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Thread: Advice Please

  1. #14


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    Yes you can double after splitting where I play.

  2. #15


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    You should spent your time and energy on bj books(ask for recommended books) and a training software(cvbj) and reading as much as you can on the 2 main forums on Bj. Until then you should stay away from casino unless you are willing to lose the small bankroll that you have , which is very very likely. Even if you are willing to put $3000 as a bankroll ,the condition for low min. games are so bad generally that you are very likely not to make anything from it.Counting is a really huge grind and a lot of time and preparation is needed. Most of the pro do not even do it. I would read most of what KJ has to say on counting ,as he is strictly a counter. One of the few that made it from a small bank . Go to read the sticky thread at bjinfo. on counting for starters.

  3. #16


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    My advice would be to make your engineering career your #1 priority. As a young person, with a valuable college degree, and the potential to have a successful professional career, you should be focusing on maximizing your chances of achieving that success. Blackjack can be all consuming, and to be successful at BJ, you need to devote alot of time to studying it and to playing. If that takes away time that you would otherwise be spending on your career, that is negative EV. If you can study & play BJ without it distracting you from your career, go for it, but realize that making money at BJ is hard work and can be gut wrenching at times.

  4. #17


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    1. Start with a 10k bankroll minimum
    And look for a $10 min game. If that's not available then settling it the $15 min will work, but losing sessions will have a bigger impact on your BR. After you save 10k or put 10k aside to play with establish a max bet ( biggest bet per session) and a super max bet ( biggest bet you will ever make in the perfect situation).

    2. Keep your job and continue educating yourself by learning the game in and out .

    3. Learn the basic strategy for the rules that you mentioned above, don't go learning basic strategy for a 1 deck game that you can't double anything after splitting like I did when I was your age (not really).

    4. Never listen to anything that "Jabberwalky" guy posts. His credibility is ZERO.


    Build a roll of 10-15k plus. Until then continue learning the game in and out .

    Be realistic if you want to beat the game, don't be like most and think you could turn 1,500 into 50k. Although,there is a guy that ran up a roll of $300 to over 200k as a college student .

  5. #18
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    Since you're an engineer, you are probably looking for some numbers to guide you. First, for a typical game, you'll average about $1 in hourly win for every $3-500 in your bankroll if you are betting correctly. So when people say you need $10,000, that will earn you something like $20-35/hr, with some pretty hefty swings. Second, I'd strongly recommend CVCX to get a feel for correct bet sizing, hourly rate, and risk of ruin. You can use the free online version by clicking BJ Resources at the top of this page. Third, read Norm's free online book Modern Blackjack, also in BJ Resources. It will give you a much better feel for what to expect without requiring any initial outlay other than your time. If you read that, and the numbers I've quoted sound reasonable, then you can move forward with buying more books, buying CVBJ, CVCX, etc.


    I will say that I looked into counting 2-3 times, each time separated by a year or two, and each time decided I didn't have enough cash to set aside for a bankroll to make the potential win rate worthwhile, especially after considering the travel necessary to get to playable games. So, I waited. Eventually I had the cash to make a go of it, and now a few years later I gamble for a living. If you don't have the cash now, read Norm's book, save from your paycheck, and come back to it later when you are ready.

  6. #19


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    Quote Originally Posted by tjr5259 View Post
    the casino that I play at most often only offers 15 dollar minimum games where I normally buy in to the table for 100 dollars.
    You kind of need $500 in your pocket just to sit down at that table. If you're making it off a $100 buy in, congratulations.

    When you're underfunded and unsure if you're beating the game or just winning, be happy with doubling or halving your buy-in, and getting out.

    Travel expenses are probably going to cut into your profits significantly.
    May the cards fall in your favor.

  7. #20


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    OP, another thing I'd advise you to do is make some serious plans to travel to some other venues to experience some other games. Cut your teeth on some low minimum $5 games. Play some low minimum 2D games to exercise your index plays.. Start getting a feel for the "soft" side of AP BJ, managing your RoR, scouting, trip planning, self evaluation, the emotional roller coaster, etc.

    BJ attracts people who are analytic and appreciate the math, but the math and counting are just a small piece of being successful. You need the technical skills to succeed, but technical skills alone won't make you successful.

  8. #21
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    Everything you have been told is true mathematically but I will give you a little history. I'll leave your career and bj as two different subjects and just concentrate on bj. First let me say that I have a replenishable bankroll and if I had lost my starting bankroll it would have made no difference to me. If it does to you, then you should hold off. A friend of mine gave me $500 which is another long story that I won't get into but I made up my mind that I was going to make money off of this amount. Unlike you the casinos near me have $5 minimums and that is what I started playing. I had read about back counting and wonging so I tried to never enter a deck unless I had a good count. There are a million reasons for not playing a hand, stepping away for a few hands, or leaving a table permanently, you just have to think a little. Be very patient and remember when you are wonging, you are playing but betting zero.

    I was very lucky and won from the beginning and normally won around 3 or 4 times out of 5. I spent nothing out of my bankroll and still don't. After a month or so I got word on here that one of the casinos was having a 2X pay on bj as a promotion. I picked up a little on that. After I won a little more, I used a large spread of 1 X $5 to 2 X $75 and sometimes higher and never had any problem with heat but I was always very patient and wouldn't play just to be playing. I either had a good game or I didn't play or I'd wong out. You'll find where the good games are if you keep looking for any advantage you can get.

    To make a long story short, I built the $ 500 up to close to $ 5,000 in about 9 months then hit a $ 1,800 loss in one night. I then gave $ 1,000 to the person who originally gave me the $ 500 and broke the bank you might say, although she never considered it a bankroll. Since then I have added to my winnings and also invested some of my own money and built up a nice sized bankroll so I have a low ROR and can play green chips and so far I have done very well for just a hobby. My objective is to just beat them, not to make a living playing bj. You might say it is the thrill of the chase more than the hunt in my case. I love reading and practicing and trying to learn as much as I enjoy playing the game. You should read the posts on here, keep your eyes and ears open, make friends and try to learn new techniques. Every time you walk into a casino, be looking for anything that will give you an advantage. So there you have another side of the story.
    Play within your bankroll, pick your games with care and learn everything you can about the game. The winning will come. It has to. It's in the cards. -- Bryce Carlson

  9. #22
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    plz finish you engineering degree and if you still have a thirst for knowledge, go for a master's and then Phd...

    if you are thinking of a career in bj, carefully consider:
    - BJ offers no health benefits
    - no company sponsored (contributing) retirement plan
    - no guarantee of actually earning money
    - poor/unhealthy working conditions (unless, of course, you are a smoker)
    - no income stability (which can lead to wealth)
    - financial planning & securing loans are much more difficult
    - starting salary for BS Mech Engineer is $60k
    - little growth potential (33% of CEOs in S&P 500 companies have engineering undergrad degrees)

    if you forgo your education for a career in BJ, plan for a life of regrets

  10. #23
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    Like 99.8% of us, you're better off to concentrate on your career and day job. Look at AP as a potential supplementary income that also provides some fun both now and in the retirement that's a long way off for you.

  11. #24


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    Don't quit your day job. Seriously, you have an awesome day job.

    I think blackjack is a great hobby. For me, I make some money, I've gone all over the country and gotten free vacations, and I have a great time doing it. But I'm not gambling with the rent money, and I don't have to travel all the time to stay away from heat. I've stayed at some of the nicest hotels, eaten at some of the finest restaurants, I've been on some awesome adventures, and I've built up some retirement savings from my winnings.

    I would recommend that you learn how to count very well. Network with other counters, learn your craft, make sure you have an edge, and try to make some money on the weekends. If you do that for a few years and you make some money, then you can think about doing this for a living.
    The Cash Cow.

  12. #25
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    Get a larger bankroll, about 100 max bets.
    Wong in and out when playing 8 deckers.
    Get the CVCX simulation software. Best $90 you will spend.
    Don't quit your day job. At first, consider your playing to be a learning experience. It will take about 200-400 hours of play before you are ready to move up in wagers.
    Read and learn all you can. Blackbelt in Blackjack, Professional Blackjack, Million Dollar Blackjack are all good books.
    Prolonged losing streaks can and probably will happen. Learning to win is easy, handling losing streaks is tough.
    Good luck and good cards!

  13. #26


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    Quote Originally Posted by tjr5259 View Post
    Here is where I need advice. I have done lots of research and there are a lot of different ideas and beliefs about counting cards and if you can be consistently profitable and I was wondering if anyone can give a young blackjack player some advice as to if I should pursue blackjack as a steady source of second income or just play for fun.
    I'm going to disagree with most of the posters here and say yes, go for it. Just know you will have a good chance of losing your initial $500. But you can try again if that happens.

    I would strongly disagree with saving a $20,000 bankroll or whatever some of the other posters suggested. If you were getting ready to do this full time for a job then that would be a different story, but just doing it as a second source of income, then just do it. Start with your $500 and grow your bank with all your winnings, until you are playing with a reasonable risk of ruin. Then preferably, just keep growing your bank, since you have a good job for your main source of income.

    I am also an engineer, and I started playing with a $400 bankroll, knowing I had a very high risk of ruin, but also knowing I would keep replenishing that bankroll as much as it took to get profitable. I started with a $5 - $40 spread on a deeply dealt DD game, S17 DOA DAS RSA. I had a very lucky first day and won $750. After my first two months I was up over 10k. I've been playing for two years now and can play a green to black spread with a 1% ROR. I had one day where I lost one-third of my bankroll in a single day (after my bankroll was a substantial size), and if I had been playing off of money I saved from my "real job", I would have quit that day after losing so much. But my bankroll is all profit, so it doesn't bother me so much when I have big losing days. And I recovered that loss with a huge upswing over the next two weeks.

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