New Player Struggling

[Reign Man]

Well there's a lot you're doing right reading a book, using software and practicing with real cards. I would definitely recommend reading another book or two. They're really made for helping master basic strategy early on so next time you go to a casino and lose you know you made the correct hit or stay decisions. Spend the $90 for more software, and continue dealing yourself hands. Losing left and right is concerning even with negative variance. Flash's post about bankroll is perhaps the best advice. I had good luck at the beginning, but it could have just as easily been a bad downswing like you're experiencing dealing cards to yourself. Then even though you've done nothing wrong you're doubting everything the books have said. I also side counted aces early on, it's a little tougher but if you want to then go for it. With more practice you'll have no problem remembering the count from hand to hand.

[Notsure]

So if I learn the Hi Opt I with the Ace Side count and become effective at it, will that be enough to start going to the casinos? Or do I really need to learn how to properly vary my bets, side count 7,8,9s, alternate the basic county strategy, etc... Or can I build on it?

[Frank Galvin]

For Side-Counting Aces, append the corresponding
letter of the alphabet to your Running Count.

A = 1, B = 2, X = 24

You know that there are 4 Aces per deck. When I first started practicing side counting Aces, I kept losing track of them. Ultimately I found posts about using letters on various forum. So to simplify it, I decided to practice using the 4th Ace per deck to track how many Aces had been dealt, and ultimately, after I got used to that, I found that I knew what the letters were for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Aces of each deck dealt.

So, when I first practiced side counting Aces, I knew:

D 4th Ace (1 Deck - Eventually memorized A, B, C, D)
H 8th Ace (2 Decks - Eventually memorized E, F, G, H)
L 12th Ace (3 Decks - Eventually memorized I, J, K, L)

DHL - DHL is part of the world’s leading postal and logistics company Deutsche Post DHL Group. A global competitor to FedEx or UPS.

P 16th Ace (4 Decks - Eventually memorized M, N, O, P)
T 20th Ace (5 Decks - Eventually memorized Q, R, S, T)
X 24th Ace (6 Decks - Eventually memorized U, V, W, X)

PTX - I could not come up with an acronym with all three (3) letters for decks 4 through 6, but I could remember PTL. I bastardized my letter-association method for that 6th deck's Ace, as I just simply taught myself to remember that the 24th Ace was something other than L, four more than T, starting with U, then V, then W, and finally X.

Do whatever works for you (IF ANYTHING DOES).

We all have our own methods that we eventually develop that work for us. If you want to do something, like learn how to side count Aces, you will!!! It just takes commitment.

Nike had it right: JUST DO IT!

These last two only come into play if you are playing 8 deck games.

28th Ace - AB (7 decks)
32nd Ace - AF (8 decks)

After it finally became as simple to side count Aces, as +1 or -1 for the Hi Lo method (actually started side counting to using AO II), ultimately, I was able to just track Aces using a running number count (1, 2, 3....).

[Ted]

Ignore the following at your peril:

Bankroll sufficiency is of crucial importance.
It is one of the main reasons that you may fail.
Here are some very approximate guidelines,
expressed as units (minimum bets):

• 800 units -- . .Fantastic Game
• 1,000 units -- Fine Game
• 1,200 units -- Marginal Game
• 1,400 units -- Poor Game

Would someone please explain this table to me? I read this as that the higher your bankroll the worse the game. That can't be right. What am I not seeing? Thanks.

[Freightman]

Would someone please explain this table to me? I read this as that the higher your bankroll the worse the game. That can't be right. What am I not seeing? Thanks.

The worse the game, the bigger bankroll required to overcome swings. Case in Point - lousy deck penetration requires more aggressive bet ramping to compensate for decreased big bet opportunities.

[ZeeBabar]

You are a newbie. In today's games, there are a whole lot of folks out there winning regularly with Hi-Lo. You make fewer mistakes, don't get tired as fast and concentrate on the many other aspects of the game. After some years of experience, after having mastered your act, optimal betting, meddling with heat, etc., etc. and you move to playing Greens, maybe you may want to consider a more difficult count.

I still play HiLo, still very easy and still effective.

[Ted]

[QUOTE=Freightman;189423]The worse the game, the bigger bankroll required to overcome swings. Case in Point - lousy deck penetration requires more aggressive bet ramping to compensate for decreased big bet opportunities.[/QUOTE

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks so much.

[ZenMaster_Flash]

Those of us who have been here for years, and (almost) all of us who
play at an Expert Level, have learned to ignore nearly everything that
ZeeBabar has to say. I have agreed to be much less strident about my
promulgating Hi-Opt II, and I have really not so much as mentioned
the [Professional Level] Hi-Opt II Count in quite time; but if ZeeBabar
wants to open that "can of worms" ...

[MJGolf]

I guess the Ace count is essential when counting.

I'll be honest, I've been practicing for a week and it's hard enough to remember my count without having to worry about the Aces so it will definitely take alot more work.

So if I learn the Hi Opt I with the Ace Side count and become effective at it, will that be enough to start going to the casinos? Or do I really need to learn how to properly vary my bets, side count 7,8,9s, alternate the basic county strategy, etc... Or can I build on it?

A little concern about your statement of practice a week after reading one book. I'm not sure but I bet most here have put in 100's of hours of practice before really risking any real money. Shoot even Blackjack Apprenticeship guys state you are not ready to try casinos without devoting at least 100 hours to your craft. Maybe I'm being sensitive but I'm not picking on you; I'm being honest. It's expensive to "practice" in a casino.

As to your count, yes.....you need the ASC to be most effective. But starting with a single level count is a lot easier than a multi-level count like Flash recommends. His recommendations are good but really go beyond rank beginners.

Yes, you need to properly vary your bets; vary your strategy from basic when the count dictates. IT IS QUITE A BIT TO LEARN!! That's why most suggest Norm's software.

I hope that you work on your proficiency in practice first before risking any "real" money. Everyone wants to get to the casino as fast as possible and that's part of the learning process, too, BUT PLEASE play at a very low unit bet until you learn your "craft" much more proficiently.

[Bodarc]

Mr. Arthur Pendennis did not win much money in these transactions with Mr. Bloundell, or indeed gain good of any kind except a knowledge of the odds at hazard, which he might have learned out of books.

William Makepeace Thackeray, "The History of Pendennis"

[RCJH]

Hi Notsure,

When I first started, I would forget the count when it came my turn to play.

Here's some practical advice... Keep the count on your toes, pressing each one down. For double digit number (no pun intended--lol) use your left foot for the tens and the right for ones. Or, you can use your fingers on one hand below the table. Move your thumb along your fingers to where the count is, like second finger on the fingertip is RC 2. Whatever you do, don't use your chips to keep the count. What I do, is I "see" the numbers. Say the RC is 8; I just visualize an 8. I don't even think of the number.

Second, make the dealer's numbers into "white noise". I used to inwardly panic when the dealer said the RC when calling out totals, i.e. a player had an 8 and a 5, and the RC happened to be a 13. They say numbers to confuse you; you have to block it out.

Third, and most veterans will tell you this is AWFUL advice for your EV--and it is, so don't do this long term--find an uncrowded table where some yahoo is betting a side bet. This slows down the game giving you ample opportunity to set the count.

Fourth, and this is great advice, the dealer moves at your pace. You are allowed to think before you bet, and think before you play. Especially if you're heads up, you can control the pace of the game. A wise person recently taught me that...

Finally, practice practice practice. There are no shortcuts, and you aren't going to have a six figure bankroll in a month. There's a reason why experienced players call BJ a grind. The more you practice, the better you'll play, and over the long run you will come out ahead.







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[RCJH]

One more thought... I would learn HiLo first. I don't want to start the debate about what count is better; I'm personally not a believer in HiLo, but to each his own. But learning HiLo will give you the skills to learn a more advanced count, kind of like you have to know basic English grammar in order to learn a foreign language. I started with HiLo, and it taught me to balance cards on the table quickly to come up with the count, like a King and a five are zero. You start to see the pairs that cancel each other out, which for me was the building block to learning a more advanced count.


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[Sweaty]

Expanding on RCJH'S hi-lo comment, but not to start a count debate, if you use hi-lo and feel you are ready for a more advanced count the transition to halves is pretty smooth. Indices (your deviations from BS) are very similar and it is a very strong count considering there are no side counts.

The switch took me about a week of flipping through decks, though I was extremely proficient with hi-lo before doing so.