buccobaseball24
New Member
I'm very new to counting. Let me give a quick background.
Played poker professionally for 2 years
Bet sports/booked bets for the last 10 years
Played blackjack w/o counting for about 3 months, then after losing a bunch started looking into counting. Found this site with a few others.
I love the idea of counting. Reading this site has made me vow to never play at a table with the csm's, or on the virtual machines again (unless a crazy promo like 2-1 blackjacks shows up). I have read the k-o rookie system site and understand it pretty well. I play in games with 8 decks, s17, das, split 2 times, double any 2, and I believe 75% penetration. There is a specific slot in each shoe for the cut card (this is at rivers in pittsburgh) and I think someone said it was at 75%. Obviously this is an important feature for any counter.
I'm just very curious as to when to raise my bets. Currently I start my count at 0 and this makes the "pivot point" where I become +ev at +22 for 8 decks. The other night the count got up to +35 about halfway through the shoe, so I raised my bet from 10 to 125, got 10 vs a 5 and doubled, drew a 2, dealer showed 12, then 14, then 15, then 16, then 21. Just had to vent...I'm well aware that anything can happen in one hand and one session and even one month. You can and will run bad. I'm just curious if I made the correct play. I don't know how to calculate the "true count" in this system. I'm aware that the k-o system is supposed to eliminate the conversion to the true count, but I'm wondering how high the count needs to get before I start raising bets. Like when does it become +ev to take insurance? They also have a lucky ladies side bet...when does that become +ev? I know generally a true count of +3 makes insurance +ev, and the LL side bet I believe becomes profitable at a tc of +6. But for me there is no tc...I have numbers like +22 and +35 (going by the system it would be from the irc of -28, then +22 gets us to the pivot of -6). So is there any additional info, besides what's in the book itself on ko? I'm planning to buy the book but are there any sites to check ou? I've googled it and found nothing.
Also I've started taking shots at the games...I've played 2 sessions, one with 400 and one with 200. I've been betting $10 min since that's the lowest they had. The only reason I took these two shots are that I wanted some real life experience counting (I did practice on my own for a good 20 hours, I know bs, etc). I did learn a lot...I learned not to sit at first base, since I couldn't keep up with the faster dealers. I also tweaked my system to make it easier for me to keep up with the count. My new plan is three pronged:
1. Save up until I get around $1500-2k in my roll. I work 50 hours a week and this won't take long. My living expenses are laughably low for right now.
2. Only play when the table min is $5, and max my bet out at 2 spots of $50, or one spot at $75. Note that I can add to my roll about once a month with $750 if needed. I would reinvest most or all profits if I happen to run hot at the start.
3. Continue reading and keep my options oipen as to new casinos, new systems, and new bankroll management tips. I've always been very aggressive with respect to my roll, but I want to reduce my risk down to maybe 5-10% and try to run up my roll playing part time, maybe 3-4 sessions a week for about 10 hours a week.
Any tips, links, or hints for me? Should I wait until I get 3000+? I don't mind going broke as I can simply reload and it won't hurt my life. Thanks for all the great posts guys, I love the site!!
Played poker professionally for 2 years
Bet sports/booked bets for the last 10 years
Played blackjack w/o counting for about 3 months, then after losing a bunch started looking into counting. Found this site with a few others.
I love the idea of counting. Reading this site has made me vow to never play at a table with the csm's, or on the virtual machines again (unless a crazy promo like 2-1 blackjacks shows up). I have read the k-o rookie system site and understand it pretty well. I play in games with 8 decks, s17, das, split 2 times, double any 2, and I believe 75% penetration. There is a specific slot in each shoe for the cut card (this is at rivers in pittsburgh) and I think someone said it was at 75%. Obviously this is an important feature for any counter.
I'm just very curious as to when to raise my bets. Currently I start my count at 0 and this makes the "pivot point" where I become +ev at +22 for 8 decks. The other night the count got up to +35 about halfway through the shoe, so I raised my bet from 10 to 125, got 10 vs a 5 and doubled, drew a 2, dealer showed 12, then 14, then 15, then 16, then 21. Just had to vent...I'm well aware that anything can happen in one hand and one session and even one month. You can and will run bad. I'm just curious if I made the correct play. I don't know how to calculate the "true count" in this system. I'm aware that the k-o system is supposed to eliminate the conversion to the true count, but I'm wondering how high the count needs to get before I start raising bets. Like when does it become +ev to take insurance? They also have a lucky ladies side bet...when does that become +ev? I know generally a true count of +3 makes insurance +ev, and the LL side bet I believe becomes profitable at a tc of +6. But for me there is no tc...I have numbers like +22 and +35 (going by the system it would be from the irc of -28, then +22 gets us to the pivot of -6). So is there any additional info, besides what's in the book itself on ko? I'm planning to buy the book but are there any sites to check ou? I've googled it and found nothing.
Also I've started taking shots at the games...I've played 2 sessions, one with 400 and one with 200. I've been betting $10 min since that's the lowest they had. The only reason I took these two shots are that I wanted some real life experience counting (I did practice on my own for a good 20 hours, I know bs, etc). I did learn a lot...I learned not to sit at first base, since I couldn't keep up with the faster dealers. I also tweaked my system to make it easier for me to keep up with the count. My new plan is three pronged:
1. Save up until I get around $1500-2k in my roll. I work 50 hours a week and this won't take long. My living expenses are laughably low for right now.
2. Only play when the table min is $5, and max my bet out at 2 spots of $50, or one spot at $75. Note that I can add to my roll about once a month with $750 if needed. I would reinvest most or all profits if I happen to run hot at the start.
3. Continue reading and keep my options oipen as to new casinos, new systems, and new bankroll management tips. I've always been very aggressive with respect to my roll, but I want to reduce my risk down to maybe 5-10% and try to run up my roll playing part time, maybe 3-4 sessions a week for about 10 hours a week.
Any tips, links, or hints for me? Should I wait until I get 3000+? I don't mind going broke as I can simply reload and it won't hurt my life. Thanks for all the great posts guys, I love the site!!
