Newbie Here!

[HoosierAce]

Hi everyone! First post here on this site. Glad to meet you all!

I'm new to serious blackjack study. Maybe I should post this in the
regular blackjack forum but the book I'm reading is the K-O book
on counting cards.

The last few years I've been caught up in the poker craze and bought
and read just about all the big books out there on the game. After spending
three hours in a $1.00 sit and go beating 30 people and only winning
$20.00 I realized it's not really worth the time. I guess I'm tired of the fad or something. lol. I never played high stakes poker tho.

Anyway, I've always wanted to learn the trick to counting cards and find
out how hard or easy it was. After doing a little research I found that the
K-O method is the most easy system to learn but also powerful. So I went
for that book and hey - only $20.00 or so dollars on amazon. So far the book
has been well worth the money and easy to read and follow.

I post on usenet and went to the blackjack groups but only found
spam. I punched in "blackjack discussion" on google and that led me to here.

I have only played blackjack once in a real casino - that was on a cruise ship. I did not know what I was doing except beat the dealer and don’t' bust. I can't remember how many decks but I think it was two. I did not touch the cards. I put down $20.00 I won like three our four bets in a row, ended up with $100.00, and grabbed my chips and ran! I went back a few days later to win more money and lost all the money I made! lol

As I said, the book I have is the K-O book. I'm about 2/3's the way thru
it. I have the basic strategy memorized. I have half the preferred matrix
memorized and will put the rest to memory. I don’t' have any of it down cold
tho. I can play blackjack with myself but it takes me a minute or so to run
the chart in my head and think what I should do. It does seem to be coming
to me faster the more I play. Seems like most the hands I'm dealt are hard hands, few soft hands, and fewer pairs.

One of the most fun things I like doing is counting thru a deck of cards. I can
count thru one deck in 27 seconds. However, I'm not 200% perfect yet. If I do it five times in a row I will be right three or four times. I have a problem of trying to count faster than my brain will allow me. I've only been doing
this for two weeks. The last few days counting under 35 seconds has become very easy.

I bought some flash cards and am practicing what I should do with certain hands. I'm also practicing some basic addition - instead of adding 12 + 9
in my head I'm trying to simply memorize it so I can recognize it instantly which will hopefully let me concentrate on the running count.

As for the running count - I have tried a few times to keep the running count
while playing blackjack with myself but with trying to do the right thing with the hands I lose count easily.

That's about it. I've been at this for about two weeks now. I want to hit a casino and count cards and make money!

[letsdothis21]

just read your post, im new too so dont really have anything to say other than the fact that you should have used that $20 from poker and bought into a bigger tourny worth more money

[ChefJJ]

Hoosier-

Welcome to the board & the game of blackjack. I use KO, and here's what I recommend:

1. Memorize basic strategy (BS) perfectly. And perfectly means perfectly. If you are in Indiana (assumption), you need to memorize the multiple-deck BS since there are slight differences between single deck and multi. But you need to have that down without much thought, regardless of whether you are going to count cards are not. If you are counting, however, it is important for BS to be natural...there's already enough you need to be concentrating on!

2. Learn to count. Not just by counting down a deck to see how fast you are, but by learning to count in game situations. Learn how to cancel the cards out (K + 7 = 0), it will reduce how much you actually count. Also, deal yourself a game situation on a table with 6 or 7 hands and the dealer's hand. Play through it, figure out the most comfortable way to count while making all the right BS moves.

3. Memorize the betting scheme and index plays. KO is nice for that sort of thing because there are two identifiable points at which you begin to ramp your bets and make BS deviations.

4. Finally, tweak the KO system to fit the way you count and the way you work with numbers. Some work it so you never have a negative count. I don't mind negatives, so I rig it that my bet ramp starts when the count is 0, regardless of how many decks I play.

good luck & welcome

[S!nTeZ]

I`m also a newbie in this field, I don`t even know how to count the cards.
But what bothers me the most is- can you play "your game" in online casinos, 888.com for an example, or does it only work in real life casinos at a real BJ table?
Thankies in advance!

[HoosierAce]

Originally Posted by ChefJJ

Hoosier-

Welcome to the board & the game of blackjack. I use KO, and here's what I recommend:

1. Memorize basic strategy (BS) perfectly. And perfectly means perfectly. If you are in Indiana (assumption), you need to memorize the multiple-deck BS since there are slight differences between single deck and multi. But you need to have that down without much thought, regardless of whether you are going to count cards are not. If you are counting, however, it is important for BS to be natural...there's already enough you need to be concentrating on!

The k-O book has one basic strategy and one basic preferred matrix that
they say go ahead and use. They have the complete matrix in the back of the book but say you don't gain that much from putting it to memory. They say, so far, that the rounded out BS and preferred matrix is enough to win
with counting cards and taking insurance. They also so stick to their BS
100% and never deviate (unless using preferred matrix.)

So, if I study this for six months to one year and get their BS and preferred
matrix down pact, count the way I'm suppose to, I will win over the long run?

I've been counting down thru a deck of cars in two's which is a lot more
fun than counting one by one. I'm starting to detest one by one, it's long
and boring. I can blow thru a deck counting two by two.

Anyway, I'm having fun so far. It would be cool to go into a casino and
turn the odds around at a game where I get the positive odds and the casino
gets the negative odds!

Wonder what they do to card counters in the those gambling ships that
go out to sea for a few hours? Throw them over board?

[HoosierAce]

Are there any free or low cost programs that I can practice
basic blackjack strategy and card counting on?

[Canceler]

Originally Posted by HoosierAce

The k-O book has one basic strategy

I'd recommend using the Basic Strategy Engine on this site to generate the exact basic strategy for the game you'll be playing.

Originally Posted by HoosierAce

So, if I study this for six months to one year

It won't take that long!

Originally Posted by HoosierAce

count the way I'm suppose to

Learning to count in the actual casino environment can sometimes be difficult. There are things you can do for that, though.

Originally Posted by HoosierAce

I will win over the long run?

Yes. I'm glad you have an appreciation for the long term nature of this game. Seems kind of rare in newbies.

Originally Posted by HoosierAce

I've been counting down thru a deck of cars in two's which is a lot more
fun than counting one by one. I'm starting to detest one by one, it's long
and boring. I can blow thru a deck counting two by two.

Counting by twos, or threes, is not cheating.

Originally Posted by HoosierAce

Wonder what they do to card counters in the those gambling ships that
go out to sea for a few hours? Throw them over board?

That's why the KO book has an appendix on swimming!

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by HoosierAce

Are there any free or low cost programs that I can practice basic blackjack strategy and card counting on?

See the sticky thread titled "Free Counting Resources On Web" at the top of this forum for lots of useful info and programs.

-Sonny-

[HoosierAce]

Originally Posted by Sonny

See the sticky thread titled "Free Counting Resources On Web" at the top of this forum for lots of useful info and programs.

-Sonny-

Thanks. I did a quick look and found a program for counting but it
was a Hi-Lo count and not an uneven count like k-O. Any programs
for the K-O counters?

[ChefJJ]

Originally Posted by HoosierAce

Thanks. I did a quick look and found a program for counting but it
was a Hi-Lo count and not an uneven count like k-O. Any programs
for the K-O counters?

Not that this helps you with your exact question, but I recommend just doing it by hand. On the coffee table with say, 6 or 8 decks, deal out a simulation game with several hands and the dealer's hand. At first, you can have your BS chart right there with whatever other cheat sheet you may want to have for KO and go from there. I've never used a computer sim to learn counting or BS, and I'm sure it works for many, but I prefer cards and chips to practice the trifecta: BS, counting, and betting. It's more like the casino environment rather than the laptop, so that's how I roll.

good luck