it's supposed to be played. That means they are "gambling" which is 180 degrees from advantage play. It's truly amazing.

[g0lfnutt]

I probably overstated the disadvantage that player are now faced with but casinos are also trained to look for players that are betting aggressively when the count is in their favor and only placing minimum bets when the house is at an advantage. You will be asked to leave quickly if this happens for very long.

I agree that if you used a true Martingale betting system your losses could be huge but part of my strategy is to only play long enough to double or triple my bankroll and then walk away. It takes discipline when you hit a hot streak to do this. I limit my losses and subsequent doubling of bets to four in a row so I never risk a huge amount of money. By playing basic strategy there are relatively few times that you will lose 4 hands in a row and if you do lose 4 in a row, you start over with your minimum bet again provided you have not met your stop loss point. It is far from foolproof but like I said I have had a lot of success with it and it helps me fund this hobby at times.

[Flyboy182]

I fund my hobby activities via poker, occasionally at a casino, usually in private games. I played blackjack in the past, but given card counting is virtually worthless in today's casino, tend not to play much anymore. Fwiw....your odds of losing 4 hands in a row (ignoring ties, discounting card counting which is negated by Martingale) is about 8% (7.6 to be exact). Five in a row is 4%, but that 5th round requires quite a bankroll and often hits the table limit.

[CPT Savajo]

Originally Posted by g0lfnutt

I probably overstated the disadvantage that player are now faced with but casinos are also trained to look for players that are betting aggressively when the count is in their favor and only placing minimum bets when the house is at an advantage. You will be asked to leave quickly if this happens for very long.

I agree that if you used a true Martingale betting system your losses could be huge but part of my strategy is to only play long enough to double or triple my bankroll and then walk away. It takes discipline when you hit a hot streak to do this. I limit my losses and subsequent doubling of bets to four in a row so I never risk a huge amount of money. By playing basic strategy there are relatively few times that you will lose 4 hands in a row and if you do lose 4 in a row, you start over with your minimum bet again provided you have not met your stop loss point. It is far from foolproof but like I said I have had a lot of success with it and it helps me fund this hobby at times.

Players are disadvantaged because they know not what they do. I cannot even begin to tell you how horrible the players are at in the local house at HS and in MS casinos, pure amateurs and a little bit of knowledge would go a LONG way to help out such disadvantaged players.

How would the casino be able to distinguish between a gambler who is chasing losses and a card counter? Your giving the dealers way too much credit. Very very few dealers can card count and deal at the same time. That takes talent. It sounds like your gambling to me brother.

[CPT Savajo]

Originally Posted by Flyboy182

I fund my hobby activities via poker, occasionally at a casino, usually in private games. I played blackjack in the past, but given card counting is virtually worthless in today's casino, tend not to play much anymore. Fwiw....your odds of losing 4 hands in a row (ignoring ties, discounting card counting which is negated by Martingale) is about 8% (7.6 to be exact). Five in a row is 4%, but that 5th round requires quite a bankroll and often hits the table limit.

To paraphrase a Blackjack legend, "to make $50 an hour at poker you have to be real good, but to make $50 an hour at BJ is nothing."

Flyboy I can obviously tell that you have limited knowledge on BJ. It is rare to see rules such as early surrender or late surrender in American casinos, even S17 games which increase a players edge. But to say that card counting is virtually worthless in today's casinos is completely wrong. It gives the player that much more of an edge which is powerful.

Using a Martingale betting system in any game will wipe out a player in a flash, especially in Blackjack. Using a Martingale betting system is much like chasing losses pure and simple. If anyone keeps that up, they are doomed for failure. People may see short term success betting like that, but in the long term the odds coupled with player errors will grind their bankroll to $0.00 . A Matingale doesn't require drive, patience, talent, skill, determination, discipline, and intelligence. Those are the qualities that a professional or semi-professional blackjack player must possess in order to be successful. The thing about it is, people don't have to be a rocket scientist to learn how to card count, that is a myth and I could teach anyone how to card count if they have the will to learn.

[Flyboy182]

CPT, I'm not arguing for Martingdale...but pointing out the mathematical reason it won't work. I'd love to play poker with you though.

Fwiw....I do count cards if I play BJ. There aren't enough single deck hands and the reshuffles occur just as a true advantage can be gained.

Meanwhile the popularity of poker on TV leads many fish to the table. I agree that if skill of players were totally equal in poker, or the house quit jiggering BJ games to remove advantages, blackjack would be the more profitable venture

PS. I also play primarily private games and avoid casino rakes at the poker table. Would you like to play?

[g0lfnutt]

The real challenge with blackjack is finding a table where there is not some idiot that has no idea how to play that keeps screwing it up for everybody. The percentages of lost hands is only true if everyone is playing basic strategy perfectly and we all know that does not happen. That is why my system will work in the short run and why I am rarely on a table more than one hour before I either reach my goal or I move on.

[Hogfan69]

There are single deck tables at the Road House, next to the Horseshoe, in Robinsonville.

[ramblinman69]

Originally Posted by g0lfnutt

The real challenge with blackjack is finding a table where there is not some idiot that has no idea how to play that keeps screwing it up for everybody. The percentages of lost hands is only true if everyone is playing basic strategy perfectly and we all know that does not happen. That is why my system will work in the short run and why I am rarely on a table more than one hour before I either reach my goal or I move on.

That is exactly the way I do it. I usually play 3rd base for whatever psychotic reason but overall I feel more comfortable there in the long run with 2 or maybe 3 other solid players at the table, no more than that otherwise it gets too mucked up for my taste.

[Flyboy182]

Actually, other than being annoying, poor play by another player doesn't affect your odds at blackjack.

Here:

http://www.blackjackinfo.com/blog/the-most-common-myth-in-blackjack/