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Thread: A total beginner's hello!

  1. #1


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    A total beginner's hello!

    Hello guys, this is my very first post, so I wanted to introduce myself.

    I began playing Blackjack this Christmas. After learning the basics, I taught my niece and played with her to see who would end up with the higher stake.
    I applied Basic Strategy (peeking at a website) and she didn’t. Sometimes she would look at me and ask “What should I do?” - I would then peek at my computer and say something like "Theoretically you should hit”. Sometimes she would comply; sometimes she would complain and do as she wanted. We played the entire holydays.
    Well, although I had a great time and came to love the game…. I lost consecutively!
    And she is only EIGHT!!!
    Now I want revenge, so I joined the forum

    I want to try to learn REKO and eventually (if I am ever capable) REKO-Full. For now I am just struggling with Basic Strategy.
    Ah... I've never been to a Casino, but I am planning on going to Vegas this August, so I guess it's training time!
    I already have a number of questions, but that's for another post.

    The best of luck to you all!!

  2. #2
    Senior Member Bodarc's Avatar
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    Hello Skull

    Nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy it here as much as I do and learn how to beat them bad next August. I think you should probably start out by taking lessons from your niece. Just kidding......take care.

  3. #3


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    Hey Bodarc!

    Thank you very much for your welcome words!
    Yes, I will definitely learn from her. You have no idea how fast she could parse a deck into their tag values.
    And she didn´t even have the understanding of negative values! I had to show a termometer and explain it to her first.
    Then one minute later she was parsing a deck REALLY quickly!

    By the time she is 21 the casinos should better have only continuous shuffling, otherwise she will destroy them

    Best of luck!!

  4. #4
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    Welcome to the forum. Choosing REKO is a wise decision, but make sure you thoroughly learn Basic Strategy for the type of game you plan on playing first.

    Good luck and good cards.
    Last edited by mofungoo; 01-06-2014 at 09:49 PM.

  5. #5


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    Hey mofungoo!

    Thanks for your comment!

    Yes, after searching the web it seems that I can find a few 6 decks S17 DAS in the Strip, so I am sticking with this configuration for the time being.
    Let´s just hope conditions don´t deteriorate any further until then.

    All the best!!

  6. #6
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    Skip REKO, and learn hi lo

  7. #7
    Senior Member Jabberwocky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ZenKinG View Post
    Skip REKO, and learn hi lo
    I would shoot for Zen II.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Nikky_Flash's Avatar
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    I see the future and Here we go again - Can't wait for the post that tells the new guy to learn halves or some level 3 system and why it's better then: (insert level one system of your choosing here), and then someone says something about why it's small gain could be negated because of the ease of the level one system lowers the chances of mistakes, and if he's going to learn a hard system it has a greater chance of error, and ; better to just do an easy system that's effective without mistakes because the gain doesn't justify it as a begginer, and then comes the post about all the sucessfull teams , church -holy rollers , hylander, MIT , and that it was all Hi-lo. then someone will come back and say "I'm just trying to give the new guy the best shot at counting, and in my opinion (insert system) IS the best system" then comes math and simms posts to back up what they are saying ...

  9. #9


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    Quote Originally Posted by ZenKinG View Post
    Skip REKO, and learn hi lo
    Hello ZenKinG, thanks for your suggestion.

    The reasons for my choice of REKO over Hi-Lo may be summarized by this extract of Modern Blackjack (page 102): "Overall, REKO and Hi-Lo perform about the same. Of course, REKO does not require the skills of remaining deck estimation, true count calculation, and memorization of different indexes." Really, this true count calculation seems like lots of pain to me! Moreover, REKO-Full seems to provide substantial gains over Hi-Lo, so I came to believe it is a more natural (and profitable) progression going from BS to REKO and then REKO-Full instead of going directly to Hi-Lo.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jabberwocky View Post
    I would shoot for Zen II.
    Hi Jabberwocky, thank you also for your suggestion. I looked over Zen II and I must admit I simply don't feel capable of using 5 tags! Too long a shot right now I guess...

    Quote Originally Posted by Nikky_Flash View Post
    I see the future and Here we go again - Can't wait for the post that tells the new guy to learn halves or some level 3 system and why it's better then: (insert level one system of your choosing here), and then someone says something about why it's small gain could be negated because of the ease of the level one system lowers the chances of mistakes, and if he's going to learn a hard system it has a greater chance of error, and ; better to just do an easy system that's effective without mistakes because the gain doesn't justify it as a begginer, and then comes the post about all the sucessfull teams , church -holy rollers , hylander, MIT , and that it was all Hi-lo. then someone will come back and say "I'm just trying to give the new guy the best shot at counting, and in my opinion (insert system) IS the best system" then comes math and simms posts to back up what they are saying ...
    Hello Nikky_Flash, I loved your post man! I really like a bit of sarcasm to make a point. I am sure it is a very precise point, but please I hope I won't cause an argument in my very first post! I might avoid that by saying that I am pretty certain of what kind of system I want to learn: one that won't make me quit even before I get to Vegas in August!! And I can tell you that in our busy busy life it is very easy to forget about a nice hobby in lieu of our everyday job obligations, isn't it?


    Thank you all for making this forum as lively as it is and for attesting my correct decision in joining it!

    Best of luck!!

  10. #10


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    Quote Originally Posted by Skull21 View Post
    Hello ZenKinG, thanks for your suggestion.

    The reasons for my choice of REKO over Hi-Lo may be summarized by this extract of Modern Blackjack (page 102): "Overall, REKO and Hi-Lo perform about the same. Of course, REKO does not require the skills of remaining deck estimation, true count calculation, and memorization of different indexes." Really, this true count calculation seems like lots of pain to me! Moreover, REKO-Full seems to provide substantial gains over Hi-Lo, so I came to believe it is a more natural (and profitable) progression going from BS to REKO and then REKO-Full instead of going directly to Hi-Lo.
    Welcome. This seems perfectly reasonable.

  11. #11


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    Thanks for the motivation Smartpart!

  12. #12


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    Skull, one thing I wished I had done earlier in my career was to get some simulation software to use as a learning tool. I recommend CVBJ and CVCX. CVBJ has good drills and practice games with ways to monitor your accuracy and progress. Also, use the time between now and your LV trip to save up a good Bank Roll, and use CVCX to get a feel for your Risk of Ruin and Variance. You will find many of the games on the LV Strip that are worth playing may have minimums that are higher than you expected for the Risk you are willing to take. Finding good games that fit your bank is half the battle at the beginning level. I think many noobies rush out to play without considering their chances of getting wiped out, and a simple run of negative variance (despite perfect play) can emotionally and financially ruin a promising hobby/career.

  13. #13


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    Also get a copy of CBJN http://bj21.com/ads/cbjn1.shtml

    You can just purchase the single issue for your trip. This gives you current conditions so you can plan ahead.

    Good luck!

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