Laughlin Marauder: Getting Killed when playing one on one

[Laughlin Marauder]

Hey Everyone,

The last 2 nights I have played alot of one on one 2D. Great pen, but cant seem to win a hand. Had 1 deck where I lost all 20 hands (a 32 unit loss). I seem to lose ALOT when playing by myself. I seem to do better when there are 2 - 3 other players. The last 2 days have been a really wild swing for me. I haven't lost the count, or made mistakes, yet I have lost 76 units in my last 13 or so hours of play.

Should I avoid playing against the dealer on my own in 2D? This has me really down, As I was up around 150 units for the last 80 hours, and then last night just getting absolutely killed.

[bfbagain]

It happens. I know, that's not what you want to hear, but there's nothing better than headsup.

The fact that you believe you're not making any errors, yet your emotion is coming through loud and clear, leads me to believe you are in fact, playing with emotion.

This is the kiss of death. The only emotion that should be apparent while playing, and losing, is what would be a "controlled act" for the benefit of others.

Also, there are positives to losing, not to mention that it's going to happen whether or not you like it.

If you are playing a high quality game, i.e., great pen, good rules, little heat, with great spreads.....then there isn't anything better than headsup. It's what you live for.

cheers
bfb

[Laughlin Marauder]

> It happens. I know, that's not what you want
> to hear, but there's nothing better than
> headsup.

> The fact that you believe you're not making
> any errors, yet your emotion is coming
> through loud and clear, leads me to believe
> you are in fact, playing with emotion.

> This is the kiss of death. The only emotion
> that should be apparent while playing, and
> losing, is what would be a "controlled
> act" for the benefit of others.

> Also, there are positives to losing, not to
> mention that it's going to happen whether or
> not you like it.

> If you are playing a high quality game,
> i.e., great pen, good rules, little heat,
> with great spreads.....then there isn't
> anything better than headsup. It's what you
> live for.

> cheers
> bfb

Honestly I haven't, the count never got above plus 4 and Dealer had BJ to my 20 ... most of the time it just kept getting more and more negative before getting to near 0 at the end of the deck. It was surreal. Dealer could not bust. Tell me if I am playing wrong

My spread:
TC 0 - 1 unit
TC 1 - 1 unit
TC 2 - 3 units
TC 3 - 5 units
Tc 4+ - 8 units

I play Hi-Lo - Penetration is near 90% 2D.

I just seemed to be playing all negative decks, which I realize means they started positive. As far as the emotion goes. I agree playing with emotion is a huge mistake. it really didn't bother me until I got up this afternoon.

[bfbagain]

whether or not you were playing two hands or one. Or if you did go to two hands, when, and when going from two to one.

I play two hands in almost all situations, period. There are exceptions, as in NMS situations, or a few rounds left in extremely negative counts.

However, I also play AOII with ace side count. If you're playing primarily in SD and DD games, you'll increase your success by using a level 2 count, e.g., HiOpt II, or AOII.

BTW, Your spread is fine.

cheers
bfb

[Laughlin Marauder]

> whether or not you were playing two hands or
> one. Or if you did go to two hands, when,
> and when going from two to one.

> I play two hands in almost all situations,
> period. There are exceptions, as in NMS
> situations, or a few rounds left in
> extremely negative counts.

> However, I also play AOII with ace side
> count. If you're playing primarily in SD and
> DD games, you'll increase your success by
> using a level 2 count, e.g., HiOpt II, or
> AOII.

> BTW, Your spread is fine.

> cheers
> bfb

I was sticking with one hand as the count always seemed negative. I have been thinking of going to a better system, but dont know where to start the count at. IE in HIopt II, does the deck start at 0 or does it start at -x X #decks? Also Omega II looks good as well.

To be honest I rarely will spread to 2 hands. I did on one hand last night at a +2 but dealer had BJ and I had 18 and 17 respectively which again brought the count down to -2.

[bfbagain]

Both counts are balanced, starting at 0.

However, my recommendation also includes a purchase of CVCX and CVData. I think it would be money well spent, by everyone, but definitely you should have it before making any count system changes.

There is nothing more enlightening, than seeing how the numbers change before your very eyes, and nothing brings that home more than Norm's software. It truly is the best.

Like the ad says, Serious Blackjack Software, for Serious Blackjack Players. OK, the last part I made up.

cheers
bfb

[Ouchez]

> I was sticking with one hand as the count
> always seemed negative. I have been thinking
> of going to a better system, but dont know
> where to start the count at. IE in HIopt II,
> does the deck start at 0 or does it start at
> -x X #decks? Also Omega II looks good as
> well.

> To be honest I rarely will spread to 2
> hands. I did on one hand last night at a +2
> but dealer had BJ and I had 18 and 17
> respectively which again brought the count
> down to -2.

start at 2 hands, if things go bad move from 1 to 2 and back again. When it goes neg 2 or lower play 1 hand. there are other things you can do that I won't get into here. I have seen these things happen in DD but I usually, by far, win in heads up play. You really want to go for heads up play. The game sounds like a real fine one, just keep at it.

I have played with player who use the systems you mentioned, seasoned players, and they do no better than I, in fact I and my hi-lo do better a majority of the time. I do keep a side of aces.

Sorry you had such a bad run.

Ouchez.

[Hollywood]

> Hey Everyone,

> The last 2 nights I have played alot of one
> on one 2D. Great pen, but cant seem to win a
> hand. Had 1 deck where I lost all 20 hands
> (a 32 unit loss). I seem to lose ALOT when
> playing by myself. I seem to do better when
> there are 2 - 3 other players. The last 2
> days have been a really wild swing for me. I
> haven't lost the count, or made mistakes,
> yet I have lost 76 units in my last 13 or so
> hours of play.

> Should I avoid playing against the dealer on
> my own in 2D? This has me really down, As I
> was up around 150 units for the last 80
> hours, and then last night just getting
> absolutely killed.

This is all standard operating proceedure.

Playing one on one is a fast game, but a good game. And with 2D and 90% pen. You can throw away the viagra.

That is a great game.

Do not get discouraged my friend, your soul is being tested (ummmmmmmmmm who said that?)

You need to do one thing and one thing only whenever this happens, (and I say whenever, because it will happen many times over the years)

Go back and read the bible, (in this case BJ attack) and read and re-read and re-read the part on standard deviation.

You will realize that it's just the way things are. And not at all a big deal.

You will have opposite swings that will be just as big, and you will have more money on the table when they happen.

Trust me on this, everyone in this room has been there and done that. So just listen to the experiences and you will realize you are not alone and the math will come back around.

This not maybe, maybe not. It is a certainty.

You must remember that, it is the math that is a certainty.

You keep on playing YOU CAN'T LOSE

Happy chips

Hollywood

[Parker]

1. As others have explained, heads-up is the best.

2. You will always have the biggest swings when playing the best games. This is because you will be seeing more positive counts, and putting more money on the table.

3. These swings are unavoidable. This is why everyone isn't doing this.

4. When the counts soars, you place a max bet, and you get a 20 to the dealer's blackjack, smile. The fact that all these high cards are coming out means that you are counting correctly. It could just as easily have been your blackjack.

5. People spend way too much time worrying about which system to use. It doesn't matter! I used KO for several years, playing single and double deck games exclusively. I won over $10K the first year I started keeping accurate records.

You will not see any difference in your day-to-day session results as a result of switching systems. At the end of a year's play, when you tally up the totals, you then may see the results of a more effective system. Or maybe not.

[Karel Janecek]

Everyone knows here that it is best to play alone since one gets more hands per hour. With twice as fast game one gets twice the expected profit per hour. There is a small catch, however. The risk per unit of time is also larger, namely square root of 2 times larger. What does this imply?

Intuitively, given a 2 times faster game it is as if time runs 2 times faster. The risk/return profile after playing 1 day with a 2 times faster game is the same as after playing 2 days a slower game. This implies that after 1 day of play with a faster game one will experience larger losses (in our example, approximately square root of 2 times larger). Of course, one will experience also approximately square root of 2 times larger winnings.

Most people tend to remember loses more intensively than winnigs. Since one day is a natural evaluation period, a fast game may psychologically (and unjustifiably) appear to be too risky.

Sincerely,

Karel Janecek

> Hey Everyone,

> The last 2 nights I have played alot of one
> on one 2D. Great pen, but cant seem to win a
> hand. Had 1 deck where I lost all 20 hands
> (a 32 unit loss). I seem to lose ALOT when
> playing by myself. I seem to do better when
> there are 2 - 3 other players. The last 2
> days have been a really wild swing for me. I
> haven't lost the count, or made mistakes,
> yet I have lost 76 units in my last 13 or so
> hours of play.

> Should I avoid playing against the dealer on
> my own in 2D? This has me really down, As I
> was up around 150 units for the last 80
> hours, and then last night just getting
> absolutely killed.

[Laughlin Marauder]

> Everyone knows here that it is best to play
> alone since one gets more hands per hour.
> With twice as fast game one gets twice the
> expected profit per hour. There is a small
> catch, however. The risk per unit of time is
> also larger, namely square root of 2 times
> larger. What does this imply?

> Intuitively, given a 2 times faster game it
> is as if time runs 2 times faster. The
> risk/return profile after playing 1 day with
> a 2 times faster game is the same as after
> playing 2 days a slower game. This implies
> that after 1 day of play with a faster game
> one will experience larger losses (in our
> example, approximately square root of 2
> times larger). Of course, one will
> experience also approximately square root of
> 2 times larger winnings.

> Most people tend to remember loses more
> intensively than winnigs. Since one day is a
> natural evaluation period, a fast game may
> psychologically (and unjustifiably) appear
> to be too risky.

> Sincerely,

> Karel Janecek

Karel,

Thanks for the response. I too have a good bit of education in Psychology especially in terms of Performance. There is a really good book that might help everyone in this area (and clearly I need to reread it). Its unrelated to Blackjack but it really does help with the mental aspects of performance and self doubt. Its by Timothy Galway (sp). He has 2 good books one is "The Inner game of Tennis" and the other is "The Inner game of Golf". It really focuses heavily on not letting past failures and bad self talk destroy confidence. Another good book to help improve concentration during a performance is "Zen and the art of motorcylce maintenance".... obviously none of these books relate to BJ, but they do help with mental, and emotional outlook.