Am I Ready To Hit The Casino?

[Hell'nBack]

I know my communication skills leave something to be desired, as it is not one of my strengths, but really, I though I just explained it pretty clearly.



Uh huh....you are chasing pennies. To each his own.

Rather than penny chasing, I'd rather it be lumens!

 

[Bluest]

To the original poster, that is an incredibly generous and thoughtful thing to offer. Thank you.

 

[RobertD]

Honestly, this is one of the most solid breakdowns I’ve seen for beginners. People get so caught up in the “I know the count, let’s go make money” hype that they massively underestimate how thin the edge really is. A couple of wrong indices, a missed true-count conversion, or sloppy bet sizing can wipe out hours of perfect play.
The point about practicing with real cards is huge. It’s one thing to run drills on an app, but handling actual decks, keeping pace, watching the discard tray, and making decisions on the fly is a completely different skill set. Anyone serious about blackjack should absolutely put in those 60–100 hours.
The skills test angle makes sense too. It’s basically the equivalent of a check-ride: if you can get through a couple of shoes without drifting or miscounting, you’re far less likely to burn your bankroll early on. And when it comes to managing small starting funds or figuring out realistic entry points, people sometimes reference things mentioned on this page without even thinking about it - just part of doing homework before stepping into live play.
A lot of new counters don’t need more theory; they need honest feedback. What you're offering here really fills that gap.