See the top rated post in this thread. Click here

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 13 of 36

Thread: Made a dumb mistake last night

  1. #1


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No

    Made a dumb mistake last night

    So I've been playing about weekly for a few months with an eye on maybe turning this into a side income. Pretty comfortable with hi-lo count, using Ill 18 and Fab 4 but no other deviations.

    Last night my brain abandoned me for a moment and I waved off taking a card on 14 v. 10 (TC was about +1). That's bad enough, but here's what's worse: immediately realizing my mistake, I tried to signal for a hit, but I was on 3rd base and the dealer had already flipped up her hole card - a 4. Of course, had I known she had a 4 in the hole, standing would have been the right play, so I should have been glad of my mistake! But had she offered to let me hit after all, even with the hole card up, I believe I'd have accepted another card! I was so wrapped up in the mistake I made, I didn't realize my good fortune.

    The blackjack gods seemed to send me a message as the dealer drew a 7 to her 14... a 7 which should have been drawn to MY 14 - earning me the animosity of the other losing players at the table.

    The EV I cost myself with the mistake was only about 8% of my bet, but I've been beating myself up over it ever since.

    Is this the sort of dumb mistake that gets you benched on a team or does this stuff occasionally "happen to the best of us?"

    Worth noting: if I had been playing on a team and did this, I'd fess up and pay the team 8% of whatever my bet was to pay back the lost EV. Also worth noting I've never done anything this dumb before.

  2. #2


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Making mistakes is a normal part of the game. Anyone that tells you they don't make any either do not play much or are mistaken. It is the mistakes you make that you are not even aware of that really cost money. Like did the TC calculation incorrectly and place insurance bet when none was called for. Or many others.

    We have all lost the count, or signaled hit when we ment stand or any other number of issues.

    I once was playing as a BP and was called into a shoe only to go to the wrong table and get my brains blown in. In another instances, I was called in to a shoe after all day play and I lost the count in the second round I played. I pulled up and took myself out of the game for the reaminder of the day. Could not risk team money with a tired BP. Our team has a process for dealing with this type of thing but, very importantly, it starts with telling everyone about the error/issue/situation.

    Now, the fact that errors exist this does not mean that you shouldn't practice and keep your game in tip top shape and periodicially have a "renew checkout" for a comfort level for yourself and your teammates.

    So ease up on yourself, practice some more and move on.
    Luck is nothing more than probability taken personally!

  3. #3


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Whew! That's what I was hoping to hear. Very reassuring, and good point about the mistakes we don't know about - yikes!

  4. #4


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    When mistakes happen, too (as much as we try to prevent them), sometimes a good opportunity for camouflage will present itself in how you respond to the error, the result, and the other players. More often than not, such a situation is a good one to "watch for the next card that comes out", the classic superstition of "what if I had hit there." It obviously doesn't matter to a counter, but SO MANY poppies constantly rate their decisions based on looking at the first card out of the shoe on the next hand to analyze whether they made the "right" call. Doing some ploppy-style analysis of play can be good for your image. :-P

  5. #5
    Senior Member Jabberwocky's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Agharta
    Posts
    1,868


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Recently and by mistake, I bet 5 times the amount on a hand I had intended to bet. Doesn't happen often but when it does. Ouch when you lose it!

  6. #6


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Losing count has cost me. Once, I started max betting when the count was a minus 5, luckily I won once, lost the next and shoe was over. An AP let me know of that mistake as she was playing at that table. Unfortunately she let me know via forum and I never got to meet her. It was in Tunica,Ms.

    I do find myself occasionally checking my fatigue factor and cutting sessions short when I have doubts about the count.

  7. #7


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Quote Originally Posted by Optimus Prime View Post
    Is this the sort of dumb mistake that gets you benched on a team or does this stuff occasionally "happen to the best of us?"
    Quote Originally Posted by Optimus Prime View Post
    Also worth noting I've never done anything this dumb before.
    Put this following advice in your memory bank as you will never make this same mistake again. That hand 14 vs 10 up you described will always be an automatic hit "if you do not also have the surrender option TC+3" from now on as there is no index play for the high low count to stand. Simply because the high low count does not count the seven. For that matter, hit the hand any time you have 14 vs an 8,9 up card," surr with +6 with a nine up". The hand against a 7 up the index is so high you may never get the count high enough "+17" to stand. Against an ace up in an H17 game, you would surr at +4, stand at +9 and surr at +6 S17, stand at+14.

    Quote Originally Posted by Optimus Prime View Post
    So I've been playing about weekly for a few months with an eye on maybe turning this into a side income. Pretty comfortable with hi-lo count, using Ill 18 and Fab 4 but no other deviations.
    I recommend learning more index plays, starting with soft 19 vs a 5 or 6 upcard at TC +1. Be careful when you want to double 10 vs a 10 up and look for a much higher index +7 to make the double otherwise you would be putting up too much money for a very slight EV gain. You also need to be careful on where and when you split tens as it is a big red flag.
    Last edited by BoSox; 07-18-2018 at 06:40 AM.

  8. #8


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Several months ago, I really screwed up on a basic strategy play. It wasn't the kind of error where one should stand, but instead you make a hit due to just not watching or paying attention. Yeah, I made this kind of error many times.

    This play had my full attention since it was a multiple unit bet and I actually thought I was making the correct basic strategy play. In fact, I actually paused for a few seconds before I made the play and then said to myself yes, this play is a double down. The play was A,5 vs 3 in a H17 game and I played it wrong. After I did it I had second thoughts on it and since the person next to me was playing perfect basic strategy I asked him if he would of doubled, and he said probably not.

    Now many years ago when I memorized basic strategy I memorized the S17 strategy and I always picture the chart with the 3 steps in my mind when playing soft doubles. However, lately all my games are H17 and there are like three additional doubles from S17. What I think happened was that I was thinking of A,3 vs 4 was a double so A,5 must also be a double too. What I should have done was take a few more seconds and picture that chart in my mind again, but the S17 chart is always the one that comes to mind and then I have to make additions for H17. I just wonder how many other times I screwed up on this play.

    However, the good news is "yes" I did win the double and the play was probably the right play after all because when I got home I looked the play up and it was just about at the index for this play. However, that isn't the point as I don't use indexes for soft doubles except for A,8 vs 5 or 6. I screwed up by not knowing the correct basic strategy play.
    Last edited by Midwest Player; 07-18-2018 at 01:33 PM.

  9. #9


    1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    My biggest playing weakness is that I'll occasionally get distracted on my hands while focusing on updating the count. So I'll make an ignorant hit or stand decision. But that's the extent of my "cover". They'll look at me like I'm nuts and I'll either acknowledge a mistake - like I wasn't paying attention, or I won't say a word and let them think I'm an idiot....

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    3rd rock from Sol, Milky Way Galaxy
    Posts
    14,158


    1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    I made a mistake once. I thought I had made a mistake, but I was mistaken.

  11. #11


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    I wonder what a couple of mistakes I make are costing me. I never double an A,8, never double A,3-A4 against a 2-4 up card regardless of index, never split 10's and always take even money on my BJ's against dealer Ace.

  12. #12


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Quote Originally Posted by ZeeBabar View Post
    I wonder what a couple of mistakes I make are costing me. I never double an A,8, never double A,3-A4 against a 2-4 up card regardless of index, never split 10's and always take even money on my BJ's against dealer Ace.
    Zee, there's a difference between mistakes and preference. I never (rare exception) split 10's. I rarely make any a8 doubles, rarely if ever double a3,4 against 2 or 3(not basic anyways). My results are fine.

  13. #13


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    A8 double is a funny play. A8 vs 6 is a basic strategy double for h17, which is now all I play and yet I almost never see any players double. The few I do see double are likely counters. It probably is the most misplayed basic strategy hand.

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Made one mistake, your lose the advantage, is that true?
    By San Jose Bella in forum General Blackjack Forum
    Replies: 31
    Last Post: 09-09-2018, 11:18 PM
  2. dumb question
    By Clint in forum General Blackjack Forum
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 07-17-2016, 07:49 PM
  3. Did dealer mistake lead to a mistake by me?
    By BJPloppy in forum General Blackjack Forum
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 07-11-2014, 01:37 PM
  4. videodude: You guys really made a mistake!
    By videodude in forum Blackjack Main
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 10-31-2005, 07:46 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

About Blackjack: The Forum

BJTF is an advantage player site based on the principles of comity. That is, civil and considerate behavior for the mutual benefit of all involved. The goal of advantage play is the legal extraction of funds from gaming establishments by gaining a mathematic advantage and developing the skills required to use that advantage. To maximize our success, it is important to understand that we are all on the same side. Personal conflicts simply get in the way of our goals.