Interesting...

johnnyb

Well-Known Member
#1
By no means am I as experienced in the field of blackjack as most of the people on this website. But I would like to share a story that excites me (both physically and metally, haha!) which happened recently at WinStar in Norman, Oklahoma. At the time I was using the KO Full method, but now I am a TKO user.

65% to 75% penetration.
S17, 6D, DAS, RSA, NS, NLS.
$700 BR, $5 min... (Can't remember max).
1-10 unit spread.

It was my third visit to WinStar and unfortunately I could not do it more often because I live in Dallas, Texas and the drive takes around an hour and thirty minutes. Once I arrived and was situated on one of the many tables, I decided to wong-in at a count of +16. (IRC starts at -20 and Key Count begins at -4, however, I like starting at 0 which is where +16 comes from.) After I sat down with four people already at the table, I did not have a choice to choose 3rd base so I sat at 1st, knowing my counting abilities were quick enough due to the simplicity of the counting method. During the first couple hands, quite a few small cards came out of the shoe which angered all of the other ploppies, but I knew what those cards meant. After these hands, the ploppies decided to leave and/or take a break for a hand or two. I was the only one playing at the table this time. The count was +30, which called for my max bet. Dealer dealt me A,A which had me gasping for air I was so excited. I knew with such a high count I had a possibility of two 21's. I immediately split those aces. On my first ace I hit another hand of A,A. I split those again, leaving me with three aces. On that ace, I was dealt one MORE ace, leaving me with four aces total at the table. I had four max bets out and my heart was pumping very fast and hard. The dealer was showing a six and my hopes were skyrocketting. Dealer dealt me an 8 on my first ace, a 9 on my second, and two face cards on the next two aces. Dealer turned over a face card, and hit a 3, leaving him with 19. One of my max bets pushed, and the other three won, leaving me with a total of $150 won on a single hand, playing with $5 chips. I was very proud of myself.

I'm sure all of the extremely experienced players have had this occur before, but I just wanted to share a proud moment of what was the beginning of my counting days. :grin:;)
 

paymypush

Well-Known Member
#2
I'm glad you won that hand but you are over betting. You had almost 30% of your starting bankroll on one hand in a high count and the dealer didn't break. You'd be surprised how many of these sure things blow up in your face. To withstand them a sufficient bankroll is imperative.
 

stopgambling

Well-Known Member
#4
you didnt say trip br or what? playing with $700 br is pure gambling !!!well i m just learning too, but seems to me you are too involve in the short term outcome !!!!I gamble for quite a long time but now i learn not to, just switch from gambling to cc.:)You should not feel proud ,just happy that it turned out the way you wanted to.The dealer can get 20-21 18 out of 20 times killing most of your max bets in less than an hour !!! just keep learning , i am .May we graduate with a pass.
 

johnnyb

Well-Known Member
#5
paymypush said:
I'm glad you won that hand but you are over betting. You had almost 30% of your starting bankroll on one hand in a high count and the dealer didn't break. You'd be surprised how many of these sure things blow up in your face. To withstand them a sufficient bankroll is imperative.
I completely agree with you bud. At the time I thought of it as to how many max bets I could get out on the table before going broke. Since I brought 700, I had a total of 14 max bets. I thought this would be sufficient because I was somewhat picky on the tables I played. (Position, how many ppl, pen etc...) And I was wonging in and wonging out at the key count and the exit counts, respectively. Ended up being a somewhat successful round with my BR rising to $1104.50. But regardless I know the BR is important now.
 
#6
Congratulations. It's not a good idea to list the casino in the post with enough specifics that they can tell who you are. You might want to edit your posts.
 

johnnyb

Well-Known Member
#7
stopgambling said:
you didnt say trip br or what? playing with $700 br is pure gambling !!!well i m just learning too, but seems to me you are too involve in the short term outcome !!!!I gamble for quite a long time but now i learn not to, just switch from gambling to cc.:)You should not feel proud ,just happy that it turned out the way you wanted to.The dealer can get 20-21 18 out of 20 times killing most of your max bets in less than an hour !!! just keep learning , i am .May we graduate with a pass.
It was a one day trip. My trip BR was practically unlimited because I don't pay for my own gas and that was the only necessity of the day, understandably. And yes, I am very fortunate the count was so high and the cards came out in my favor. It feels good to see it all work!
 

johnnyb

Well-Known Member
#8
tthree said:
Congratulations. It's not a good idea to list the casino in the post with enough specifics that they can tell who you are. You might want to edit your posts.
No worries, I have been under the radar with my bet spreads and my cover plays are prepared. I also find it very easy to talk to the dealer and other people at the table and establish that I'm just another plain old ploppy!
 
#9
johnnyb said:
No worries, I have been under the radar with my bet spreads and my cover plays are prepared. I also find it very easy to talk to the dealer and other people at the table and establish that I'm just another plain old ploppy!
Until they read your post and they think, "I remember that guy".
 

paddywhack

Well-Known Member
#11
johnnyb said:
No worries, I have been under the radar with my bet spreads and my cover plays are prepared. I also find it very easy to talk to the dealer and other people at the table and establish that I'm just another plain old ploppy!
No offense intended, but with your BR and a 5-50 spread, I can't imagine any need for "cover plays". Your ev is minuscule enough without giving back a substantial portion of it trying to mislead people who are, most likely, not even paying attention to you.
 

mica

Active Member
#13
Enjoy the success

I completely understand your excitement and happiness! Reminds me of me not very long ago. After practicing counting...it feels good to experience winning on a positive count just like you hoped for! If I had not gotten lucky on several if my first outings...I prob would have given up instead of being motivated enough to keep learning, practicing, reading and asking questions!

Hope you continue winning! Keep posting and let us know how u do!

Mica
 

johnnyb

Well-Known Member
#15
paddywhack said:
No offense intended, but with your BR and a 5-50 spread, I can't imagine any need for "cover plays". Your ev is minuscule enough without giving back a substantial portion of it trying to mislead people who are, most likely, not even paying attention to you.
No offense taken my friend. However, I'm sure the cover plays were unnecessary but I wanted to employ them regardless for practicing purposes. It was only my third time at a casino, so my expectations and thoughts were somewhat limited on what specifically I wanted to achieve. Mainly, making money and staying under the radar were the priorities, and getting some general card counting practice in real time as well. Standing on 16 v 10 when the count was +16 and up, DD on 10 v A when 24+ and up, and other indices were naturally used as cover plays. Thanks for the feedback though!
 

johnnyb

Well-Known Member
#16
mica said:
I completely understand your excitement and happiness! Reminds me of me not very long ago. After practicing counting...it feels good to experience winning on a positive count just like you hoped for! If I had not gotten lucky on several if my first outings...I prob would have given up instead of being motivated enough to keep learning, practicing, reading and asking questions!

Hope you continue winning! Keep posting and let us know how u do!

Mica
Thanks for understanding! I feel the exact same way as you. Seeing that practice actually pays of is definitely an enjoyable feeling, along with the motivation to keep learning that comes with it. And I will certainly keep everyone here updated on my progress. :)
 

tribute

Well-Known Member
#17
johnnyb said:
I'm sure all of the extremely experienced players have had this occur before, but I just wanted to share a proud moment of what was the beginning of my counting days. :grin:;)
Nice.

Does Winstar, as most Oklahoma casinos, still charge an ante on each hand?
If so, that sure takes a bite out. (100 hands x .50= $50.00 per hour!)
 

paymypush

Well-Known Member
#18
johnnyb said:
No worries, I have been under the radar with my bet spreads and my cover plays are prepared. I also find it very easy to talk to the dealer and other people at the table and establish that I'm just another plain old ploppy!

How many hands per hour did you play? The $.50 ante per hand that you neglected to mention, is all the cover you'll ever need.
 

Severity8

Well-Known Member
#19
johnnyb said:
But I would like to share a story that excites me (both physically and metally, haha!) which happened recently at WinStar in Norman, Oklahoma.
Just a thought the Riverwind is in Norman (middle of the state) and the WinStar is by Gainsville on the Texas border. :whip:
 

johnnyb

Well-Known Member
#20
tribute said:
Nice.

Does Winstar, as most Oklahoma casinos, still charge an ante on each hand?
If so, that sure takes a bite out. (100 hands x .50= $50.00 per hour!)
Yes, unfortunately they do. Even though that is a lot of cash per hour, it's somewhat insignificant (to me) because the ante chips are coming from the cash I've earned on the BJ table, still giving me a +EV. I can understand your concern completely, but on a level between recreational player and professional player, I am more likely just a recreational player!
 
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