New to Blackjack

[al13nw4r3]

New player here. Started playing without any real knowledge a couple weeks ago. Sat down with 20 bucks and walked out with 675. Needless to say I liked the thrill of winning and it felt somewhat natural.

I went back the next week and won around 250. So I decided to go back the next day and lost 230. The only difference on the third time I have been was I printed out the basic strategy for the table I play at at the casino. I made all the correct calls according to the sheet. I lost nearly every hand. Does this mean the casino just had all the luck last night? I realize you dont always win.

I am going to start going through the lessons and learning as I want to make a fun profitable experience. Any basic tips for a newbie? Thanks for any advice that comes.

 

[prankster]

hi

Read Blackjack Bluebook II by Fred Renzey. He is also a member of this website and is real good about answering our questions. Good cards!:joker:

 

[al13nw4r3]

I will have to check it out. One particular problem I was running into was this. The dealer kept showing a face card and I was constantly drawing a 16-17 on my initial two cards. The basic strategy says to surrender o/w hit on the 16 so I would and often bust. However the dealer usually had another face card underneath! The dealer also constantly flipped 3-4 smaller cards and would hit 21 when I had a 20. I was like

 

[21gunsalute]

I will have to check it out. One particular problem I was running into was this. The dealer kept showing a face card and I was constantly drawing a 16-17 on my initial two cards. The basic strategy says to surrender o/w hit on the 16 so I would and often bust. However the dealer usually had another face card underneath! The dealer also constantly flipped 3-4 smaller cards and would hit 21 when I had a 20. I was like

It happens. You might have several good sessions in a row where seemingly everything goes right and you may have several bad sessions in a row where nothing seems to go right. It rarely happens where you basically break even. Expect to either make a fair amount of money or lose to your limit.

 

[StandardDeviant]

It rarely happens where you basically break even. Expect to either make a fair amount of money or lose to your limit.

Welcome, al13nw4r3!

What you experienced is entirely normal. You will find that you lose many times, and you win many times. Sometimes there can be streams of many sessions where you lose. That's the nature of the game's low, but positive EV (if played correctly), and high standard deviation (if played correctly).

It can take some getting used to. Actually, it takes a lot of getting used to. It is perhaps the most challenging aspect of the game.

 

[al13nw4r3]

Also one other thing I was playing Heads up against the dealer the second and third time I played. Will playing against only the dealer increase or decrease my chance of winning?

 

[mdw]

Also one other thing I was playing Heads up against the dealer the second and third time I played. Will playing against only the dealer increase or decrease my chance of winning?

If you are using Basic Strategy and playing 100% correctly you will still loose in the long run. Basic Strategy minimizes the loss, so you can get some comps, free drinks and have a good time. Playing heads up, you will play more hands per hour over a full table. More hands, more of a chance to loose. My wife is very good at slowing the table down. We are not advantage players. Enjoy your run.

 

[StandardDeviant]

Playing heads up, you will play more hands per hour over a full table. More hands, more of a chance to loose.

Just to be clear here, chances, i.e., probabilities don't change when playing heads up against a dealer. You'll simply get in more hands per hour. Since your EV with basic strategy is negative, you can expect to lose more per hour with heads up play.

When playing basic strategy, it's best to play at full tables with slow dealers. This will cut your loss/hour significantly over heads up. You may be able cut your hands per hour by 50% or more.

 

[Cardcounter]

Hey in three sessions you are up $695 from starting with $20 that is pretty damn good result if you ask me.

 

[psyduck]

I assume those who give advice to new players here are AP players with winning records. Is this a safe assumption?

 

[Canceler]

I assume those who give advice to new players here are AP players with winning records. Is this a safe assumption?

Anyone can give advice or answer a question.

That there will be plenty of people jumping in to correct anyone giving wrong information is a safe assumption.

 

[FLASH1296]

The learning curve in Blackjack is long but not especially steep.

Take your time and go slow. There is a lot to learn. Be patient.

Asking questions is the right thing to do. Keep it up.

 

[al13nw4r3]

Thanks for the input. I lost to my limit very quickly while playing alone. I will get to a table with more people my next outing. I have been playing the Strategy trainer and am doing well. I find myself sometimes getting into that mindset of "I will win eventually" which I suppose can be a big killer.

Do you guys have a set limit that your willing to lose then you just walk?

 

[FLASH1296]

"I will win eventually" is clearly a mindset that is false and must be recognized as such.

What your question refers to is usually called a "stop loss"

Firstly you must not have more cash on you than you are willing to lose comfortably, meaning without feeling stressed or unhappy.

Secondly, while learning to play, your focus needs to be that of getting a lot of experience while hopefully losing little or nothing.

Thirdly, if you are fatigued, distracted, sleepy, in pain, or uncomfortable you STOP.

Additionally, if the table conditions change for the worst, you STOP.
An example of this would be having the table minimum increased.

If you are running LOW in reserve money you STOP because you can be in an advantageous situation (while Card Counting) and be unable to take advantage of it. That is regrettable, so you avoid it.

Once you become a journeyman player, you will be monitoring the size of your "bankroll" while tracking your results. Most likely you will be dividing your total bankroll into numerous smaller "trip bankrolls". Obviously, you do not carry your entire bankroll with you.

Also, once you are a skilled player you will find other reasons to STOP.
The reasons include winning too much, (thus attracting unwanted attention) or simply playing too long in the same casino, making yourself too "visible".

Most Card Counters, if finding themselves in venues where there are a lot of casinos, learn to play numerous brief sessions of less than an hour each, to keep their "longevity" intact.

The intolerance of card counters by most casinos is inversely proportional to the time that the Card Counter spends at the tables; meaning that the shorter your playing sessions are, the less likely you are to be apprehended
as an undesirable patron. "Camping Out" earns the resentment of the Pit Boss who'd rather your chair was occupied by a "ploppy", meaning a typical commonplace unskilled player, whose winning chances are poor.

 

[StandardDeviant]

You STOP

Thanks for your post Flash.

I am intrigued by a theme running through it: that APs have a large number of reasons to STOP playing. It seems right - the way to win is to avoid losing.

 

[kizzA44]

True count

Apologies if this is the wrong area, but I'm pretty eager to get an answer for this thus posting in the most active thread I could find.

I'm new to blackjack in the sense that I've just read up on card counting.

My question to you is:

How often do you work out the 'True count' in a game with multiple decks (6-8)?

Say you just sat down to a new game and are dealt the basic playing cards and you determine the running count using the basic Hi-Lo strategy. If your the only one playing, then only 4 cards have been dealt at this stage so dividing the running count by the number of decks left in the shoe is pointless since the shoe is virtually full. so I imagine its no point at this stage.. but as each round is dealt do I divide the running count by the gradually decreasing decks before you get betting cards???

P.S. All the examples that I've read regarding the true count they use easy numbers like +12 divided by 3 (decks remaining) equaling 4. but eventually your going to have a fraction for a running and an uneven number of decks left (say 5 and 1/4). So do you just keep adding the true count onto the next games running count and then divide that number by the decks left... which wont necessarily be a whole (easy) number to divide by.

 

[johndoe]

Yes, you ideally calculate TC just before making any decision (playing or betting). But don't worry about fractions; you're fine getting TC correct to the nearest full deck (on shoe games).

Maybe with more experience, and with deeply dealt shoes, it's nice to have 1/2 deck resolution or better deep in the shoe, but this is of minor extra benefit and isn't worth worrying about for a while.

 

[FLASH1296]

The bottom line is that you train yourself to continually monitor the True Count.

Here is why:

It is the first hand of a fresh six deck game.

Your hand is 16 vs Ten, or A,2 vs. 5, or A,4 vs. 4

All of the above will have you violating Basic Strategy

at any negative count, and easily possible on the first round.

 

[kizzA44]

Thanks.

I'm perfectly capable of dividing fractions together between deals if need be, I'm just a little iffy when to actually do so. It makes sense to determine the TC before bets etc and to continue adding to the next games running count, but over a long period the rounding error will increase. So I guess its best to round the TC down to the nearest whole number, that way your not giving yourself a false advantage when betting according to the count.


Anymore advice and tips regarding this is most appreciated

 

[SleightOfHand]

The bottom line is that you train yourself to continually monitor the True Count.

Here is why:

It is the first hand of a fresh six deck game.

Your hand is 16 vs Ten, or A,2 vs. 5, or A,4 vs. 4

All of the above will have you violating Basic Strategy

at any negative count, and easily possible on the first round.

Well, 16vX BS is correct for negative counts . But yea, constant re-evaluation of the TC will maximize effectiveness in all decision making.

Thanks.

I'm perfectly capable of dividing fractions together between deals if need be, I'm just a little iffy when to actually do so. It makes sense to determine the TC before bets etc and to continue adding to the next games running count, but over a long period the rounding error will increase. So I guess its best to round the TC down to the nearest whole number, that way your not giving yourself a false advantage when betting according to the count.


Anymore advice and tips regarding this is most appreciated

Why would the rounding error increase? Since you are keeping the RC in your head, converting to TC when making decisions, and going back to RC when counting again, there is no change in the accuracy of the count. It is true, however, the when comparing indexes to the TC, it is marginally better to round down (floor) than other rounding schemes.

PS: Some data from some questions
http://www.blackjackincolor.com/truecount4.htm
http://www.blackjackincolor.com/penetration9.htm