newby seeking for new practice techniques

[jee_pack]

hi everyone! first post here, so in one sentence: never been a gambler never will be, went to the casino for the sencond time in my life last month, then saw 2 shows on tv about big time card counters, bought the mensa guide to blackjack (book), and here I am 2 weeks later.

BTW: I was intreged by the "this counting stuff is hard" thread as I too find it hard since I'm new at it. And one thing I'd like to say about that is that the show I saw on tv that marked me the most was about 3 guys who all quit their jobs to take ONE YEAR to perfect their card counting techniques. They weir aiming at 10 seconds for the counting of 1 deck. They played and delt to each other for days and days. And they then hit the casino to start making money. Yeah it didn't say if they also practiced at low stakes tables during that year, but one thing I get from this is, if you have room for improvement, you should keep working at it before hitting the casino. Counting gives you only between 1 and 2 percent of an advantage, if you make mistakes, you lose your advantage, and on top of that you don't know you are making mistakes since you can't verify your count. And then even when your good, you should still practice untill it's second nature. At least that's what I think (and I hope I will be able to stick to this plan).

So I just do drills, and from day to day, I always improve, if I can't go faster, at least I know its closer to becoming second nature. I don't have any problems with counting drills right now, but I have more difficulty when dealing to my self since I have to count my cards, the dealer's cards, and the RC at the same time. (I can do it with lots of concentration). The problem is that the improvement is not very fast compared to what I get from other counting drills. I think its because its not a drill, its just doing the real thing and trying to learn as you do it.

First thing I ask my self is: how do I know I'm doing it right? Perhaps there is no right way, but maybe proffessionnals all have the same counting techniques. What I mean is: is it best to count the cards while there are being dealt, or after the hands are finished? (just curious about that one)

SO DOES ANYONE HAVE DRILLS for getting to count to 21 (add up your cards and make decisions) at the same time that you are keeping a RC (other that drills that practice each of those 2 things individually).

Anyway, there's the end of my first post, thanks in advance!

[Canceler]

Originally Posted by jee_pack

SO DOES ANYONE HAVE DRILLS for getting to count to 21 (add up your cards and make decisions) at the same time that you are keeping a RC (other that drills that practice each of those 2 things individually).

Sure. Imagine the dealer has a 10 showing. (It could be any card, but I use a 10.) Deal yourself a hand. Play it as you would against a 10. Count the cards. Repeat until you've used up all the cards. At the end you should know if your count was right.

[QFIT]

Originally Posted by jee_pack

SO DOES ANYONE HAVE DRILLS for getting to count to 21 (add up your cards and make decisions) at the same time that you are keeping a RC (other that drills that practice each of those 2 things individually).

That's what Casino Verite is about.

[TENNBEAR]

[QUOTE=jee_pack;37731]hi



So I just do drills, and from day to day, I always improve, if I can't go faster, at least I know its closer to becoming second nature. I don't have any problems with counting drills right now, but I have more difficulty when dealing to my self since I have to count my cards, the dealer's cards, and the RC at the same time. (I can do it with lots of concentration). The problem is that the improvement is not very fast compared to what I get from other counting drills. I think its because its not a drill, its just doing the real thing and trying to learn as you do it.
Clearly you have figured out counting cards is the ultimate in Multi-tasking, much like playing a musical instrument it requires a lot of practice to become profecent. However you need not to quit your day job and take a year for practice, it is not that hard. Please take QFIT'S advice and buy the practice software Casino Verite, this will help you the most. It is available here on this site under books and software.

[positiveEV]

Originally Posted by jee_pack

SO DOES ANYONE HAVE DRILLS for getting to count to 21 (add up your cards and make decisions) at the same time that you are keeping a RC (other that drills that practice each of those 2 things individually).

You should buy Casino Verite on www.qfit.com if you want to be serious about cards counting. CVDrills, which is included in the software, will give you all the training you need for all these aspects.

[jee_pack]

Thanks for the tips, I like the drill in the first reply, and I will try the demo of blackjack verité. I am however using SuperBlack Jack right now, and it still has nice drills that I like to practice with.

ps: If anyone's got another drill you can do with one deck when you don't have a computer, shoot!