Take heart, losing is wonderful...

[Blitzkrieg]

James Naismith invested the game of basketball by writing a few basic rules down on a sheet of paper so his PE students could have an indoor sport in the cold winter months of Kansas. Today, the rule books and case books are very complex and each one different for HS, College, Pro for mens and womens.

Most successful people are control freaks (not necessarily a bad thing). But only about 15% of blackjack involves logical decisions within your control. Throw in Pit boss and EITS and it's probably even less. That, and the rest of the game is variance. With all rhetoric written about the game, a new player can come away with the idea they control the results which is unrealistic for the most part. Sometimes it's a matter of getting back to those "one" sheet basics and playing the game without expectations.

I remember in my younger days walking away from a bludgeoning thinking "damn, I split my Aces and 8s" what the hell is going on"? In reading the forum, today's less experienced players, seem to think that remembering when to split 99 vs A or the most complex count or full indices are their keys to success. Thus unmet expectations lead to disappointment. I like a qoute in Peter Griffins book regarding Simple vs Complex. Any engineer can make something complex but the best ones have the fortitude to make it simple again.

...And another quote from Peter Griffen - Family Guy "One thing I hate to learn is a Lesson".

I'm not suggesting Basic Strategy by any means. Probably Don S. Ill 18 combined with Hi lo or Norm's REKO is the simple answer for 90% of the multi deck players. My quarter says they are the best engineers that walked through the forest of complex and then made it simple again.

You mean invented. When I take a loss I think about getting even with the house on my next visit and I'm going to win.

I would tend to think that playing blackjack involves more than 15% of logical decisions that are within the control of the player. If a player is using a count then they need 100% accuracy to base their betting decisions and be able to play faster than the dealer whether their playing a pitch game with multiple players or a shoe dealt game. To me it would also depend on what principles the player is trying to utilize whether it be basic strategy, card counting, adjustments in strategy based on favorable rules, hole carding techniques, or shuffle tracking.

I don't play the game worrying about the pit boss or the EITS. I don't sweat them or worry about getting 86'ed.

[VeryGood]

For many months I've been raking in profits from my local store. It was a big problem of mine until I started losing sessions in the beginning of this month. About effing time. Problem solved LOL

[hitthat16]

I started off my career losing. I consider this a good thing. I learned quickly about the resolve needed to get to the long run and now losing is much easier than it was before.

[MJGolf]

To put it simply................LOSING SUX ROCKS!!! Variance is a jealous biotch. We ALL know that!

Always remember this is a "roller coaster". I have to continuously remind myself that in the long run it WILL work out. I still am euphoric when I have winning sessions (being a little dramatic) and I feel like a kicked junk yard dog when I lose. But after licking my wounds, I'm ready to get back to basics and go hit them again. After winning more than you expect? Are you going to quit because you have "mastered" this game? I doubt it. Are any of us ever going to quit when you hit a losing session? Probably not.

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL here by the way...........

[marriedputter]

I always say something like "I'm just hoping that you have it so I don't have to lose money on this crap hand".

Of course it's nonsense, but spewing off ploppy logic is +EV.

Yeah, I say that sometimes. I'll also say things like "you haven't had it in a while and you're due." I absolutely hate doing it though. When I have a 20 or an 11, no problem.

[marriedputter]

i m not saying 1 have 1000 max bets or one needs a 1000 max bets .Without a healthy bank and a chance to get to the "long run" ,our hero is gonna have a very tough time emotionally n financially. It certainly is not fun when one's losing .I don't look at it per round basis . i look at it at per session base 20-30 max bets /session. i have only played a 1000 hrs or so but have lost over 30-60 max bets in 4-8 hrs heads up of course for at least 5 times . IT WAS NOT FUN . i won over 120 max bets within 400 hours or so only to lose most back in another 500 hrs stretch . Emotionally it is very frustrating, so with a very healthy bankroll , i would not be stress most of the time. 200 max bets is what i operate with and clearly it is not enough to endure emotional stress ,maybe even from ror. As JG said card counting is a super grind at best and i totally agree with it.If i have a few people playing together and quite a few good games then it would be different. Please excuse my grammar and use of the language.

The only thing that's really important though is how much you're averaging per hour on a long run basis. If the wins and losses balance out with an upward drift that comes reasonably close to your expected gain per hour, then you have triumphed.
I don't care about a major loss, provided that I am at least within 1 standard deviation 68% of the time.

[marriedputter]

How can you say that losing is wonderful? I hate losing at any game regardless if the game is BJ or not. I feel that I should win every time I play even though I know it may not happen. If a player has thoughts of questioning their own ability in BJ after a big loss or through extended ass kickings on the felt... then they should have never taken a seat at the table and their probably not as good as they think they are.

How can I think that losing is wonderful? Well, for all the reasons that I already said (all this is assuming though that you are playing correctly).

My family does not have a single investor in them. They are too afraid to invest anything in the stock market for example because they got burned during the 2008 financial crisis. Of course, they did not diversify well and started chasing some hot stock long after the hype was priced in. Some in my family just spend their incomes foolishly and others save. Problem is, they can't save enough for retirement.

You have to have the guts to get back up again and invest. It's scary to get knocked on your ass then get up again. It's not easy. In fact, it was not in my nature to be an investor. I had to relentlessly train myself to see the world in a different way than my father does (think Rich Dad, Poor Dad (only I don't have a rich dad!))
For me, the mastering of fear is a goal to which we should all aspire. If I can take a beating and keep on ticking, then I have prospered in life in a way that is much more important than dollar signs.

[marriedputter]

You mean invented. When I take a loss I think about getting even with the house on my next visit and I'm going to win.

I don't play the game worrying about the pit boss or the EITS. I don't sweat them or worry about getting 86'ed.

I am in disagreement with both of these comments.

First, "getting even" is an emotional desire and can cloud judgement. You may "want" to get even with that casino, but the cards there do not remember what happened to you last time and variance can sway in their favor just as much as before. If you say this comment to yourself as a motivation to psyche you up for the big game so that you can remain optimistic, then so be it. However, if you are saying this as an expectation to win the next time that you play there, then playing may take an emotional toll on you and you will likely be vastly disappointed.

As to your other comment, how can you not worry about the pit? You shouldn't be so worried that you play in such a way that eliminates your EV, but you should be concerned about the one thing that you can't control.

I approach investing by looking at what I CAN'T control and develop a strategy from there. In the stock market for example, I know that I don't have control over which direction the market is going to go. I can study numbers and tell you what is likely a good company, but I can not calculate human madness. The only thing that I have control over in the stock market is how much I risk. Therefore, I use strategies based upon that. In card counting, I know that in mathematical terms, I have already won the game because I have done my due diligence through relentless practicing (Sun Tzu: Every battle is won before it is ever fought). I have 100 index plays memorized and play like a robot. However, I can NOT control humans (i.e. the pit). This is my worry. How can I do what I do and get away with it? They can end my upward trajectory in a millisecond.

[Jabberwocky]

To put it simply................LOSING SUX ROCKS!!! Variance is a jealous biotch. We ALL know that!

Always remember this is a "roller coaster". I have to continuously remind myself that in the long run it WILL work out. I still am euphoric when I have winning sessions (being a little dramatic) and I feel like a kicked junk yard dog when I lose. But after licking my wounds, I'm ready to get back to basics and go hit them again. After winning more than you expect? Are you going to quit because you have "mastered" this game? I doubt it. Are any of us ever going to quit when you hit a losing session? Probably not.

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL here by the way...........

I have quit playing this game...dozens of times.

[marriedputter]

For many months I've been raking in profits from my local store. It was a big problem of mine until I started losing sessions in the beginning of this month. About effing time. Problem solved LOL

That happened to me too. My problem was constantly winning. I could only rathole so much and I was getting very concerned. As luck would have it (is "luck" exactly the right word here?), I hit a major loss there and balanced things out. I haven't been on a killer running streak since then.

In this endeavor, the only thing worse than losing every time you play is winning every time you play.

[marriedputter]

Also, I thought that I would share this with you guys. I played recently and make a killing. I made up a lot of lost ground. I am in the black again both at the tables and figuring in expenses. It was a GREAT ride.
I played in a 6-deck that got up to a running count of +30 (Hi-Lo). It's rare to see that happen at all. In this case, it happened after only 3 decks! The good part was that I won most of my max bets while it was still climbing (you're more likely to lose those). I just attacked that shoe and left afterwards. The bad part was that I feel that I was pushing things a little bit, but I can't leave a shoe until the shuffle and sacrifice such a good deck.
I probably won't be back to that particular casino in a while.

[MidwestTom]

I played in a 6-deck that got up to a running count of +30 (Hi-Lo). It's rare to see that happen at all. In this case, it happened after only 3 decks! .

I'd cut off my big toe for a +30 RC in a 6 deck game !! The best I've seen is +22 and believe it or not it ended -12, the swing was crazy and I actually lost money on the shoe as a whole .

[stopgambling]

i had a +18 "hi lo" in a DD game once, only once . Had a 20+ RC few times ,not that common ,it was just after the 1 st deck , almost 2 deck a few times as well.