I was just wondering how many people have a note book in there car to write down how much they put into the tables vs how much they take out. That way when they have a huge win they don't get to over confident in them selfs if other sessions had a lot of tiny loses to make them lose money overall. Or if they have a huge loss they don't feel to bad knowing that over the last month they have won more money then they have lost even after a big hit.
How many people keep track of results?
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I always bring a pocket notebook with me and record results after every session. Don't wait too long since all the the amounts can run together in your head and "strange" events can happen at any time in a casino, e.g. run into a friend, hooker, find a flasher, notice credits left on a slot, hunger pains etc.
I'm always careful not to make any entries unless I'm "off camara" i.e. restroom, hotel room or off property. Big brother, ya know.
I'm always careful not to make any entries unless I'm "off camara" i.e. restroom, hotel room or off property. Big brother, ya know.
I'd be interested in what anyone who does keep track of results says exactly what they do keep track of.
Like just wins and losses per session? Even if you play different games?
Or estimate how many hands were played and/or how long they played or when and where they played? Or say what spread was and what game it was? or what if any cover they used. Notes on the dealer or pit personnel maybe.
Stuff like that.
Basically what level of detail that anyone considers worthwhile to himself.
Like just wins and losses per session? Even if you play different games?
Or estimate how many hands were played and/or how long they played or when and where they played? Or say what spread was and what game it was? or what if any cover they used. Notes on the dealer or pit personnel maybe.
Stuff like that.
Basically what level of detail that anyone considers worthwhile to himself.
Here's an example of my notes in a typical casino:
I- L. $200, SD, $5 ,7:15-8:00P, Ro6, H-3, 2P, C, $320(+5) drunk old ladies.
Translation: Location-Silver Legacy, played from 7:15-8:00 p.m., bought in for $200, single deck 5$ units ($5-20) dealer dealt 3 rounds to myself and one other player, heat was fairly minimal (1-10) used comp card, cashed out for $320 after a $5 tip. Reason for leaving- 3 drunk old ladies filled the table.
II-At. $500, DD, $25,8:30-9:00P, 66%, H-7, 4P, noC, $525(0) PB down neck taking notes.
Translation: Location-Atlantis, played from 8:30-9:00 p.m., bought in for $500, double deck, $25 min.(1-6/8), dealer dealt 2/3 decks to myself and 3 other players, BP at table taking notes(1-10) no comp card, cashed out for $525 no tip.
I also make it a point to keep BJ results seperate from the other casino games (another book, left side of page, backwards etc.) You'll be very surprised at the results after 4-6 days by comparing these.
I- L. $200, SD, $5 ,7:15-8:00P, Ro6, H-3, 2P, C, $320(+5) drunk old ladies.
Translation: Location-Silver Legacy, played from 7:15-8:00 p.m., bought in for $200, single deck 5$ units ($5-20) dealer dealt 3 rounds to myself and one other player, heat was fairly minimal (1-10) used comp card, cashed out for $320 after a $5 tip. Reason for leaving- 3 drunk old ladies filled the table.
II-At. $500, DD, $25,8:30-9:00P, 66%, H-7, 4P, noC, $525(0) PB down neck taking notes.
Translation: Location-Atlantis, played from 8:30-9:00 p.m., bought in for $500, double deck, $25 min.(1-6/8), dealer dealt 2/3 decks to myself and 3 other players, BP at table taking notes(1-10) no comp card, cashed out for $525 no tip.
I also make it a point to keep BJ results seperate from the other casino games (another book, left side of page, backwards etc.) You'll be very surprised at the results after 4-6 days by comparing these.
I use a journal format and put down everything I can think of including place, games, rules, spread, time spent, tables played, wonged or not, how much I was up or down at any one point and why, things I learned, things I forgot to do, things I want to learn, etc. In other words, anything I can think of.
Two things surprised me early on
One thing was how much I was giving out in tips.
Over a week,tips to the valet,the dealer,the cocktail waitress,ect,ect add up rapidly. 40 hours of BJ= about 60 dealers rotated. $1 each=60.
40 cocktails= $40. Ten valet parking= $20. I was giving away $3 an hour on tips while playing at $2-$5 tables. Little wonder I was winning most sessions but my BR was dwindling.
Other thing was how much I was drinking.
I've learned to cut down on both these issues.
One thing was how much I was giving out in tips.
Over a week,tips to the valet,the dealer,the cocktail waitress,ect,ect add up rapidly. 40 hours of BJ= about 60 dealers rotated. $1 each=60.
40 cocktails= $40. Ten valet parking= $20. I was giving away $3 an hour on tips while playing at $2-$5 tables. Little wonder I was winning most sessions but my BR was dwindling.
Other thing was how much I was drinking.
I've learned to cut down on both these issues.
I only track money + or - on each game and notes on dealers if they were advantageous. I seperate by type of play and game played (ie counting +- is kept seperate from other advantage plays and games.)
Helped me realize early on how poorly I was doing when strictly counting (Bet ramp had been to large with too high RoR for my BR. If you use KO and play shoes I don't recommend the KO book bet ramp with a small BR). Also let me see how great hole carding Spanish21 is with its liberal rules...when can someone here generate a hole card strategy for this game!?!
BW
Helped me realize early on how poorly I was doing when strictly counting (Bet ramp had been to large with too high RoR for my BR. If you use KO and play shoes I don't recommend the KO book bet ramp with a small BR). Also let me see how great hole carding Spanish21 is with its liberal rules...when can someone here generate a hole card strategy for this game!?!
BW
Exactly 
Otherwise, how does anyone ever have a friggin' clue of whether they are merely unlucky or, perhaps, simply put, just really suck?
I used to beat the second guy on the company racquetball ladder either 15-0 or 15-1 18 times in a row. Each and every time, he expressed how "lucky" I was. Honest to God the guy could just not believe his bad luck.
Makes annoying ploppys look like experts lmao.
Never had the slightest clue he actually was not a very good racquetball player.
He always assumed he was just a very unlucky one.
Just try to know whether you are lucky or good.
Otherwise, how does anyone ever have a friggin' clue of whether they are merely unlucky or, perhaps, simply put, just really suck?
I used to beat the second guy on the company racquetball ladder either 15-0 or 15-1 18 times in a row. Each and every time, he expressed how "lucky" I was. Honest to God the guy could just not believe his bad luck.
Makes annoying ploppys look like experts lmao.
Never had the slightest clue he actually was not a very good racquetball player.
He always assumed he was just a very unlucky one.
Just try to know whether you are lucky or good.
Kasi said:
I'd love it if someone could just generate a counting system for it
"> When will the book on Spanish 21 be available and what
> will it cost?
Hard to say. I mailed the manuscript back to the author a few days ago. In all likelihood, the book will be self-published, but that decision isn't 100% final yet. I'm not sure that the cost has been determined yet. I'll let you know. But, it will hardly matter, because, if you ever plan to play Spanish 21 or Pontoon, you will need to own the book.
Don "
This was posted by Don Schlesinger on August 19th.
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Make that every 10-20-hrs or so, until you have about 50 entries. zg
Computing Your Standard Deviation
by Mason Malmuth
http://web.archive.org/web/20050211083902/http://www.twoplustwo.com/mmessay8.html
Everyone plays poker differently, and no two poker games are identical. This means that no two skilled or unskilled players will have identical results. Specifically, no two players will have exactly the same win (or loss) rate, and no two players will have exactly the same standard deviation.
In the essay titled "How Much Do You Need?" standard deviations for different poker games were given based on one expert's playing results. You, the skilled player, should estimate your own standard deviation for the particular game or games that you play. In addition, this estimation should be updated every so often to account for natural changes - such as new players - that the games go through.
The easiest way I know to estimate your standard deviation is to use the following formula. This formula was derived by Mark Weitzman and is the maximum likelihood approximation for the standard deviation.
Complete article and formula here -
http://web.archive.org/web/20050211083902/http://www.twoplustwo.com/mmessay8.html
by Mason Malmuth
http://web.archive.org/web/20050211083902/http://www.twoplustwo.com/mmessay8.html
Everyone plays poker differently, and no two poker games are identical. This means that no two skilled or unskilled players will have identical results. Specifically, no two players will have exactly the same win (or loss) rate, and no two players will have exactly the same standard deviation.
In the essay titled "How Much Do You Need?" standard deviations for different poker games were given based on one expert's playing results. You, the skilled player, should estimate your own standard deviation for the particular game or games that you play. In addition, this estimation should be updated every so often to account for natural changes - such as new players - that the games go through.
The easiest way I know to estimate your standard deviation is to use the following formula. This formula was derived by Mark Weitzman and is the maximum likelihood approximation for the standard deviation.
Complete article and formula here -
http://web.archive.org/web/20050211083902/http://www.twoplustwo.com/mmessay8.html
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