Minimum Bankroll

What's the minimum bankroll you guys suggest for an at-home card counter such as myself that is going to make his debut at the tables? I'll be having access to just about any game in Atlantic City.

Best,

WooKeTs

Completely depends on what kind of stakes you are playing. As a general rule of thumb though a 1000x your min bet bankroll is needed. But once again this completely depends on your EV, Standard deviation etc.

enough to weather a storm...if 1000x your min bet is way too much i think about 100 to 125x your min bet would be find for a weekend trip....but the RoR is decently high on that

I'll be sticking to 5-10$ dollar tables if that helps at all.

your question is a bit vague which is why you received such diffenet answers. 135711317 is refering to a total bankroll, while Xur is refering to a trip bankroll for a limited time of play (perhaps a day or two)

I personally am wondering what some of your terminology means. what is an at-home card counter? what does having access to just about any game mean?

For $5 - $10, at least $1000, but just to be safe $2000 would be good (which is my trip bankroll).

Sorry, let me clarify.

By "at-home" card counter, I mean I've been practicing counting cards (HiLo) for the past 5 months. I'm making my first trip to the casinos with knowledge of card counting.

What I meant by having access to any game in AC is that I'm open to suggestions as to what games/locations would be most suited for a person counting cards for the first time in the casino environment.

Hope that helped clear things up,

Wookets

$5 tables are pretty hard to come by. Borgata has at least one open at all times. Showboat used to as well, although I haven't even walked through there in several months. Taj and a few other occasionally in morning hours from 6am til noonish. $10 tables can be found at most casino right now on weekdays.
Without knowing your spread, I would agree with bjtocki, $1000 minimum, for a day trip, maybe 2 grand for an overnight trip seems reasonable. wish you luck. hope your experience is everything you hope it will be.

For a first trip, I wouldn't take more than $500. If you lose that, it's more likely you are doing something wrong than being a victim of bad variance.

Last time I was in AC I ended I bought in with $40 and walked out 2 hours later with $500, and only had minimal knowledge of BS. Hopefully that kind of variance sticks around:laugh:. What kind of spread sounds good with a trip bankroll of $500? Losing all of it wouldn't really be a big deal at all.

I tend to play and advise very conservatively. Just like my politics.
For me BJ is about #1) enjoying myself 2) protecting my bankroll 3) making money. I find if I take care of #s 1and 2, then #3 takes care of itself.
So, my advice to a first timer would be to bet no more than a 1-4 spread on the cheapest table you can find. If it's a $5 table, my top bet would be $20.
If you are sincere and in it for the long run, learn to swim before you try to fly. It makes the crashs easier to take. The casinos will still be there in a month.Try to make sure your money is,as well.

With all due respect shad, a 1-4 spread in AC is a losing game unless you are wonging in and only playing positive counts. With only 1 or 2 $5 tables open throughout the city at any given time, this would be nearly impossible. Even at $10 tables, playing only positive counts would be extremely difficult as they are usually too crowded to wong into. I can appreciate your conservative nature, but you need a bigger spread to beat these games without backcounting.

We'll have to disagree on that. I've had plenty of winning sessions with 1-3,1-4 spreads in AC. It's his first session, not forever.You spread 1-10,then inevitably he'll have a $100 bet out, split 8s,draw a 3, double down and lose the whole $300. A fine WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF BJ moment. I'm trying to keep him from losing 60% of his bankroll on a hand.

Big difference

You'll find the casino environment much different than "counting at home". Keep your spreads small until you have mastered utilizing the skill AT the real tables.

Billy C1

this is exactly how i started out. With a $700 BR. I added only 1700 more out of pocket and with winning over the past year my BR is well over $10k now.

Start with a small, almost break-even spread. you will have some winning sessions like this and some losing ones. While the winning sessions will be very enjoyable, the losing ones will be tolerable.

Shad,

I'm still rolling on the floor from your line about your conservative politics--------GOOD ONE!!!!:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Billy C1