bankroll management
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Hi,
I used to play blackjack a lot. I spent my time in Foxwoods, learned how to play properly from some old man names Sid. Took me 8 hours of playing next to him to get it all straight :)
Then I switched over to poker. I lived off of poker for a few years a while ago, I don't know, but I would like to get back into blackjack. I don't need to make a living but I don't like losing either. I remember the basics of card counting and will be trying to learn more about it but for now I have a simple question.
I was thinking about starting with a $1,000 bankroll. What level should I stick to and what kind of swing should I expect? any help is great!
doc -
Swings are massive, and counting is useless until you marry the count with the variance to the basic strategy. Even then, you will hit bad streaks where it seems useless. No one talks about this, but I have spent thousands of dollars learning the hard way, NEVER to risk more than 5 units of your max bet on a given shoe.
Take enough bankroll to play 6 shoes in a given day, and never chase your losses. Set a goal for the day, and make it realistic. It could be to play a set number of shoes, play for so many hours, or even walk away once you hit a specific dollar amount, but don't count on hitting the dollar amount, focus on time of play, or number of shoes.
One more thing....betting higher on true counts greater than 3 will more often than not wipe you completely out. Even with a full table of hands, you must understand that a very high count, means the dealer will be pulling BJs and 21s as well. Keep your max bets between -1 and +3, and lower them on anything else. Good luck! -
Ricky said:Swings are massive, and counting is useless until you marry the count with the variance to the basic strategy. Even then, you will hit bad streaks where it seems useless. No one talks about this, but I have spent thousands of dollars learning the hard way, NEVER to risk more than 5 units of your max bet on a given shoe.
Take enough bankroll to play 6 shoes in a given day, and never chase your losses. Set a goal for the day, and make it realistic. It could be to play a set number of shoes, play for so many hours, or even walk away once you hit a specific dollar amount, but don't count on hitting the dollar amount, focus on time of play, or number of shoes.
One more thing....betting higher on true counts greater than 3 will more often than not wipe you completely out. Even with a full table of hands, you must understand that a very high count, means the dealer will be pulling BJs and 21s as well. Keep your max bets between -1 and +3, and lower them on anything else. Good luck!
I'm sorry, but all of this is bad advice. To gain an advantage, you must have a decent bet spread. Leaving because of a specific dollar amount, time of play, or number of shoes is pure voodoo. You leave when the count is bad, not due to some irrelevant event. Betting on high counts is extremely important. That's when you have an advantage. If you stop betting when the count is high, you are destroying your advantage. -
Plus, common sense says that you are just as likely to get blackjack as the dealer. If you get blackjack, you win 1.5 times your bet (unless it's one of those tables with a reduced blackjack payout - which should be avoided like plague), while if the dealer gets blackjack, you lose just your bet. So at average, you are better off.
You have an edge over the house at high counts (and vice versa); increasing your bet at count -1 (when the house is usually at an advantage) is a bad idea, and decreasing it at count +4 (when you normally have an advantage of, like, 2-3 %) is a VERY bad idea. If you want to reduce your risk of running out of money, just reduce the maximum bet (or all your bets), or try to avoid playing at a disadvantage (wonging in/out).
Mike Rosoft
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