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Thread: New husband and wife team first experiences.

  1. #1


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    New husband and wife team first experiences.

    Here is my story from when I started playing blackjack about a year ago, to where I stand now. About a year ago I and the wife were on a cruise with some family and one evening we were in the casino area and I noticed some people playing blackjack. I knew of the game but didn’t know how to really play. I was kind intrigued by the whole casino thing. I never played on the cruise but after we got home I started to take an interest in the game. I looked online and soon found the Wizard’s material and videos along with all the other good gambling sources like ACG and stuff. I mustered up the courage after a few weeks of reading to hit the casino. I was armed with my hefty 40$ Wife didn’t play, I headed to the tables, sat down and played. In hindsight I must have stuck out like a sore thumb as a newbie. I played for about 45 mins and managed to break even. I had evil glares from other players. I knew the basic plays but still hit some of my stiff hands into a dealers bust card. My second trip a few weeks later I took 40$ in, sat down at a table and lost 8 bets in a row and was completely shocked and felt so stupid for losing that money so fast. Losing that 40$ for some reason felt terrible. I went back to my wife and told her how I had already lost. She had 40 she brought and let me use that, I went back the tables and proceeded to the lose that 40$ as well flat betting. I was devastated losing 80$ like that. I had never gambled in my life so it just seemed crazy how 80$ could disappear like that.

    Over the next few months we both kept practicing and eventually we both go to where we knew BS cold. We had no real bankroll to speak of. We had allotted a portion of our extra money to hit up the casino. We got to know the rest of the local players and just had a good time overall. We usually took 100$ bucks each in and sometimes won a bit but mostly lost. Over time I kept studying and as time went on I understood the full odds of the games we played and knew we were losing. I would occasionally try card counting practice exercises and thought I could maybe count cards, then when I dug deeper and looked of forums like this one. I was instantly turned off, looked like way too much work and effort. I didn’t even really have a bankroll to invest. Also when I tried to keep count in a casino I kept thinking “How do people actually do this?” it almost seemed impossible.

    As time went on towards the latter part of 2015, I kept doing some practice drill and eventually got to where I got a lot better at keeping count. First part of 2016 rolls around and we have a few extra bucks laying around after tax returns so I decided to ask my wife if she was interested in investing in a bankroll for counting cards. Figuring we would play a break even game and ensure we don’t lose any more money to casino long term.
    Starting in Feb 2016, we set aside 4000$ for a starting bankroll. I was in contact with a few forum members who were helping me along. I decided if I was serious about this I needed the software, I purchases CVCX and CVBJ. I started to buy some books and really learn about the game, about ROR and bankroll management.
    My first spread I employed was a 1-8 spread on a 6d game. The game had good rules. My first two sessions were small losers. I was still nervous about raising my bets as I was used to flat betting. My 3rd session I played the count shot out, my max bet was 40$ and I was sweating bullets pushing them out, but I WON, and kept winning multiple hands. I turned a 100$ buying into like 400$ in what seemed like and instant. At this point I knew that counting was a long term marathon and it can easily go the other way. The wife was sharpening her skills at this point. We continued to grind away sharpening our skills. I kept pounding into myself to keep the rational mind about it all and try to take the swings. For about a month we made a little money, after the first month passed we started to get into some good positive variance. For about 2 months we were winning quite a bit more than losing, out largest swings were along the lines of 500$ wins and about 500$ losses in that ball park. By the first of last month (May) we had turned our 4000$ bankroll into a little over 10000$. Our expectation at this point was about 2000$ in 165 hours of play. Needless to say we were on positive side of curve.
    Then I took a pretty decent gut punch in about a week. We were down almost 2000$ in a week’s time. The worst session I’ve had to date was a loss of 1000$ in about 3 hours playing 1-8 on a 10$ game. I was able to stomach the loss and not go on tilt. I feel I have done a pretty good job of disconnecting from the money but I can’t lie seeing that much money go still tried to mess with me. I kept playing like a trooper and was able to recoup some of the money over the next few weeks.

    At this point I and wife already had our first Vegas trip planned, we had always wanted to go so it felt like a perfect time. We stayed at the Excalibur and I spend a number of hours before hand with CBJN and research and talking with other players online about what to expect with our low stakes bankroll. Obviously we weren’t going to be playing on the strip… so I managed to get a list of about 12 properties worth looking at. During the trip I played alone one time and then the wife came on the next two outings. We went to shows and dinner in the evenings but the afternoon on two days of our trip were spent roaming in our rental car scouting our off strip places. We got to play at places like The Orleans, Palace , Boulder and Sunset Station, Red Rock, Silverton and even the world famous Sweaty Spaniard The El Cortez. We practiced good discipline… even after a small drive to a property. If there were no games we didn’t settle for anything less than what we had planned and we would leave if we got crowded out. We were prepared for 5$ and 10$ 2d games and a few places had some 6D we could play if available. We only managed to get about 8 hours of play in during the trip and managed to score a very nice upswing of 1330$. The best we have ever done in that short of time. I feel this is a great result for a low stakes game betting a 50-60$ top bet. (30$ on 5$ mins and 60$ on 10$ mins.) We only ended up playing 2D games. My wife did most of the winning haha, she felt pretty good about that.The highlight of the blackjack on the trip was when we traveled to Fremont one night to check out the sights, we took along some money because we wanted to check out the famous El Cortez, we both sat down to a 5$ 2d game and sniped them for about 160$ in 3 shoes and realized there was another counter at the table with us. I suspected it but the wife confirmed it as she make “eye contact” with her during play. A very neat experience. We were in and out so fast i am not sure if they even noticed us raising bets... I was actually scared of getting backed off but it didnt happen.

    We have played at home since then and actually won a bit more. Our bankroll is currently at its all-time high at roughly 10700$ since the beginning of Feb. Slightly above where we were a month ago. Even with the downswing we were always above expectation, but I still feel I have got a good taste of how the game really plays out. There have been sessions I won 600$ in a single show winning every hand and the dealer miraculously flipping a 6 on their 10 up card with a monster count and busting. I also have had it where I keep throwing Benjamins on the felt in a monster count and catching all stiffs or getting out drawn, having the ploppies and even the dealers look at you like you have gone nuts. I am a little more skilled in the game than the wife as I have a few more index plays memorized so she is just right behind me.

    Current Results as of this moment are up around 6650$ with an expectation of about 3200$ . All in about 240 hours of play with an estimated 21600 hands played. We seem to get a lot of play time in on weekends mostly. Running some numbers from my records I feel pretty confident we have reached 1 N0 so far. And are up around 1 SD. We have learned so much. Early one it was more of just the mechanics and betting, now as our skill increases we are really starting to get a feel for just how deep the rabbit hole really goes. The game is far more nuanced that I originally thought. Concerns now are longevity at local shops. Our “regular” store where we get all our comps is where we play the most. We currently are playing a 1-5 or 1-6 on their 2d game and up to a 1-20 or 1-25ish on their 6 deck games. Our bankroll at this moment can handle more spread but I don’t want to push the comfort zone of the store (not really sure where that is yet.) We seem to have found a niche at this point for the moment. Some of the dealers have made comments and we are fairly certain at least a few of them know what we are up to but nothing bad has come from that so far. We treat the dealers and staff well and do tip a little bit (I choose to tip knowing it cuts into EV slightly.) There are other local stores I do rotate to as well. It’s been a great experience for me and the wife, usually the wife doesn’t share in my hobbies but this one we can share together and she completely understands the game fully, with ROR and how to size bets and really understands what’s going on. It’s very nice to be able to lose a chunk of money and not have to explain it to her haha. Another perk we got was with our increased play I was able to get more entries into a drawing last month for a very nice door prize I WON...Talk about sweet. The books and the forums and getting in contact with other players has helped our game immensely. Can’t wait to see what the future holds. I felt it would be nice to share my experiences from someone who is still pretty new to the whole game and maybe it can help a newbie or provide some encouragement. I am glad to have fallen on the right side of the curve thus far. We will see what the next shoe brings… learning to play real blackjack has completely revamped how we see gambling and the casinos. Still have not been backed off yet, so that will be a future tale.
    Last edited by bec88; 07-28-2016 at 04:19 PM. Reason: KEEPING MY STORY STRAIGHT! ;)

  2. #2


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    It's an interesting post, although a tad long.

    I trained my girlfriend to play regular BS. She mostly flat bets and does not seem to care to notice my deviations. I taught her none and that's actually a good thing, as we play as a couple. So when I stand on 16vT, she usually hits. When it's time to Wong out, I use a code word. When the count is really good and it's time to ramp up, I place my chips in a certain way. We ploppy it up by playing the side bets randomly. And we chat. We shamelessly balance our chips on occasion, which irks dealers a bit but there is nothing they can do: we're just a couple sharing chips.

    So far, so good. We'll see where it goes. We don't play a counter and BP team, acting as strangers. We play as a couple. She is a bit scared of the risks of being back roomed, arrested, beat up and what not. Blame the movie 21 for that.

    I think this approach has helped deflecting suspicion, because we are not seen as potential counters, just what we naturally are: a couple having fun at the casino.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Bodarc's Avatar
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    I really enjoyed your stories. Thanks bec88 and DatabaseGuy.
    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

  4. #4


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    Enjoyed reading the recap bec. It certainly sounds like you guys have a solid winning game =). That's awesome about the grill set! I'm still waiting to win a drawing =p. Sounds like you have put in a lot of work and as a result you've had a lot of success. We all expect another update that you've made a billion dollars in another year lol.
    Don't think you have a winning game; know you have a winning game.

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    Yeah sorry about the length. We have not really done the BP approach either. Its usually us playing together or seperate tables. There have been a few times where we will watch a few tables and wong in on a 6d game. Or one of us will wong out and the other signal back the count when we come back. Most places here require 2x table min to cover 2 spots. If we both play the same table we can cover those 2 spots for half the price and that drastically ups the score of the game. We generally only do that with shoe games with at least another player so we can wong out. Otherwise we go heads ups, but i often feel like we can more easily get money on the table without standing out as much with both of us there rather than using a bigger single handed spread.

  6. #6


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    Good story - thanks for sharing. Sounds like you're off to a very successful sideline.

    I wish my wife would drink the kool aid and take up counting. I keep telling her we could be a killer team. But she spends all her time on Candy Crush and other goofy Ipad game apps. At least there are no issues about money and winning/losing etc. She could care less (I married right )

    Anyway, on our last long road trip, she said: "Ok - I'm so bored right now, I want you to explain to me how card counting works." So maybe there's hope...???

  7. #7
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    My wife has an MBA. She was employed as a scientist doing P.C.R.
    (D.N.A. "cloning" and "gene splitting") for many years. She "aced"
    three (3) years of advanced Calculus at University. There are reasons
    that add even more camouflage for her than just being female.
    She would make the perfect candidate for advanced Card Counting.
    BUT ... she has NO interest.
    I support her with my A.P. skills. Ironic. She should be supporting me.

  8. #8


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    My wife is fairly small in size and very innocent looking, she comments occasionally that she gets patronizing advice from male ploppies on how to play as they assume she has no idea what shes doing.

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    If my relationship fails (which I hope it won't) I will probably start wooing Asian women. Hey... some of these young Asian blackjack players are quite the lookers

  10. #10
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by DatabaseGuy View Post
    If my relationship fails (which I hope it won't) I will probably start wooing Asian women. Hey... some of these young Asian blackjack players are quite the lookers
    That could be costly. Oh wait, you said lookers.

  11. #11


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    Is there a good compromise between playing together at the same tables, just two separate players and the BP approach. Say the count goes up but both take turns increasing bets. So, say starting out with a min. Bet each, count goes to TC+2, and one increases and the other flat bets, next round, count still remains +2, the one who bet more decreases while the one who flat bet the prior round increases the bet.

    might come in handy defeating surveillance and heat since you might be decreasing even with a positive count while your spouse increases his/her bet and vice versa.

  12. #12


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    Nice story Bec88. Keep up the good work!

  13. #13


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    Quote Originally Posted by ZeeBabar View Post
    Is there a good compromise between playing together at the same tables, just two separate players and the BP approach. Say the count goes up but both take turns increasing bets. So, say starting out with a min. Bet each, count goes to TC+2, and one increases and the other flat bets, next round, count still remains +2, the one who bet more decreases while the one who flat bet the prior round increases the bet.

    might come in handy defeating surveillance and heat since you might be decreasing even with a positive count while your spouse increases his/her bet and vice versa.
    What most have missed
    The OP, though a rookie, has displayed an interesting posting history, which tends to exude sincerity, a desire to improve, and no real desire to settle world on fire - happy to make a few bucks.

    Playing together, there may come a time when they may individually bet different amounts, while hubby bets more, wonging when the count tanks - mom bets less continuing to play, btw, she is counting the side bet - which he will increase on when she subtly jabs him in the ribs.

    Just food for thought for a potentially powerful combination.

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