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Thread: Road Trip!

  1. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bodarc View Post
    If you are not going on this trip until summer, there is no reason your friends can't know basic strategy and learn hi-lo or REKO by then. That is at least 3 to 4 months away.
    You should be practicing with your friends and trying to have conversations at the same time. You don't actually have to pay attention to the conversation but get good at seeming to pay attention. After you get good at that work on actually having a conversation while keeping the count. You have a ton of time and need to train your brain to the task.

    Read some books and always keep a deck of cards handy to count down decks whenever you are not too busy. Blackjack Attack edition 3 or 4 if the latest release has a new number is a must buy. Read the entire book and then read each chapter slowly trying to master the understanding and use of each thing discussed in the chapter. When you have that chapter down move onto the next. After reading the book once the digestion by chapter need not be in sequential order.

  2. #15


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    Bja 3 with so little time left ? The op need to help her/his friend to train and learn .

  3. #16


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    Speaking of bja3. I just ordered it and it was supposed to come today but amazon is going to be late getting it to me because of the bad weather. They must not understand the importance.

  4. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by stopgambling View Post
    Bja 3 with so little time left ? The op need to help her/his friend to train and learn .
    It has been so long since I trained from scratch that I have no clue how long it will take. I have had a lot of experience retraining in the last decade. It has always been a giant leap in complexity and takes a lot of time. They have 3 or 4 months. I figured that would be plenty. She is already trying to play in a casino. Isn't that when BJA3 will really be helpful especially if you are BR challenged? IfI am being clueles and out of touch because I can't remember training from scratch just chime in. I still regularly reread BJA3 by chapters. At each knowledge level you can pull more out of it.

  5. #18


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    Speaking of bja3, it was supposed to be delivered from Amazon today but they sent me an email saying the bad weather delayed it. Do they understand the importance? They could have one of their drones drop it off at least.

  6. #19


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    Quote Originally Posted by Tthree View Post
    If they are going to flyer you, you will get flyered rated or not. If you are rated the flyer will have the name you were playing under. If not it will have your picture and perhaps your name. There are lots of ways to get your name when you don't give it. Odds are if you get the tap they have a pretty good chance of knowing who you are before the tap and getting off the property without getting your identity compromised if they didn't have it already is not going to be easy unless they don't care.
    That's an excellent point. Another thing to consider is that it's three girls playing together which will be easy to pick off if they end up getting flyered. They may want to not know each other in the casino for that reason.

  7. #20


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    Quote Originally Posted by AnabelleT View Post
    I'm planning a near month-long trip with a couple of girlfriends. We all play Blackjack and know basic strategy (I'm the only one who knows it perfectly, though they know it fairly well, I've been practicing with them).

    I know the Hi/Lo count though I make mistakes when playing live, I'm trying to get better at that. One of my friends only knows the Ace/Five Count from The Wizard of Odds site (not sure this count is actually any good) and the other doesn't know any counts at all (though we plan on training her on an easy count before the trip and get some practice in at the local casino).

    I would totally love to be able to plan our road trip around different casinos and see if we can pay for the entire trip with BlackJack winnings! Would be great if we could get our rooms for free at least and some meals. Our combined Blackjack "bankroll" for the trip would be about $4,000-$5,000. We're taking more money with us of course but we don't plan on gambling with it, just in case.

    Am I dreaming? Is this possible? It sounds like so much fun, I really would love to do it! I'm even considering blogging about it while traveling!

    Any suggestions from the more experienced out there?
    Reading this, it sounds like you're in your 20's about to take a "summer vacation" trip with your girlfriends. If that's the case, let me know, especially if your girlfriends are cute!

    On a serious note, you're going to need a bit more than that if you're planning on playing for a month. You'll need to set aside about 7-8k to be on the safe side, and that should cover most of your travel AND your bankroll, though I'd suggest separating the two. I did several road trips last year throughout the midwest and southwest, took about 5k for a BR each time and another 2-3k for gas/food/lodging/incidentals and had a blast!

  8. #21


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    Quote Originally Posted by Tthree View Post
    You should be practicing with your friends and trying to have conversations at the same time. You don't actually have to pay attention to the conversation but get good at seeming to pay attention.
    If your mom calls and the computer happens to be nearby then crank up CVBJ or the free game linked through this site (I'm assuming you're practicing with one of the two) and play while chatting with her. It's pretty low stakes if you have to ask her to repeat herself or you lose the thread of the conversation. You can make up whatever excuse. If she likes to talk a lot then all the better. If your BS is perfect like you say then you shouldn't have to think about any of those decisions and then counting/index plays are the only variables.

  9. #22
    Senior Member Nikky_Flash's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tjr5259 View Post
    Speaking of bja3, it was supposed to be delivered from Amazon today but they sent me an email saying the bad weather delayed it. Do they understand the importance? They could have one of their drones drop it off at least.
    A place called Amazon , kind of ironic they use an excuse as to "serious weather " , they took the name " Amazon " for p's sake ! the jungle-rainforest !
    “It seemed to me ... that any civilization that had so far lost its head as to need to include a set of detailed instructions for use in a package of toothpicks, was no longer a civilization in which I could live and stay sane.

  10. #23
    Senior Member Nikky_Flash's Avatar
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    it's good to see you winning and excited , but if this was ME -

    I would first calculate to see if I could afford the ENTIRE trip without "winning" first and foremost ...
    as if to say :
    would I be able to afford this WHOLE trip , even if I lost max bet after max bet night after night ,
    I would calculate the rooms / gas/ food / expenses , and see if I could pay for all that first .
    Then I would picture myself losing and losing and losing ... can you afford it?
    if yes ? then do it , but be ready for wins or losses ...
    -----------------------
    I just wonder how much of this idea of a "Road Trip" is based off of this night you had :
    Quote Originally Posted by AnabelleT View Post
    My friend and I were there until pretty late, she was perfecting basic strategy and an easy count, and I was ON FIRE! So after playing for a while I decided to really up my bets when the count was good to see how much I could make
    I think the next part was when you got backed off...
    I'm not a psychologist , but subconsciously , do you want to see what would've happened if you kept going and never got the tap ?
    : ups and downs .
    I just have a feeling this is where this is coming from ...
    just my two cents ...
    Last edited by Nikky_Flash; 03-11-2015 at 03:46 PM.

  11. #24
    Senior Member MJGolf's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AnabelleT View Post
    I'm planning a near month-long trip with a couple of girlfriends. We all play Blackjack and know basic strategy (I'm the only one who knows it perfectly, though they know it fairly well, I've been practicing with them).

    I know the Hi/Lo count though I make mistakes when playing live, I'm trying to get better at that. One of my friends only knows the Ace/Five Count from The Wizard of Odds site (not sure this count is actually any good) and the other doesn't know any counts at all (though we plan on training her on an easy count before the trip and get some practice in at the local casino).

    I would totally love to be able to plan our road trip around different casinos and see if we can pay for the entire trip with BlackJack winnings! Would be great if we could get our rooms for free at least and some meals. Our combined Blackjack "bankroll" for the trip would be about $4,000-$5,000. We're taking more money with us of course but we don't plan on gambling with it, just in case.

    Am I dreaming? Is this possible? It sounds like so much fun, I really would love to do it! I'm even considering blogging about it while traveling!

    Any suggestions from the more experienced out there?
    First, you might join here as a member..........so you can access more information. At least through your summer trip. It's not too expensive. Can't PM you since you are not a member. So this will be a fairly lengthy reply or post.

    Then check out this basic info link on card counting, learning basic strategy etc. and the multimedia links from another thread:

    http://blackjacktheforum.com/showthr...ounting-Primer

    Some of those links will be of great use to your friends.

    I also concur with suggestions above but you might also think about possibly acting as a team and playing as a 'giggly group of girls". If you count and can signal to your friends to vary their bets you might be able to use a very natural form of camouflage that your group gives you.

    Trying to keep your expenses to a minimum on your road trip is important. Since this is first time for you guys, you may contact the casinos you plan on visiting in advance. You can usually guaranty yourself casino rate by booking through the casino host or services office. Then if you play warrants, you may be able to do better. I also have a suggestion about possibly getting the Total Rewards Visa credit card. Since you have time and can get the card and accrue some expenses on it, you have a bonus signup available that you can use at all Ceasar's properties. In addition, if you tend to stay at their properties they give you a 5% bonus for anything purchased at their properties (hotel, food, sundries, etc.) that is posted fairly quickly to your TR account. That can help defray your costs at their properties as you move around.

    Finally, and I don't know if this is possible for your group, but you mention a BR of around $5k. If you put this up at front money at casinos some will guaranty you a comp visit on your first visit. They figure if you are willing to chance it, that they will have a crack at it and will take a chance for the first visit. If you don't play to their level on your visit, then they may not extend a similar offer in the future BUT since you are only worried about this trip, that's not important at moment.

    Also purchase Max Rubin's Comp City book. It's a little outdated but still has good information. Also take a look at the videos on American Casino Guide. Steve has a good YouTube video on comps and players' clubs online. In addition, I would sign up for all players clubs at the places you plan on visiting IN ADVANCE or online before you take off this summer. Most have a sign up bonus or will start mailers to you upon sign up. Some have better offers on your initial visit but you need to check as they vary. You can also use one players club account with multiple cards to possibly increase the play/points on one account. But you need to check. Sometimes clubs limit this to couples/husband wives but you can probably get away with it if you say you are all roommates back home. I'm not being discriminatory gender wise but if you and your friends are like most girls/women, I bet you will play the slots part of the time. Just being realistic. Make sure you always play with cards in the machines when you are not playing blackjack. Slot points accumulate faster than BJ points.

    Finally, plan on staying at "low roller" places; nothing fancy like Venetian or Wynn. Those casinos will offer you more for your play than the "fancy" places. Go visit them but stay at the lower end places for "more bang for the buck" as to any comp dollar.

    Hope this helps. I am a little envious of your trip. Having done these years ago with friends and when I was much younger. I hope you have a blast and with proper planning, you might very well be able to accomplish your goal.
    "Women and cats will do as they please, and Men and dogs should just relax and get used to the idea" --- Robert A. Heinlein

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