Practicing

[BBjoe]

Without going to a casino and actually playing what is the best way to practice card counting? I'm trying to deal myself two or three hands, betting, tracking win/losses, etc. However, playing the role of dealer and three players is often confusing and distracting. Is there a better way to practice at home?

[Dyepaintball12]

1. You could have a friend be the dealer for you.

2. You could use Blackjack Software. I use Casino Vérité and Casino Vérité Hi/Lo. It allows you to play 2 hands at a time against the dealer, and also has alot of drills and flash cards and such so you can practice.

[Cass]

Originally Posted by BBjoe

Without going to a casino and actually playing what is the best way to practice card counting? I'm trying to deal myself two or three hands, betting, tracking win/losses, etc. However, playing the role of dealer and three players is often confusing and distracting. Is there a better way to practice at home?

Just practice counting down decks of cards by flipping each card over one by one. When you get to the end your count should be 0... or whatever for your system. Practice this for a hour a day or so and in no time you will be able to count down a single deck in 20-25 seconds. Then you are ready for casino play.

[Canceler]

Originally Posted by Dyepaintball12

1. You could have a friend be the dealer for you.

Yes, software definitely has its place, but this is what helped me become able to count at the casino more than anything.

[sagefr0g]

Originally Posted by BBjoe

Without going to a casino and actually playing what is the best way to practice card counting? I'm trying to deal myself two or three hands, betting, tracking win/losses, etc. However, playing the role of dealer and three players is often confusing and distracting. Is there a better way to practice at home?

hey BB, i'm of a mind of never dealing myself hands, betting or letting any non-professional deal me hands as if in a blackjack game. the little idiosyncrocies that non-professionals exhibit when dealing throws me off tremendously. so i never practice that way. here is all i ever do as far as practice:
i have three practice sessions a day minimum if possible.
i hand write the basic strategy chart with illustrious 18 departures.
i hand write my betting ramp and play strategies correlated to true count.
i mentaly count by ones for negative and positive numbers from zero to twenty or twenty one and back to zero. then i do it by twos starting from zero. then i do it by twos starting from one and negative one.
i count down a deck (rc count) flipping one card at a time.
i take and spread a deck by about two or three rows on my practice table and then count down the deck (rc count).
i count down a deck (rc count) by flipping two cards at a time.
then i repeat the whole process of counting down the decks as outlined above.
then i have various stacks of cards set up. one deck, two decks, three decks and four decks. i just look at those cards and say how many decks it is for each stack and what number i would divide by for each stack if i were figuring the true count (for example if i'm looking at a one deck stack i think divide by five, if i'm looking at a two deck stack i think divide by four, ect., ect.)
the other things i do as practice is counting by ones, and twos negative and positive numbers when i'm in some mundane really boring situation such as jogging, waiting in line at the grocery store ect. i'll also mentaly go over the basic strategy table and my bet strategies in those situations also.
thats about all i normally do for practice. i rarely play practice games on the computer and never practice actually playing the game of blackjack by hand at home. but all the other practice that i do just seems to really help when i actually hit the casino everything just seems to fall in place.

best regards,
mr fr0g :D

[Dyepaintball12]

Originally Posted by sagefr0g

thats about all i normally do for practice. best regards,
mr fr0g :D

Holy **** man. Thats all? 3 times a day? How long does that take?

Maybe I need to rethink my practicing!!

[sagefr0g]

Originally Posted by Dyepaintball12

Holy **** man. Thats all? 3 times a day? How long does that take?

Maybe I need to rethink my practicing!!

it takes me about 15 minutes to a half hour if i'm leisurely doing it. a total of 45 minutes to an hour and a half for the three separate sessions.
also i guess i'm negligent in this sense but i've never timed my self. i don't try and rush my practice. i shoot for accuracy and clarity of mind.
when i first started practicing in earnest back in oct of 2005 i did practice much more intensively. i probably over practiced but i think it helped. i probably practiced three or four hours a day for two months back then.
the way i finally figured i was ready for the casinos was that one day i fired up my computer blackjack program, played it and counted as i played then checked to see what the program claimed the count was and lo and behold my count and the computers agreed.
also back in oct of 2005 i did play a lot of blackjack against the computer then. i believe that helped but nothing helped like the practice sessions that i described in the earlier post have helped. the one i especially like is fanning the cards out on the table and then counting the deck down. but i think it is also important to flip the cards over one at a time and count and also flip them two at a time and count.

best regards,
mr fr0g :D

[Jeff25]

Go to www.blackjackforumonline.com and download the free counting practice software

Once you can consistently count shoes playing 2 hands with 4 other players at a speed of 12 or higher making no mistakes your ready. Good Luck