Proper bankroll and bet ramp for 6D games

I'm a novice Hi-Lo counter working on getting the Illustrious 18 down cold before I venture back to a casino and put my money down. I'll be playing in AC at the few places where red to green level 6D is still alive. I have always heard that your unit bet should be 1/100th of your total BR. I figure a bet ramp of 1-5 or 1-8 would suffice.

My bankroll is technically replenishable, but I'd really prefer to just earmark a given sum of money and go from there. Would a total bankroll of 100 units suffice, or should I plan for something larger?

i like how Stanford Wong describes it in Profesional Blackjack.
try and have a bankroll so that your max bet is 1/150th of your bankroll.

best regards,
mr fr0g

You will need much more than 100 units for a bankroll. I believe the 1/100th figure for a bet size is any bet including your maximum bet. In addition, your 1:5 or 1:8 spread on a 6-D shoe is inadequate unless you are playing only positive count hands. If you are playing all hands, you need at least a 1:20 spread. If you are only Wonging Out on bad counts and leaving the table, then you might be able to get by on 1:10.

Note that the ROR (Risk of Ruin) with a 100 unit bankroll on a 2 deck game spreading 1:5 is going to be up around 37%. It will be higher for 6-D.

100 units is nowhere near enough. Your ror is way too high! I would suggest at least 1000 units but preferably 2000. A lot of people will disagree with me on this but once you hit your first extented losing streak you will understand where I am coming from on this topic.

This all makes enough sense. I've seen enough posts on this board to know that a loss of 100+ units is all too common. I'll keep adding to the bankroll while trying to increase my tolerance for a wider bet ramp.

And moving the thread a little bit, how is backcounting really possible? I obviously get how it is done, but anyone lurking around a table for more than a few minutes has to draw suspicion, yes?

At least I agree with you!

Here is an old thread with some great backcounting techniques in it:

http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/showthread.php?t=2789

-Sonny-

Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.

I don't agree with this. In a $5 minimum game you can spread 1-8 and have a 0.50% advantage. Try to find a game where the dealer stays on soft 17, you can DAS and double on any two cards. I would stay conservative. If you are just starting out there is no reason to bet $100-$200 per hand. That is a sure way to wipe out your hard-earned money. Settle for a bit less risk and return. A stop loss limit per session is not a bad idea, but usually I just play a bit longer and claw my way back when down.

You can just exit the shoe instead of backcounting. The return is a bit less, but you should not get any heat at all if done properly. 2-3 decks in, if you don't like what you see, just leave for the bathroom and ask them to hold your spot if you like it. You can also pretend to get a phone call or something.

Can anyone tell me the gain in expectation from using backcounting or exit strategies like I mentioned above?