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Thread: Action (or lack of it) at London casinos

  1. #1


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    Action (or lack of it) at London casinos

    Hello there,

    New member here. I had a question about BJ play at London casinos. I ask because I have been to about 4 of them and each time I lost.

    Ok, the very first time I tried about 5 months ago, I started with£20 and ended up with £35. Small gain of fifteen, but I was happy with it as it was my first time. It took place at this casino in Knightsbridge where I went with a couple of friends for dinner and as we were just watching the action afterward, I thought I'd gamble just a bit to try it, as I had just started learning BJ, and I made something, so it was fine.

    I gamble small and usually play at minimums £5 a play. I also have memorised the basic strategy chart and always play using this strategy.


    Apart from the first time described above, I have played twice at a casino on Edgware Road, and each time lost what I arrived with. £60 one time and then £100 on another occasion. I also played at a casino in Tottenham Court Road, and lost £60 there too.


    I don't really want to throw a lot of money at this. One, I simply can't afford it and two I just want to play for a bit of fun and know what I'm doing (make informed plays).

    I went to Vegas in November, had a good time and whilst I was there, I played BJ on and off strip, normally playing small, always with Basic Strategy. To my delight, I won quite often and came back with a few hundred pounds worth of winnings, which was great.

    Am I having bad luck at these places, or is it a mugs game in these corporate London establishments? I play for fun and of course to win a bit, and would like to play frequently and become quite good at it, but if it's always losing, what's the point? Any insight, advice.

    P/S: I never do side bets, for what it's worth.

    Thanks in advance.
    Philip.

  2. #2


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    Philip
    Nothing wrong playing for fun, which is mostly what you're doing. Play small, don't spread much, and become comfortable under casino settings. Master basic, and variations if basic for the different rule sets you are playing. This will minimize your loss, and who knows - anything can happen in the short run.

    You said you can't afford larger stakes - use that as your guide, and stay within it. If you make a decision at some future point in time to go at it heavier, it will be an informed decision.

    Don't play at stakes that you can't afford to lose at.

  3. #3


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    Play for fun and expect to lose in the long run which could be after a 10k ,20k 30k .. etc hands . I would play with basic strategy and some informed play of 16 vs 10 , doubling of 9 vs 2 and 11 vs 10 , etc.. since you are playing a negative EV game . i would minimize the variance of the above play . take the other punter's profitable double and splits and maximize your "pleasure"

  4. #4


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    Quote Originally Posted by Freightman View Post
    Don't play at stakes that you can't afford to lose at.
    very important , you can lose control of your emotion easily when money is involve.

  5. #5


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    Quote Originally Posted by stopgambling View Post
    Play for fun and expect to lose in the long run which could be after a 10k ,20k 30k .. etc hands . I would play with basic strategy and some informed play of 16 vs 10 , doubling of 9 vs 2 and 11 vs 10 , etc.. since you are playing a negative EV game . i would minimize the variance of the above play . take the other punter's profitable double and splits and maximize your "pleasure"
    Think he said England, therefore, no doubling v dealer 10, and other basic deviations against ENHC.

  6. #6


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    And to actually answer his questions...

    Yes you just got lucky when you won
    No the amounts you lost are not unusual for the amount you are betting

    And might I add that:
    Basic strategy alone is not a winning strategy. You WILL lose over time
    Make sure you are playing the correct basic strategy for the rules you are playing. See

    https://www.blackjackinfo.com/blackj...rategy-engine/

  7. #7
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    Blackjack is a very expensive avocation
    as you apparently cannot afford it.
    The house advantage will not be overcome
    by playing with Basic Strategy, and the results
    that you have had are perfectly exemplary of
    what to expect.

    I suggest that there are affordable hobbies
    that you can enjoy. Good Luck!


  8. #8


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    Philster, my experience is somewhat dated, as I was in London 2 summers ago. Most of the casinos there were CSM only, but you can find decent games (reasonable pen) at the Hippodrome Casino (https://www.hippodromecasino.com), and if you are seeking an entertaining experience, check out Lola's Undergound Casino (https://www.lolascasino.com) downstairs at the Hippodrome.

    From internet acquaintances who live in England, they explained that most of the games outside of London are locals only, and most are CSM, so no real card counting opportunities, and outsiders are sweated heavily. YMMV.
    "Your honor, with all due respect: if you're going to try my case for me, I wish you wouldn't lose it."

    Fictitious Boston Attorney Frank Galvin (Paul Newman - January 26, 1925 - September 26, 2008) in The Verdict, 1982, lambasting Trial Judge Hoyle (Milo Donal O'Shea - June 2, 1926 - April 2, 2013) - http://imdb.com/title/tt0084855/

  9. #9


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    Thanks for the replies. Will take all of them into consideration. Thx again.

  10. #10
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    Hi Philster,
    I've just popped back to the forum for my (now) six monthly visit and saw your thread. I don't tend to visit too often now, as I've left the blackjack card counting thing behind - largely as the number of opportunities to do it outside of the capital are so few and far between; I have to make a 200 mile round trip, or thereabouts, for a shoe dealt game as 90%+ of casinos outside of the capital use those nasty dyson thingies on the BJ tables.

    I'm sure eveyone else at the forum here would agree that there are four main elements required to take on the game as an advantage player:

    (a) a thorough understanding of the maths elements, the statistical dynamics that underpin the game and know the correct betting and playing actions (and why),
    (b) being able to carry off the counting bit accurately on the casino floor (without it being obvious what you're doing),
    (c) being adequately capitalised - I would think the consensus is a requirement of 1,000 or 1,200 units at whatever unit value you're intending to play at,
    (d) being able and willing to put in the time at the felt necessary to make the whole thing worthwhile.

    The first can be achieved with study and the second with practice. The third and fourth items are the thorny ones and are heavily dependent on your personal circumstances. From what you've written it would appear you've got a long way to go, and frankly it's questionable as to whether it's a journey to start out on in the first place. By all means play now and again for fun (and learn and apply basic when you do if you don't already).

    I learned and did the counting thing as a mathematical challenge some years back, had some fun along the way, met some others who did the same and won a few quid into the bargain. Unfortunately the opportunities for low-stakes counters in the UK are now virtually zip, and as such I've turned my interests to other things (I'm currently working on developing algorithms for betting on the footie). If you'd like to correspond further on the matter, you can drop me a line by e-mail using the address on my web site (as a new subscriber I don't think you have PM privileges yet).

    Best of luck at the felt... :-)
    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
    Visit UK-21's Degenerate Gamblers Pages - www.uk-21.org

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