Where To Go From Here

[TakingTheHouse]

Anybody who is an experience BJ player/counter, any advice is awesome.

Here's my situation:

-I'm 20 and can only gamble in Canada until May when I turn 21. This is fine because it'll take me at least that time to get card counting down to an instinct.

-The two Canadian casinos right by me (in Niagara Falls) exclusively use CSMs now...making counting impossible. I was so pissed when I walked around the whopping 4 blackjack tables they have and saw all CSMs.

-I've gone 3 times in the past 2 days using BS. First time put in $100 and broke even. Second time went up $130 and colored up and left (that was hard). Today put in $100...was up over $200. Went in a massive slump, lost that $200, put in $140 more and lost that. I lost probably 23/25 hands

Now after losing today, I can easily see how casinos take advantage of greed and desperation, and that makes me want to learn counting even more. Yeah yeah it was my fault and I was stupid, but I'd like to swing the odds in my favor.

Now my problems are this...

1) Is it worth it to learn counting to make a trip out to Vegas/AC? Bankroll isn't a problem (I can go with $10k+ if need be), but CSMs are and I don't know if they use them in Vegas nowadays.

2) From my little experience playing at a casino, everybody seems to go through clusters of wins and losses. It seems like everybody is up at one point, nobody just knows when to quit. Is it reasonable to believe that with BS you can swing yourself $50-100 profitable over 50% of the time to just come out anything above even? I'm just going with $100 a time for experience now at the tables, becoming more comfortable etc. so when I learn how to count, I already know what the surroundings feel like.

I don't want to learn counting to make a living, I can already play the young internet entrepreneur because that's what I am. I want to learn how to count to take advantage of the casinos that take advantage of millions of people and billions of their dollars.

[Martin Gayle]

Go to Fallsview. I think they still have shoe games there. If you want to play lower stakes go to Brantford. The games in Canada are bad but they can still be beaten with a large bet spread. Read and practice before you play for real. The $200 swings will be very very routine.

[TakingTheHouse]

Thanks man, you play in the Niagara area? Going to go check out Fallsview in a day or two.

Originally Posted by Martin Gayle

Go to Fallsview. I think they still have shoe games there. If you want to play lower stakes go to Brantford. The games in Canada are bad but they can still be beaten with a large bet spread. Read and practice before you play for real. The $200 swings will be very very routine.

[SystemsTrader]

Originally Posted by TakingTheHouse

Now my problems are this...

1) Is it worth it to learn counting to make a trip out to Vegas/AC? Bankroll isn't a problem (I can go with $10k+ if need be), but CSMs are and I don't know if they use them in Vegas nowadays.

It depends. Your first time out to Vegas will cost a lot in expenses alone. A flight, hotel, food, parking or cab to airport, cab to hotel, passport if you don't have one, etc... Then there is the currency exchange since you are Canadian, which can eat a lot of your EV. 10k is a good trip bankroll but if it is your total bankroll a Vegas trip will probably be negative EV after expenses because you have no comps built up. There are CSM's in Vegas but mostly there are shoe games and some good double deckers.

As for your own game instead of praticing in a casino against CSM's, you would be better off purchasing some practise software and honing your skills until you are ready to go back and play against shoe games. Spending the $100 approx. on software will cost you less than playing against CSM's.

[EasyRhino]

I worry about the psychology of it. When I was 20, I was too dumb and irresponsible to handle gambling. I'm still arguably too dumb and irresponsible.

Moreover, you've made a few trips of playing where you have no chance at an advantage, and even possibly starting steaming when you bought in with more cash after losing quickly.

[blackchipjim]

Well I don't mean to correct your post but, the other store closer to the bridge has hand dealt shoes last time I was there in the summer. The best plan is to get your passport now so when you turn 21 you can cross the border into better conditions. Save your money now for furture bankroll action then when your're 21 you can swim the river and explore the new world with better rules and playing conditions. blackchipjim

[TakingTheHouse]

I'm actually from the USA, I'm just 20 so I have to cross to Canada to play. I'm about 15 minutes from the Seneca-Niagara casino.

Also, do you think it would be stupid to make a blackjack counting blog that shares my experiences? I obviously would hide my name in the registration and never mention where I live, but do you think if casinos found it and saw that eventually I had been making a lot of money counting, they'd use all their resources to find out who owns the blog?

I want to make a blog that other counting newbs can follow and progress with me, and want to share my casino experiences.

[sagefr0g]

Originally Posted by TakingTheHouse

I'm actually from the USA, I'm just 20 so I have to cross to Canada to play. I'm about 15 minutes from the Seneca-Niagara casino.

Also, do you think it would be stupid to make a blackjack counting blog that shares my experiences? I obviously would hide my name in the registration and never mention where I live, but do you think if casinos found it and saw that eventually I had been making a lot of money counting, they'd use all their resources to find out who owns the blog?

I want to make a blog that other counting newbs can follow and progress with me, and want to share my casino experiences.

i dunno if casino snoops would be able to catch up with you, probably not if your crafty enough how you blog.
but anyway you can do that sort of thing right here in this forum. check this link EasyRhino's 'man this counting stuff is hard' thread for an example:
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/showthread.php?t=3048

[TakingTheHouse]

Yeah I know, but my career is actually in internet business and marketing, I already have a very popular blog on the subject. So I know how to make a nice designed site and extend my reach beyond the people who visit this forum.

Originally Posted by sagefr0g

i dunno if casino snoops would be able to catch up with you, probably not if your crafty enough how you blog.
but anyway you can do that sort of thing right here in this forum. check this link EasyRhino's 'man this counting stuff is hard' thread for an example:
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/showthread.php?t=3048

[Diver]

Originally Posted by SystemsTrader

As for your own game instead of praticing in a casino against CSM's, you would be better off purchasing some practise software and honing your skills until you are ready to go back and play against shoe games. Spending the $100 approx. on software will cost you less than playing against CSM's.

I entirely agree with this advice to purchase a training program such as Casino Verite and take the time to become proficient in counting. If you're a math wiz, you may be able to become ready for casino play fairly quickly. If not, you may find it more challenging to be cool and play well the first few times you try counting in real conditions, and that could lead to costly errors or being identified as a counter. Also, you'll need to develop at least a basic understanding of bet spread and Risk of Ruin relative to your bankroll. BlackJack Attack is an essential aid to help a newcomer learn how to identify worthwhile games. Putting all of that together can make trips to Vegas much more worthwhile than would be the case if you're unprepared.