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Hello Ken, I have been reading alot on your website and I want to thank you for everything. Two months ago i was playing without any knowledge about it. Thanks to you I got my winchances up. I wish I had all the knowledge you had… takes alot of time. I just have one question: do you make money playing blackjack? Because as far as I know the winchances are still around 50/50, it never gets in our favors.. or am I wrong?
Card counting provides a relatively easy way to have a mathematical advantage. Check out the Blackjack School here for the details. Do I make money playing blackjack? Yes, I’ve done extremely well. 🙂
As you probably know, this battle has been lost on the strip since both MGM and Caeser’s properties now just pay 6/5 (although I did see a single table in the Margaritaville section of the Flamingo still paying 3/2.
Ken great site u have !!its my second home here !!!i dont get it sith the bets!!may be my english sucks !!.until tc 1 i play only minimum bet for example 5 euro.if the tc goes 4 should i bet 4×5euro?
If you are playing a six-deck game, just substitute euro signs for the dollar signs in the table in the article, and you’re all set. At TC4 you would be betting 40 euros. At TC5, 50 euros. At TC6 and better, 60 euros.
I still try to count six deck game and i feel my brain gets tosted !!just the running count not the true count cause i cant still estimate the decks in the tray !!its very odvious that i have to make my brain like a comp with out mistakes same time to play like very chill and cool guy and also have the bankroll and the diciplane to make money !!in other words … no pain no gain… card counting is an art and skill.
Ken, c'est juste par curiosité que je vous demande combien de systèmes de comptage vous connaissez... En général, vous avez l'air d'un gars qui sait ce qu'il dit, très sérieux... Et aussi, à votre avis, combien d'heures quelqu'un doit-il passer à la table de la cuisine pour pouvoir dire qu'il est prêt pour les tables... ?
Lorsque j'ai commencé il y a environ 20 ans, j'ai utilisé le Hi-Lo pendant les deux ou trois premières années. Ensuite, j'ai adopté le compte des moitiés de Wong, dont l'efficacité des mises est impressionnante. C'est le compte que j'utilise depuis lors. Cependant, il s'agit d'un compte compliqué à 3 niveaux (et je l'utilise sous la forme de véritables moitiés, pas doublées). Il est difficile de justifier un système compliqué de nos jours, à moins de jouer beaucoup. De nos jours, lorsque les gens me demandent ce qu'il faut apprendre, je recommande KO et Hi-Lo.
On the flight back from Vegas on my first ” Counting” trip ( family trip part of it too). Taught myself counting by reading everything and practicing. Did two hours a day at treasure Island from 6-8am and I have never felt so good about the game and my hard work and success. Five and ten dollar tables and I moved tables after I won or was down. Got out each time I made a certain amount. I can do this. I want to do this regularly as a supplement to my real job. I like the fruits of the hard work and the possibilities that counting brings rather than the money (though I want that too). Seeing the table and potential in a whole new way is exhilarating. What is the best way for me to take this more seriously and start doing this for $5,000 results in a three day trip to Mecca? Any and all advice is welcome. I thought about taking a counting class in vegas for $795. Thank you.
Bonjour Ken,
First let me say I have learnt so much from your website and I am using it to play online live with favorable results.
My question is, the site I play on go to about 65% penetration before using a new shoe, with an 8 deck game. Should I only play at the table when it is a new shoe? Or is it OK to join and play even if I estimate 2-4 decks in the discard pile?
Ken SMith first of all your knowledge is a treasure to us.
i don get it with the 16vs 10
.if tc is bigger than 0 we stand.why we do that?
cause the high cards that are left will bust us or because we hope for the dealer to take first the low card and after a big one?
Also lets say that i play two bets .a 18 stiff and a 16 stiff against 10 dealers .my opinion is that if i stand propably i will loose all my two bets.if i stand like logical in 18 and take card at 16 and get bust with a a ten my other bet will still at the moment be “alive” and maybe the dealer takes a 7 or 8???? Please inlight me !!!
Thanks Ken. My idea was to start at $10 min bet and add $5 at each +1 true count, +1 = $15, +2 = $20, up to $50 at +8. But I could go with $20 at +1, $30 at +2, up to $50 at +4. I would also start at a $5 table if I could find one for betting low while the count is negative. I will also try to do 3 one hour sessions with breaks for rest and
some food or coffee in between.
Does this sound like a good plan to get started?
Merci,
Glen
Stop win and stop loss numbers don’t do anything except reduce the amount of time you get in on the game. I have never liked them. If the game is good, quitting because you win or lose a certain amount just costs you positive expectation. Using a stop loss to prevent a devastating loss can have some psychological benefits, but that’s about it. I would prefer the set amount of time plan. However, if you can split up your action across shifts and casinos, you should likely try to keep session length at an hour.
By the way, you’ll want to get your max bet on the table far before a +9 true count, because those are rare. Ramp up from your minimum to your maximum as the true count rises from +1 to +5, and stick with your max bet at anything above that.
Shame I missed this, there are some great books in there at a bargain.
Hello Ken, I have been reading alot on your website and I want to thank you for everything. Two months ago i was playing without any knowledge about it. Thanks to you I got my winchances up. I wish I had all the knowledge you had… takes alot of time. I just have one question: do you make money playing blackjack? Because as far as I know the winchances are still around 50/50, it never gets in our favors.. or am I wrong?
Card counting provides a relatively easy way to have a mathematical advantage. Check out the Blackjack School here for the details. Do I make money playing blackjack? Yes, I’ve done extremely well. 🙂
As you probably know, this battle has been lost on the strip since both MGM and Caeser’s properties now just pay 6/5 (although I did see a single table in the Margaritaville section of the Flamingo still paying 3/2.
Yes, 6:5 has taken over most of Vegas now. You may be interesting in this take on it: The State of Blackjack
Ken great site u have !!its my second home here !!!i dont get it sith the bets!!may be my english sucks !!.until tc 1 i play only minimum bet for example 5 euro.if the tc goes 4 should i bet 4×5euro?
If you are playing a six-deck game, just substitute euro signs for the dollar signs in the table in the article, and you’re all set. At TC4 you would be betting 40 euros. At TC5, 50 euros. At TC6 and better, 60 euros.
I still try to count six deck game and i feel my brain gets tosted !!just the running count not the true count cause i cant still estimate the decks in the tray !!its very odvious that i have to make my brain like a comp with out mistakes same time to play like very chill and cool guy and also have the bankroll and the diciplane to make money !!in other words … no pain no gain… card counting is an art and skill.
Consider taking a look at KO, in the book Knock-Out Blackjack. It doesn’t require a conversion to true count, and still compares favorably to Hi-Lo.
Ken, c'est juste par curiosité que je vous demande combien de systèmes de comptage vous connaissez... En général, vous avez l'air d'un gars qui sait ce qu'il dit, très sérieux... Et aussi, à votre avis, combien d'heures quelqu'un doit-il passer à la table de la cuisine pour pouvoir dire qu'il est prêt pour les tables... ?
Lorsque j'ai commencé il y a environ 20 ans, j'ai utilisé le Hi-Lo pendant les deux ou trois premières années. Ensuite, j'ai adopté le compte des moitiés de Wong, dont l'efficacité des mises est impressionnante. C'est le compte que j'utilise depuis lors. Cependant, il s'agit d'un compte compliqué à 3 niveaux (et je l'utilise sous la forme de véritables moitiés, pas doublées). Il est difficile de justifier un système compliqué de nos jours, à moins de jouer beaucoup. De nos jours, lorsque les gens me demandent ce qu'il faut apprendre, je recommande KO et Hi-Lo.
when is it proper to increase betting in a positive count?
On the flight back from Vegas on my first ” Counting” trip ( family trip part of it too). Taught myself counting by reading everything and practicing. Did two hours a day at treasure Island from 6-8am and I have never felt so good about the game and my hard work and success. Five and ten dollar tables and I moved tables after I won or was down. Got out each time I made a certain amount. I can do this. I want to do this regularly as a supplement to my real job. I like the fruits of the hard work and the possibilities that counting brings rather than the money (though I want that too). Seeing the table and potential in a whole new way is exhilarating. What is the best way for me to take this more seriously and start doing this for $5,000 results in a three day trip to Mecca? Any and all advice is welcome. I thought about taking a counting class in vegas for $795. Thank you.
Bonjour Ken,
First let me say I have learnt so much from your website and I am using it to play online live with favorable results.
My question is, the site I play on go to about 65% penetration before using a new shoe, with an 8 deck game. Should I only play at the table when it is a new shoe? Or is it OK to join and play even if I estimate 2-4 decks in the discard pile?
Ken SMith first of all your knowledge is a treasure to us.
i don get it with the 16vs 10
.if tc is bigger than 0 we stand.why we do that?
cause the high cards that are left will bust us or because we hope for the dealer to take first the low card and after a big one?
Also lets say that i play two bets .a 18 stiff and a 16 stiff against 10 dealers .my opinion is that if i stand propably i will loose all my two bets.if i stand like logical in 18 and take card at 16 and get bust with a a ten my other bet will still at the moment be “alive” and maybe the dealer takes a 7 or 8???? Please inlight me !!!
Thanks Ken
Yes, that’s a reasonable approach.
Thanks Ken. My idea was to start at $10 min bet and add $5 at each +1 true count, +1 = $15, +2 = $20, up to $50 at +8. But I could go with $20 at +1, $30 at +2, up to $50 at +4. I would also start at a $5 table if I could find one for betting low while the count is negative. I will also try to do 3 one hour sessions with breaks for rest and
some food or coffee in between.
Does this sound like a good plan to get started?
Merci,
Glen
Stop win and stop loss numbers don’t do anything except reduce the amount of time you get in on the game. I have never liked them. If the game is good, quitting because you win or lose a certain amount just costs you positive expectation. Using a stop loss to prevent a devastating loss can have some psychological benefits, but that’s about it. I would prefer the set amount of time plan. However, if you can split up your action across shifts and casinos, you should likely try to keep session length at an hour.
By the way, you’ll want to get your max bet on the table far before a +9 true count, because those are rare. Ramp up from your minimum to your maximum as the true count rises from +1 to +5, and stick with your max bet at anything above that.
I recommend you stay away from the casino. 🙂
They sometimes get 19, 20, and 21 a lot too.