Bs

oldroller

New Member
I haven't been playing too long,I've got to where I can play BS around 97% correctly on BJtrainer.I haven't learned anything else yet.Is that good enough to play cheap at the casinos??
 

Sonny

Well-Known Member
What's your hurry? If you're going to put your money at risk, why not wait until you are 100% accurate? It will help you to limit your losses. The casinos will still be there when you're ready. :)

-Sonny-
 

EasyRhino

Well-Known Member
There's a book by Max Rubin called Comp City, which is a good read. In it, he lays down a method by which a good basic strategy player can collect more in comps than they are expected to lose in money. Of course, blackjack is still a losing game unless you're counting, so the technique is really just a way to get discounted vacations.

I'd recommend nailing BS first. It's a pain to try to remember a play while you're sitting at the table, or worse, have to get advice from ploppies.
 

shadroch

Well-Known Member
oldroller said:
I haven't been playing too long,I've got to where I can play BS around 97% correctly on BJtrainer.I haven't learned anything else yet.Is that good enough to play cheap at the casinos??
Knowing 97% of BS should put you ahead of most of the players at your table.But about 90% of BS is pretty much no brainers so you really haven't taken the time you should.Figure out which plays are giving you trouble,and make up flashcards for them.Practice 15 minutes at a time,three or four times a day for two weeks and get back to us on how you are doing then.
As Sonny pointed out,the casinos aren't going anywhere.In BJ,Patience is more than a virtue,its a nessicity.
Best of luck.
 

EasyRhino

Well-Known Member
One thing I found useful (I forget who mentioned it, sagefrog maybe?) is to actually draw your own basic strategy chart from memory. This helped me a bunch since I generally visualized the chart when trying to remember which play to make.
 

sagefr0g

Well-Known Member
shadroch said:
Knowing 97% of BS should put you ahead of most of the players at your table.But about 90% of BS is pretty much no brainers so you really haven't taken the time you should.Figure out which plays are giving you trouble,and make up flashcards for them.Practice 15 minutes at a time,three or four times a day for two weeks and get back to us on how you are doing then.
As Sonny pointed out,the casinos aren't going anywhere.In BJ,Patience is more than a virtue,its a nessicity.
Best of luck.
ahmen brother. basic strategy is definately required as a means of realizing the most wins possible (albeit loser>winner still). basic strategy is something one needs to understand and believe that it is the best route to take. then counting is key as it gives signals when we are most likely to realize some of those rare winners hence best chance of realizing a successful raised bet.
here what we know is that winner>loser when we have that advantage and yet for overal play loser>winner still as overall the house still has the advantage. again as like basic strategy with counting we need to understand and believe the nature of the advantage we seek that being when the remaining pack is richer in aces & faces than small cards we have the best chance of comming out winner.
there is one crucial point about basic strategy, counting, betting and blackjack. that being regardless how it's played winner>loser & loser>winner does not always translate into a right now happening sort of thing. that can lead to frustration and waining confidence in your belief of what you know. but our success is patiently waiting for us in the future.
so here comes patience into the malestrome. lack of patience leads to overbetting fueled by frustration and fear the realization of which is likely ruin. mathematicaly it can be shown that overbetting leads to ruin. better to wait in hopeful confidence believing that your day will come. that confidence being drawn from what you can know that you know and understand with respect to the nature of the game of blackjack.
 
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Kaiser

Well-Known Member
Since knowing *perfect* basic strategy will still have you at a disadvantage in this game, I would know it perfectly without question before going into a casino.

It should be the absolute minimum level of knowledge/skill you walk into a casino with.

I also did the flashcard thing, and it helped a lot. I would write the entire chart down on a sheet of paper, then I'd do it in random order, then I'd draw out the chart from memory too.

The thing that helped me at first was learning the moves in "real words" as opposed to memorizing coloured squares on a chart. Like:

A,2 double 5-6, o/w hit
A,3 double 5-6, o/w hit

6,6 split 2-6, o/w hit
7,7 split 2-7, o/w hit

... etc.

I'd just say it to myself over and over. I have it typed out on a small piece of paper and kept it with me all the time. In traffic or whatever, I'd pull it out and go over it.

Just keep going over and over it until it's second nature. You shouldn't even have to think about what the proper move is, you should just react to the cards and instantly know what to do. Then you can spend more brain cycles on counting, betting, and trying to get the blonde at third base's phone number. :D
 

oldroller

New Member
Thanx to you all,I'll keep drillin away plus use your suggestions.Sometimes I find myself overthinking and do things that I know aren't right.I'll be ready soon.PS The wife & I are going on a cruise (maybe) for our anniversery next year.Any tips or whatever?Are the games the same?
Thanks again !
 

sagefr0g

Well-Known Member
oldroller said:
Thanx to you all,I'll keep drillin away plus use your suggestions.Sometimes I find myself overthinking and do things that I know aren't right.I'll be ready soon.PS The wife & I are going on a cruise (maybe) for our anniversery next year.Any tips or whatever?Are the games the same?
Thanks again !
i had the same problem...."find myself overthinking and do things that I know aren't right." the key to my overcomming that was trusting, believing and understanding that basic strategy is the correct play. once i could do that it was no sweat having it be second nature.
most cruises are notorious for having poor games.
congradulations on that anniversary!
 
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sagefr0g

Well-Known Member
sagefr0g said:
ahmen brother. basic strategy is definately required as a means of realizing the most wins possible (albeit loser>winner still). basic strategy is something one needs to understand and believe that it is the best route to take. then counting is key as it gives signals when we are most likely to realize some of those rare winners hence best chance of realizing a successful raised bet.
here what we know is that winner>loser when we have that advantage and yet for overal play loser>winner still as overall the house still has the advantage. again as like basic strategy with counting we need to understand and believe the nature of the advantage we seek that being when the remaining pack is richer in aces & faces than small cards we have the best chance of comming out winner.
there is one crucial point about basic strategy, counting, betting and blackjack. that being regardless how it's played winner>loser & loser>winner does not always translate into a right now happening sort of thing. that can lead to frustration and waining confidence in your belief of what you know. but our success is patiently waiting for us in the future.
so here comes patience into the malestrome. lack of patience leads to overbetting fueled by frustration and fear the realization of which is likely ruin. mathematicaly it can be shown that overbetting leads to ruin. better to wait in hopeful confidence believing that your day will come. that confidence being drawn from what you can know that you know and understand with respect to the nature of the game of blackjack.
hmmm i needed to edit this.....
just to say even durring the advantage times winner>loser is units realized not hands won. :sad: but at least the advantage time is when we realize more winner hands :)
caught this error thanks to Sonny's post below:
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/showpost.php?p=21670&postcount=6
 
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jimpenn

Well-Known Member
Forget about playing on cruise ships. First, not regulated and the cards will already be shuffled when the door opens. I have yet to see a cruise wash cards in front of players. Now I haven't played on a cruise (only made three) but I observed games for a few hours each cruise and have not seen one player win who had played at the table for at least one hour. Enjoy the cruise without the bj, because I would think that taking a hit first day could basically ruin your mental frame of mind for rest of the cruise. This is just my opinion, but I just don't trust cruise BJ games. In addition, the tables will be crowded and wonging in is damn near impossible. You could attempt to wong in with a chance someone goes broke when count goes positive and seat then becomes available. In short, enjoy your cruise and observe the game for a few hours and maybe get a chance to place a wonged bet in. I would set a $100 limit (4 green bets) wonging in if you can find opportunity.
 
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