Practice Method

[pikmar27]

My practice method has consisted of me laying out a BJ felt on a table and acting as the dealer. I deal four hands and play out basic strategy and adjust bet size and deviations based on count. I had gotten pretty natural and quick at it, so I hit the casino on a Thursday afternoon to try it out in a slower environment. I found that I was not ready at all. I could not focus on keeping count and had to think about some of my basic strategy plays. And I was only playing with one other guy and the dealer was slow. I suppose I just was not solid enough at it.

Does anyone recommend a better practice method? Should I have someone else deal hands? How do I get past the next wall of being able to execute accurate play in a casino environment?

[jimmybond007]

CVBJ is a great tool. Just takes lots of practice. I think there is merit in doing some live casino practice for getting accustomed to the sounds and distractions you might run into. Get comfortable at the table. If you struggled with remembering some basic strategy plays then you still have a ways to go. You basic strategy has to be instant and automatic. You really have to burn that in your brain before you even attempt counting. Good luck.

[Canceler]

Counting in the casino environment was very difficult for me at first.

Practicing with a person dealing hands to you might help. Standing around and counting a table you’re not playing at might help. I just kept trying to do it until I could do it. That took more than a few weeks, which was much longer than I expected it to take.

[Bubbles]

I had a somewhat slow learning curve at first in the casino. It took weeks, maybe even a few months, before I could get through a whole shoe without losing the count or stumbling over my words. Now the cards seem to almost count themselves. Just keep at it and you'll get it.

The CVBJ phone app is great. I wish I had gotten it earlier for practicing.

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[What me worry]

Rarely can I offer any advice on here but I've got plenty of practice so I can give you some help on that. I read Blackbelt in Blackjack his counting practice methods of flipping cards one at a time, two at a time so on and so forth worked. The basic strategy plays they need to make sense to you, such as Why would you split 9's vs 2-6, 8,9? Once they make sense to you, as to why, rather than asking yourself what does the book say? You will pick it up.
I wouldn't spend another $ until you at least new basic strategy. Then when you can count down a deck in at least 20 seconds you should be able to keep up with a rookie dealer. At this point you still aren't ready for anything other than part time recreational play. Depending on the count you learned you need to learn the illustrious 18 and fab 4.

While I was learning and memorizing I had a subscription to luminosity to exercise my brain a little more and it seemed to help since I had been in the same field of work for 15 years with no new challenges.