New Guy from Vegas

Hello everyone,

I have lived in Vegas for 6 years and have rarely gambled aside from an occasional slot machine.. I completed my enlistment from active duty Air Force last September, and am now a full time student in college.
I began getting interested in blackjack when I bought HoyleCasino (just to learn the casino games) for my computer a few months ago.

Recently, I have been toying with the idea of getting serious and start playing blackjack as a part time job so that I can have more time to concentrate on my college classes (instead of a normal time consuming pt job)... I bought a few books: "playing blackjack as a business", "Blackjack a winner's handbook" by Patterson, and "The Theory of Blackjack"<=== written for NASA employees ..
I also bought an 8 deck shoe, a shuffler, and 6 decks of used cards from my freindly neighborhood casino, The Orleans..

I am prepared to work hard and practice, I'm learning the basic strategy right now, and after I master that, I'll start on counting. My goal, (which I think is fairly conservative) is $300 a week

My questions to you pro's:

Is 300 a week realistic?/ if so.. what kind of bankroll do I need, and what bet amounts should I be making per hand?... should I try to make it all in one day, or split up my sessions during the week?

There are so many counting systems I have been reading about.. which one should I use for my goals? Also, has anyone tried the KO system? is it good?

How much does the dealer hitting on soft17 change basic strategy?

any input, book recommendations, other helpfull site links would be appreciated, and thanks in advance for responses to my newbie questions
take care.
-James

Search

I'm not trying to cut you off Mau-12...really, I'm not! But it might be a good idea for you to use the "Search" option at the top of this website and key in Bankroll. There have been several discussions around it.

I can't remember whether it was on this site or another but it seems that I recall that 20x your max bet is where you need to be. If you are betting $5 - $25 on a 5-unit spread, then you would need 20*$25. I've heard 30x as well.

In general, playing at a table with the dealer standing on soft-17 will reduce the house advantabe by around .22%. Playing a double deck game verses a 6-deck game will reduce the house edge by another .21%.

Some answers

$300 per week is a reasonable goal if you're willing to play 6 hours a week at decent games. A bet spread of $25 to $200 would likely give you an expected win of $50 per hour.

Your choice of a counting system is not that big a factor. KO has the advantage of simplicity which can be a good trade-off for the slight reduction in win rate. Most important is choosing the best games and playing accurately.

As for the effect of H17 on basic strategy, it only affects a few decisions. To see the exact changes, use the Strategy Engine.