any pointers

[amateur]

Hi there

I'm a new player and have a few questions which may seem daft to seasoned players but I'd appreciate whether anyone has any thoughts on the following:

My local casino only has european blackjack with continuous shufflers - do the various strategy's discussed (aside from counting) apply to this game ?

I've used basic strategy in the past but without too much success, I think mainly due to my previous unstructured betting patterns & lack of discipline. I usually end up chasing the game by doubling up once I'm losing and then running out of money, or not knowing when to stop when I'm winning and losing my profit. I've read about oscars strategy on here and have tried a few free sessions online and on my table at home with 4 decks and like the look of it so am going to give it a go (with discipline!). I intend to go along with 50 units and am wondering if any of the experienced players recommend a profit target to stop at and then take a break before restarting - I intially thought 25 units but is this too greedy - perhaps 12 ?

Is table hoping a good idea - my thoughts were win a bit then move to the next table.

Also, does anyone often use basic strategy but stay on 15 & 16 even if the dealers card is 8, 9, or 10 etc. ?

I've split Aces a few times but it usually doesn't pay off for me - any thoughts ?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated - I'm fully prepared to lose my stake and won't moan if any of your advice backfires for me !! Your best advice is probably for me to stay at home !!

Cheers.

[Mikeaber]

Hmmm.....I would "prefer" a hand shuffled or machine shuffled game over Continuous Shuffling. However, if you do play the game with CSMs, just be sure you stick to basic strategy. And that does include taking hits on the stiff hands against made hands (7,8,9,10,ACE). It also includes splitting Aces and Eights. If you do it, you will lose less (not necessairly win more because both are defensive moves!)

There have been several other discussions (even recently) on CSMs. You might gain further insight if you do a search on it and read what others have had to say about it.

Oh, as for betting....I'd just flat bet the minimum and try to make up losses by winning the double downs and splits and from Blackjacks. It's a grind and I'm just not sure that $50 is going to get you very far with any kind of progression. But then, I've never had any luck at all with progressions and others may really disagree with me.

[amateur]

Thanks Mike - I'll look through the posts.

I'm in the UK which probably explains the csm's - can't have anyone gaining an advantage can we !

I was thinking £100 on a £2 min bet table - what sort of stake do you guys usually take ?

[Mikeaber]

It really varries radically. Advantage players need a much larger ratio of BR to bet size. I have flat bet on a 20x BR many times just using BS and lasted (even come out ahead a few times) for a day or two. If you stick to a 50x BR, you should be able to have a lot of fun. Just brush up on your Basic Strategy and then trust it. You're obviously bucking a negative expectation so be prepared to accept loss...but it's a close call with a slight House Advantage. You can get the advantage here by using the Strategy Engine accessible from the front page of the forum:
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/ Look over on the left side and you'll see it at the top of the column. It says that with an 8-deck shoe (or CSM I suppose) the house edge is .80% (less than 1% house edge.)

[newyorkbear]

A couple more points.
Always use your players card. You'll get some comps no matter what level of play you do.
There is no clear cut stop limit,either on time or losses. Play until you are tired or bored. Until you've lost whatever you figure you are comfortable losing,or vice versa.
40- to 50 times your minimum bet should be more than sufficent as a BR.
2 pounds is somewhere around $5 US which is the minimum bet in your average US casino.

[zengrifter]

Originally Posted by amateur

Hi there

I'm a new player and have a few questions which may seem daft to seasoned players but I'd appreciate whether anyone has any thoughts on the following:

My local casino only has european blackjack with continuous shufflers - do the various strategy's discussed (aside from counting) apply to this game ?

I've used basic strategy in the past but without too much success, I think mainly due to my previous unstructured betting patterns & lack of discipline. I usually end up chasing the game by doubling up once I'm losing and then running out of money, or not knowing when to stop when I'm winning and losing my profit. I've read about oscars strategy on here and have tried a few free sessions online and on my table at home with 4 decks and like the look of it so am going to give it a go (with discipline!). I intend to go along with 50 units and am wondering if any of the experienced players recommend a profit target to stop at and then take a break before restarting - I intially thought 25 units but is this too greedy - perhaps 12 ?

Is table hoping a good idea - my thoughts were win a bit then move to the next table.

Also, does anyone often use basic strategy but stay on 15 & 16 even if the dealers card is 8, 9, or 10 etc. ?

I've split Aces a few times but it usually doesn't pay off for me - any thoughts ?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated - I'm fully prepared to lose my stake and won't moan if any of your advice backfires for me !! Your best advice is probably for me to stay at home !!

Cheers.

Your post only demonstrates that you don't fully know/utilize BS. Further you seem not to grasp that without card-counting onlt the house will have the math-edge and you will be destined to lose in the longrun. zg

[aussiecounter]

Originally Posted by zengrifter

Your post only demonstrates that you don't fully know/utilize BS. Further you seem not to grasp that without card-counting onlt the house will have the math-edge and you will be destined to lose in the longrun. zg

I have to agree with zengrifter here.

Your post demonstrates that you probably not only don't know BS fully, but that you doubt its 'effectiveness' as well.
Learn the Basic Strategy for the specific set of rules you are playing against! This is important, as using charts for a different set of rules will diminish the effectiveness, sometimes greatly.

Then realise that unless you are card-counting or using some other crafty form of advantage play (card-tracking etc), then you will always be at a disadvantage when playing blackjack.
Stop looking for a Betting Strategy that will make you money, as you'll never find one that will. Your only chance of winning is just that, chance.

That said, my recommendation for a betting Strategy is a positive progression with a modest win stop, but only if you feel you have to. I use it sometimes to break up monotony of betting for bonuses.

[amateur]

You must get a bit fed up with guys like me dabbling at the game !

Thanks for your advice.

I did doubt bs due to losing more frequently than winning but that was only over a short term so I'll fully stick to it from now.

Might sound crazy but I am prepared to keep losing my stake (although it would be nice to win from time to time !) - I enjoy the game and only play every few weeks, bet modestly and regard it as a good night out rather than a grand plan to pack in my job.

My local casinos near me only have cs machines and no shoes - a new one had 1 shoe for a month and then replaced it with a cs ! This may seem like a daft question - and if so I'm sorry - but I assume its not possible to successfully count with these machines - am I right ?

Also, is it frowned upon to take a laminated card with me and have it on the table ? The casinos here in the UK seem a lot more serious than in the states.

Thanks in advance for taking time out to offer any guidance.

[aussiecounter]

There are two different types of shuffling machines, and they are very different.
The first are the shuffling machines. Thats all they do, shuffle. After the end of the shoe, the dealer puts the cards in it and it shuffles them, then they go back in the shoe. They can be counted.
The second are the CSMs; Continuous/Constant Shuffling Machines. The dealer will place all the players cards from a played hand into the machine and it randomly inserts them back into the same shoe, not as a clump but individually. CSMs cannot be counted against

[amateur]

how can you tell the difference - do the former machines whirr just when the cards are put in but the later continuously ?