Play alone or team play? - that is the question.

[hrust14]

Hi guys! Im new in card counting, i learned uston APC (level3), BS and learning advanced tecniques. So my question is should i go and play in casino alone or team play. I planning to make at least $ 1000.00 per week, so i don't have to go to my shitty job, i man i might make BJ make my full time job. And if i go alone how much bankroll should i have, cause last 2 times when i went i just played 1 unit 25 $, and fot those 2 times i lost 400 dollars. I know its not enough. So tell me please what do u think? thank you very much. And good luck in BJ!!!

[Sonny]

You’ll probably want a bankroll of at least $50,000 for that level of play. Probably over $100,000 if you are doing it full time with no other source of income. If you are new to counting then you should play for at least a year or two before you even think about organizing a team. You have to know how to play successfully as an individual before you can know how to manage a team.

-Sonny-

[shadroch]

Why share your profits? Lone wolf is the way to go. If you want to earn $1,000 a week,figure 20 hours at $50 an hour won.Spread you bets $25-$100 and be sure your BJs come when you have your big bets out.I assume you have the $25,000 required to finance your first three months as a BJ pro,no?

[hrust14]

Originally Posted by shadroch

Why share your profits? Lone wolf is the way to go. If you want to earn $1,000 a week,figure 20 hours at $50 an hour won.Spread you bets $25-$100 and be sure your BJs come when you have your big bets out.I assume you have the $25,000 required to finance your first three months as a BJ pro,no?

Thank you guys.

[mjbballar23]

Play with a partner. In my opinion it is the best way to play. Playing alone gets boring and lonely and the swings are huge. Playing with a partner takes away from the loneliness of the game and also helps level out the variance. Also with a partner you dont have to worry about being scammed where as you might with a larger team.

[kewljason]

Personally I have never been associated with a team and have played fulltime solo for several years, but have spoken extensively with several people that have and have decided that solo is the way for me to continue to go.

If you are talking about team play such as in the movies and books, be aware that the casinos are well aware of this big player approach. Uston used it in atlantic city almost 30 years ago and others in vegas even before that. It certainly is nothing new. many casinos now just impliment "no mid shoe entry" to eliminate such.

If you are talking about several players pooling their resourses to create a larger bankroll enabling them to wager at a higher level than each could on his own, well then this method "in theory" can be beneficial. The problems come when one or more members' results fall below expectation. The results can be disasterous. Even a lifelong friend, who you would truely trust with your life, can come under suspision in such circumstances. You may think that you wouldn't react that way, but when it happens, you most likely will. It is just the way human beings work and unforetunately, it is in each and every one of us.

So as I said, my decision a while back was to keep going alone, then you have noone to question except your own ability. I am still playing at a much lower level than I would like and still building my bankroll, but for me it was the way to go.

I anixiously await the advise and comments from some of the others who have more experience with team play.

[blackjack avenger]

Making the income you are talking about may be a little harder then you think, especially if you are new to the game.

A good team can be a good thing.
A bad team can be disasterous.

Lone wolf you are captain of your own ship.

[Automatic Monkey]

Originally Posted by mjbballar23

Play with a partner. In my opinion it is the best way to play. Playing alone gets boring and lonely and the swings are huge. Playing with a partner takes away from the loneliness of the game and also helps level out the variance. Also with a partner you dont have to worry about being scammed where as you might with a larger team.

A partner is good, and a team of partners (going out two-by-two) is probably optimum. But there is no substitute for getting out there on your own and getting your experience first.

[21forme]

I play both solo and with a partner, primarily in AC.

The advantages of partner play in this setting are:
Pooled bankroll.
Smaller variance.
Being called into a good count where midshoe entry is permitted.
It's more fun with the camaraderie, etc.
If you think they're onto you, he can watch the pit activity while you play.

The key to a partner or team is knowing he/they know(s) what he's doing and you can trust him/them.

[callipygian]

In decreasing order of desirability:

(1) Playing as a team with people you trust 100%.
(2) Playing alone.
(3) Not playing.
(4) Playing as a team with people you trust 99% or below.