I have been successfully playing BJ for about 10 years, more seriously for the past 3 years, and very seriously for the last 7 months. I have faithfully kept a log of all my play for the past three years.
I have not been in an overall negative position since I started my log. I won $300.00 the first time, been up and down from there but never dropped back to zero.
First off, I should mention my counting. I learned the Hi-opt system but found it was too much work. I have just used a basic watch of the cards to determine if they are positive or negative.
I have basic stategy totally memorized for both 8 deck and 2 deck play.
When really negative I leave - unless there are few hands left before the shuffle. A slight negative I ignore, but keep my bet to a minimum.
I have no problem leaving before a "streak" has ended. If the remaining cards are really negative I leave - even if I just won five hands in a row. This really takes discipline (and I have failed at this more than once)!
When positive I bet 1.25 to 1.5 times my normal bet.
My lower level play ($10-$15/hand) netted me about $7,500 over 2 1/2 years (72 sessions). This year I decided to try higher stakes with more favorable advantage ($100-$150/hand). After 80 sessions (7 months), I am up another $25,000 plus.
Does anyone else use a conservative betting strategy like this? My concern about the ones I see here is that they can produce huge swings in your bankroll - I hate losing! The other problem I see is that with 5X your basic bet you may be in a "super loaded" position and see no gains when you are assuming the maximum risk.
The other question I have is about getting barred. One pit boss knows my player card number by heart. Secondly, when the dealer was counting out my chips this morning a dealer from another table yelled over: "Why don't you just give him another thousand and let him go." (I frequently leave with $1,000.00, never more than $3,000 in any one seating)".
To date I have had no problems - all rooms and meals are comped, plus some other stuff. When do I have to start worrying?
-Buzzer
I have not been in an overall negative position since I started my log. I won $300.00 the first time, been up and down from there but never dropped back to zero.
First off, I should mention my counting. I learned the Hi-opt system but found it was too much work. I have just used a basic watch of the cards to determine if they are positive or negative.
I have basic stategy totally memorized for both 8 deck and 2 deck play.
When really negative I leave - unless there are few hands left before the shuffle. A slight negative I ignore, but keep my bet to a minimum.
I have no problem leaving before a "streak" has ended. If the remaining cards are really negative I leave - even if I just won five hands in a row. This really takes discipline (and I have failed at this more than once)!
When positive I bet 1.25 to 1.5 times my normal bet.
My lower level play ($10-$15/hand) netted me about $7,500 over 2 1/2 years (72 sessions). This year I decided to try higher stakes with more favorable advantage ($100-$150/hand). After 80 sessions (7 months), I am up another $25,000 plus.
Does anyone else use a conservative betting strategy like this? My concern about the ones I see here is that they can produce huge swings in your bankroll - I hate losing! The other problem I see is that with 5X your basic bet you may be in a "super loaded" position and see no gains when you are assuming the maximum risk.
The other question I have is about getting barred. One pit boss knows my player card number by heart. Secondly, when the dealer was counting out my chips this morning a dealer from another table yelled over: "Why don't you just give him another thousand and let him go." (I frequently leave with $1,000.00, never more than $3,000 in any one seating)".
To date I have had no problems - all rooms and meals are comped, plus some other stuff. When do I have to start worrying?
-Buzzer