Intoduction

Hey everyone!!!

Last Friday was my first time at a casino and first time playing blackjack and I had a blast. After getting home, I proceeded to research the game and game across advantage playing. Prior to this I never had much interest in it (even after "21" came out which inspired a lot of my friends to lose money by "counting" :laugh. After doing some research I have gained a great level of respect for AP players and the mathematicians who have set the current strategies for AP.

Over the weekend and this week I have done a great deal of studying the subject and practicing. Of course, my practicing has only been basic strategy (which I am very comfortable with now), and doing a Hi-lo count with a deck that I keep with me at all times (down to 30seconds).

Are there any books that any of you would recommend (rules: 8D DAS 7/8 Pen. S17 5-500)? I have read Modern Blackjack by Norm Wattenberger and am looking to read Blackjack Attack, Million Dollar Blackjack and Knock-Out Blackjack.

Also, right now my BR is not very high ($1000) but I am doing this for fun and maybe make a little money for now. Would it be advisable to visit the tables with this bankroll, assuming 5min and $2.50 units?

KJ

A good book a lot of others on here would probably also recommend would be Blackbelt in Blackjack. I read it a while ago and am going to purchase my own copy very soon.

I am guessing that you won last friday on your first trip. That usually fast-tracks people into wanting more. Your statement about studying and practicing all week is a little disheartening. Kind of like saying, I read some medical journals over the weekend and think I am now ready to operate. Joking aside, it takes a good deal of practice and there is a lot to learn before you are really ready to go get 'em. Actually, I think it is safe to say the learning really never is complete.

But anyway you are off to a good start by reading Modern Blackjack. I place it among my three personal favorite books dealing with card counting along with Blackjack Attack and Professional Blackjack by stanford wong. I also recomment reading the Blackjack School on the menu to your left. Not really anything earth shattering in there but it covers the basics and at a more than fair price. (free) Alot of people are going to recommend lots of different books, like Blackbelt in Blackjack by snyder, and many other. If you can read them for free at the library, then do so, read everything you can. But it really isn't necessary to buy many many different books covering the exact same info. Most of us here have done that. I have a BJ library of 40+ books and others many more. The thing is, if you get a decent book covering the hi-lo count and money management, there is no need to buy 5 more similar ones. For the most part they cover the same info. I personally have nothing against snyder or some of the other authors like Mr Renzey who posts here regularly. Had I read one of their books first, they probably would be at the top of my list, as it was, I personally read wong first.

Knock out blackjack is a little different because it is an unbalanced count. I personally didn't have much use for it as I had already learned the balanced Hi-lo count by the time I read KO blackjack, and wasn't going to switch counts for what amounts to a similar strength system at that point. However, for someone new, I recommend reading this book and then you can decide whether you want to go with a balanced count like hi-lo or unbalanced like KO.

Now about your local game, which isn't bad. 8 deck sucks, S17, Das is good, 7/8 pen is very good. $1000 is not really enough to play, unless you play at a very high risk of ruin. (possibility of tapping out completely) I recomment not playing right away and reading, learning and praticing while you increase your bankroll. However if you choose not to do that, as most do, I would recomment spreading $5-$30 and sitting out negative hands if you can. Forget about increments of $2.50, If it's a $5 table, your unit is $5 and you should bet in $5 increments. $2.50 increments will just slow the game and confuse things.

I am sure others will have much different advise, some good, some bad, so you will have to sort through it. :laugh: There are many experts here, much more knowledgable than myself who generally are more than willing to assist you and share info and experiences with you. I also recommend reading the several (or many) other similar threads from new players asking for advise.

Thank you for the valuable input, guys!

Kewljason, I actually broke even that night, like I said for now I am doing this for fun and will welcome any profit that comes my way.

As I stated I have been practicing all week on basic strategy and a running count of one deck, and trust me, after the research I have done I realize that it will take me probably around 6months to 1 year of dedicated practice before I can confidently use a larger BR (hopefully less than a year, lol).

The $1000 BR is what I have now that I planned to hold onto until I feel that I am ready to play, thank you for your insight on this. Fortunately, I can afford to put aside about $500/month so I guess I will start a BR savings account.

Also, thank you for the book recommendations, I had never thought to check out the library and save some money there for my BR.

KJ

On a side story, that night at the casino I was down $80 until another player started teaching me basic strategy and I picked up on quickly so I got up to ~$600 by BS and some luck (would like to say educated deviations in my play but yeah, it was luck). When I got to that point, I pocketed enough to break even then split 10s, and the dealer looked at me funny and asked why I did that (very nice lady), I said "Well, the shoes almost done and I haven't seen many 10s". After saying that, I got 10s on both ($150 on each) and proceeded to keep playing 'til I had $25 left, tipped the dealer n went back to my hotel room... Some people call me an idiot for that, but the way I saw it was I never expected to do that well and I was having a blast talking to the people and playing the game.

The #1 thing you can do is LEARN BASIC STRATEGY! The advantage you can gain as a new player by learning BS perfectly by memory vs knowing it 90% and counting is rediculous

Practice, practice, and practice some more then read some books. A personal favorite is Blackjack Bluebook II by Fred Renzey. Very easy to read and alot of good concepts. After basic strategy then learn counting. Do not try to play at the casino before then.

It's not so much how many seconds it takes to count down a deck as much as whether or not you can do it quickly and accurately while talking to your neighbor, playing correctly and ordering a drink...........


Homeschool

Thanks, Homeschool.

I totally agree, I got the trial of CVCX and have been alternating practicing BS and running through a deck of cards so I can mentally change how I see the cards. I want to get to the point where I can see 2,3,4,5,6 as 1 T,A as -1 but while I'm doing it see them for what they are and know how to play them according to BS before I even look at different playing indexes. My thoughts are that if I'm going to be putting a large amount of money into this hobby, I want to be able to play with 100% efficiency (hopefully heat won't be a problem). Also, I have a buddy who I can trust and who is very disciplined that is doing this with me and we will get together every weekend and practice, practice, practice and spot each other so that we will do this thing right and not half-a$$.

Also, I see that you're from Michigan, I am as well. How are the rules at the Detroit casinos? I'm not old enough to check them out myself, but by the time I'm ready I will be old enough to play there.

Another thing, you mentioned ordering a drink while I play... I am in college so can handle alcohol, but I don't think it would be wise to have more than one drink. Would you recommend ordering a mixed drink such as jack and coke then just drinking coke after that to make it seem like I am drinking? Or does it not matter since they will probably put them in different types of glasses making it better to just have a light beer?

KJ

Order bottled beer and drink slowly. Drinking at the table has some cover value because traditionally counters do not drink, however it will definately make it a little harder to keep your count if you have too much. Even if you're not drinking plan to still be interrupted by the waitress from time to time.

Homeschool

Make sure you are learning the strategy for H17 games. The three differences between it at S17 are doubling A8 vs 6, 11 vs A and A7 vs 2. Or something like that. The games at your casino are pretty decent for wonging, due to the nice circular formation they are built in. You will need to be back counting and wonging aggressively to have a good chance with your limited bankroll. Make sure you know the index`s for 16 vs 10, Insurance and 15 vs 10 before your next trip. The illustrious 18 are next after that; they are really not that hard to memorize, especially if you use one of the online trainer games, although those are typically for S17 games.