Blackjack Beginner

[Nikky_Flash]

How does one go about doing that? I feel ive learnt enough to know when basic strategy tells me to hit or stand. Thanks!

mark,
your current strategy will have you losing money , no matter how great you count cards ... your feeling is a false sense of security , listen to not just me , but dieter , moo and the other guys here are your best source of help , unless you know what card will be dealt next , or know the dealers hole card ...
even perfect basic strategy will have us as long term losers ... of somewhere like -.6 to -.2 .... the trick is to get a very slight bump of a few percents by knowing something of the remaining cards.... so counting cards is a two or three part process , it isn't like the movie 21 ... which makes card counting seem like we wait till the deck is high count and stay on your pair of kings or blackjack each time.... and win every night .... with huge monster counts I've constantly have been dealt 12s - 17s or soft 15 and hit another 10 and lose against a dealer low card.... but this is my path , long term I'll be a winner , basic strat isn't too tough to learn with a solid few weeks of work. I memorized stiffs easy but the harder parts ; i wrote pieces of basic strat on post its or small pieces of paper on my computer screen each week ... took a few weeks or a month , and ordered books from barns and noble , and even purchased norms book , small prices to pay for a long term investment ...best wishes , nikky

[tiny]

Just because you don't win every session (assuming you're playing perfect basic, counting, and using indices) doesn't mean that you don't have an edge. The edge of counting is fairly small (1-2% in most cases) so you're going to have to play a lot of hands until you reach your long term results. This is called variance, which I think is one of the more difficult challenges to get use to as a beginner. Making flash cards for basic strategy and index plays really helped me memorize them.

Once you've mastered basic and a count system, you should try practicing in an actual casino because it's going to be far different than what you experience at home on a stimulator. I started with DD when I first played for real cash because I felt it was easier as a beginner to keep the count with one two decks (it's also easier to divide if you're using HiLo). You don't need that great of a spread to beat DD (assuming you select games with good penetration and rules). If you miss a few cards or lose the count (which is normal for a beginner) just excuse yourself and wait for the next shoe. It's extremely important to learn to be honest with yourself when you think you've lost the count because it makes a big difference between playing a positive or negative game. I think it's also helpful to continually practice at home even if you're confident about your skills in a casino setting. It never hurts to evaluate your game

[metronome]

I play the virtual blackjack at a machine that a computer deals out the card and have won on it and also lost of course.

-Omni

Perhaps it's me, but could you elaborate on this virtual game. Does it display the shoe and the discards so you know how many decks are played/unplayed?

[Omni]

Perhaps it's me, but could you elaborate on this virtual game. Does it display the shoe and the discards so you know how many decks are played/unplayed?

Yeah sure, I was hoping someone would ask.

Its a game set up to other machines and it has 3 games on it. Roulette, blackjack, and a third one (I forget what its called). There's a live mode and a offline mode.

The blackjack is all basic rules, 3/2 payout, dealer stands on soft 17 and from observation shuffles on one deck.

[NotEnoughHeat]

How does the live mode work? is it based on a physical deck that is being played somewhere like how online blackjack is sometimes done?

[Omni]

How does the live mode work? is it based on a physical deck that is being played somewhere like how online blackjack is sometimes done?

Live a dealer would be on a platform with a camera showing everyone on a machine what cards he puts down and essentially everyone will be playing the same hand. Which makes it kinda weird I feel the machines make calculations depending on how high the bets are and will determine who loses. But I doubt casinos do that, I feel a lot of stuff is rigged.. It doesn't show the shoe or discarded cards. But you can tell by how long it takes before the computer shuffles the deck in offline mode that its (I think) 1 deck.

[Nikky_Flash]

well , when you are ready to play for real , you will need to know a couple extra things -
for example , you are a playing a 6 deck game , das , no resplit aces , early surr , DOA , blackjack pays 3:2, and you are using hi-lo ...
so you are sitting there and two decks have been dealt ... running count is 10 ... do you have an advantage ? if so how much ? if not by how much ?
at what point do you start to have an advantage?
so. , you go to the casino and they have a few different games , one game has six decks , DOA , no resplit aces , early surr , naturals pays 3:2 ,
another has , six decks , DOA , you can resplit aces 3 times , no surr , naturals pays 3:2 ,
it seems that they deal it from a circular black machine ...
another table has two decks , DOA , no resplit aces , no das , early surr , naturals pays 6:5 ,
which game are you going to buy in at ?

[ZeeBabar]

My advice Omni, no matter what, do not get into Blackjack at the expense of college or another job. Most young people, including me (a very long long time ago), should they start winning early in their career, begin to think they can win more if they play more and some are idiotic enough to think they can quit their job and become a pro or college and become a pro. The thinking is like playing high school basketball and thinking you can quit taking studies or anything else seriously, that you are going to go pro. If your playing interferes with the way you were before you started playing, then you are simply getting addicted. You should not consider anything like it unless you have inherited $50k or more and have a way to replenish it if you should lose most of it in Blackjack.

[MJGolf]

Link took me to homepage, not a thread titled Beginning Card Counting Suggestions Card Counting Primer. Please confirm correct link so new user might find that thread.

You have to join, too, man! LOL It's a bargain.......

[ZeeBabar]

Did I miss where young Omni, said anything about quitting college or leaving a career to play full-time blackjack? Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

No, but he is 18 and warning him ahead that he might get crazy thoughts should variance be with him early might be a good idea. I am sure you might have come across folks, young valets, dishwashers, waiters and others who left for Las Vegas with dreams (kind of like young girls headed to Hollywood, ended up hookers on Hollywood and Vine).

[muffdiver]

I've been told that some of those valets and waiters (even hookers) do very well.