$1000 Bankroll Options

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KevinSpacey

New Member
Hi, long time reader first time poster here. I’m an amateur AP and just wanted to get some advice from the pros on which of 2 games I should play with a starting bankroll of $1000 as well as suggested spread. I will be using HiLo and Wong out at TC-1.

The first game is $15 min, 8 deck, H17, 75% pen, DAS, DOA, no RSA, no surrender, 3:2 blackjack, insurance. The second game is the same rules except $2 min and 60% penetration.

I realize that my ROR is high with the first game, but it would result in quicker bankroll building with positive variance. The second game has less ROR but the pen is worse.

What do you guys think about these spreads?

Game 1
TC 0 and 1 = $15
TC 2 = $30
TC 3 = $45
TC 4 and up = $60

Game 2
TC 0 and 1 = $2
TC 2 = $10
TC 3 = $20
TC 4 and up = $40

Any advice is appreciated!
 
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Stevel96a1

Banned
LOL! if the first game is a play through all forget it! the house edge will grind you down thats not me talking thats CVCX

the 2nd game may work with a 1-30 spread

god im used to sands casino in pa with our RSA, LS,S17 i can not again playing H17 CVCX says those rules alone make atlantic city look like utter crap 1.87$ an hr or 15$ an hr?
 
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KevinSpacey

New Member
Yea, I’m unfortunately limited in the shops available in my area. For the second game would your suggested 1-30 spread look something like this?

TC 0 and 1 = $2
TC 2 = $20
TC 3 = $40
TC 4 and up = $60

My only concern with this game is that with a 60% penetration, TCs of 4 might only last a few hands.
 
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Stevel96a1

Banned
i can punch in the game in CVCX if you want honestly gambling is gambling i recommend you video poker, you can work up 125k$ in short amount of time

if i had 40grand id go for a 1:1 type of deal in VP would take 1 hit 50$ table or 2 hits on a 25$
 
Ryemo

Ryemo

Well-Known Member
Save your money and return when you can build a bigger roll. I mean no disrespect, but $1,000 is not a bankroll. Especially if you’re up against 8 deck games. I’d take some time to grow your bankroll and maybe play with software until then.
 
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Stevel96a1

Banned
well what about Yoshi? that man went in with a 3k roll and turned it into a 300k bank?

i don't understand you people sometimes...
 
Hell'nBack

Hell'nBack

Well-Known Member
Yoshi took bad odds and won the lottery. A few APs have done the reverse. Lost $300k playing H17 games and N. S.
 
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Ryemo

Ryemo

Well-Known Member
Stevel96a1 said:
well what about Yoshi? that man went in with a 3k roll and turned it into a 300k bank?

i don't understand you people sometimes...
Click to expand...
Yoshi got lucky in the beginning and there’s no denying that. You know what? For every Yoshi out there, there’s thousands that went down the same path and busted out.

Yoshi also had access to a ton of great DD games that yielded much higher EV, lower RoR, and lower N-Zero. Poster KevinSpacey is trying to tackle 8D deck games which is significantly worse than the games Yoshi played and he’s trying to approach it with 1/3 the bankroll he started with.

Let’s get our head out of the clouds, huh? Is it possible he could run well? Yes. Does he have a higher chance of busting out if tries to go for it? Absolutely!
 
Ryemo

Ryemo

Well-Known Member
I should also mention that Yoshi had a very unique situation regarding an extremely flexible work schedule and virtually having zero living expenses. That allowed him to grind out massive amount of hours that most others couldn’t afford to do without affecting their work or living situation. This was not the case for Yoshi, so obviously this gave him a huge advantage.
 
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JJP

Well-Known Member
In that first game, you split or double down and you have 12% of your bankroll riding on one hand. Definitely wait and build up the bankroll.
 
ZenKinG

ZenKinG

Well-Known Member
Newcomers have no idea how much of a grind blackjack is. They see a documentary on card counting, read a book, etc and then think it's an easy upward graph to riches. I was a bit guilty of this when I first started out. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I didn't think it would be this much of a grind with ridiculous swings and 200+ hour losing streaks. If I knew what I knew now regarding the game, I probably would've never taken this up, at least not straight-up blackjack.

With the above in mind, you still want to only bet 1 hand of 40 or 1 hand of 60? You're going to need an average bet of at least 200 or 250 to make anything close to a worthwhile wage, or else I'd just go find a job. Good luck making pennies and I mean that literally. You're much better off finding a cash paying job, growing your bankroll to at least 20k, and then bash out the hours and see if you can double your bank at a somewhat decent EV with low risk.

For now you should be working two jobs like I did when I first started out and then buying Casino Verite and practicing on your computer. You can mix up some red chip play to get a feel for live play at a casino as well if need be, but whatever you do, is you should be working a regular job and saving as much as you can until you have at least 20k. If you're living on your own i'd wait till you have at least 30k. Also don't fall into which 'count' is better just like I and many others did at the start. They all get the money. You'll just be wasting valuable time circling around, never mastering one count, and wasting time that you could be using to be at the tables.
 
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K

KevinSpacey

New Member
Hi all, I'd like to thank everyone for your input and advice. Unfortunately, the numbers and ROR don't lie and I have busted out with my measly bankroll of $1000. If you're interested to know I kept a detailed sheet and logged in a total of 25 Hrs 30 Mins, played at 6 different stores, with an average session win rate of ~53%. I experienced wild swings with my highest bankroll at $1400. In my last session before busting I experienced terrible negative variance that began with doubling down with my max bet out. After that I just couldn't seem to win a single shoe until complete ruin.

I am not at all upset about this outcome, as it was expected as a possibility from the beginning. I do have a stable job that pays the bills so this was a fun little experiment that I did on my off time, but I will be trying it again with a much bigger bankroll. Overall, it was a great learning experience and showed me that I have a lot to learn before trying it again more seriously. Until then I look forward to continually learning and improving my game.
 
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sidthesquid

Banned
1k bankroll? for you bank account sake you better find a 3$ min table in vegas or have 10 grand and be willing to lose 1/2 of it or all of it via card counting, to survive 500hours to 1,000 hours of strictly card counting, one must have 100 or more max bets and still be prepared to lose all

with that being said good luck to you
 
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hitthat16

Active Member
Go to Wendover and spread $3 to $10 on the single deck games there. Play graveyard shift on the weekdays when you will be more likely to have a heads up situation.

This is basically the only way to play with a bankroll of your size. You won’t get rich this way but you may just end up building a real bankroll and going from there.
 
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