Was My Thinking Flawed

[Midwest Player]

Not too long ago I found myself on the last day of a multi-day blackjack trip. The trip was not going well, but this day of the trip would determine if I would have a winning or losing trip. Pretty much from the start on this last day things were not looking good. I would win some big bets and lose some, but it was mostly a downward slide. I found myself down hundreds of dollars with only a couple hours left to play.

To make matters worse, playing conditions were deteriorating. The table was filling up and soon there was a full table. There were always at least 6 or 7 players at the table, and we would only get 3 hands before shuffle (50% pen). At this point I assumed I would have a losing trip.

However, I pretty much just sat there and played table min. I wasn't losing, but was slowly making a comeback. Then suddenly the opportunity for a big bet arose. If I was playing heads up of even with one or two other players I would have made a large bet. However, my thinking was since there were so many other players at the table the good hands would end up going to someone else. There would not be another hand. From years of experience I have not done well playing with crowded conditions.

Anyway, I did make a large bet, but it was only about half the size I normally would make if I had decent conditions. I did win the hand, but if I had my normal large bet out there it would have been enough to bring me into the black. I was still down and in the red with time running out. So my question is did I have the same advantage with so many players at the table as I would have if playing heads up or with only one other person?

PS. In the last few minutes of playing time left I did win enough to bring me slightly better then break even. The trip turned out to be good enough to go on the books as a winner, but not enough to cover all expenses.

[Meistro123]

Yes, your thinking was flawed.

[BoSox]

PS. In the last few minutes of playing time left I did win enough to bring me slightly better then break even. The trip turned out to be good enough to go on the books as a winner, but not enough to cover all expenses.

Thanks for sharing that earth-shattering experience.

[21forme]

Ploppy voodoo talk.

[CountinCanadian]

I'd still consider that to be a losing trip. You lost money on it.

[Three]

So my question is did I have the same advantage with so many players at the table as I would have if playing heads up or with only one other person?

Same advantage. The crowd eats advantage rounds and advantage cards but none of that matters on the last round before a shuffle.

PS. In the last few minutes of playing time left I did win enough to bring me slightly better then break even. The trip turned out to be good enough to go on the books as a winner, but not enough to cover all expenses.

Is this tournament play? Counting doesn't help much in a tournament because you are playing for the short term so long term results are irrelevant and you are playing against the other players rather than the house. Both optimal playing strategy and optimal betting strategy are based on beating your opponents rather than winning the most money in the long run.

[Freightman]

Think of it this way. Your dollars won per 100 hands is virtually the same with a full VS empty table. However your dollars won per hour takes a nose dive - because hands per hour played takes a nose dive.

Unless you had some other reason not disclosed, you underbet hand. Further, why are you playing a centre cut double deck with 4 players.

[BoSox]

I found myself down hundreds of dollars with only a couple hours left to play.

To make matters worse, playing conditions were deteriorating. The table was filling up and soon there was a full table. There were always at least 6 or 7 players at the table, and we would only get 3 hands before shuffle (50% pen). At this point I assumed I would have a losing trip.

Your main concern is only if you made a mistake with the half-max bet? I think you have a few other problems that need attention.

[jimmybond007]

You were playing a DD game cut 50% and there were 7 players at the table? Why were you even playing? You were probably getting well less than 50 rounds per hour and a complete waste of time sitting there. Work on game selection, dont sacrifice game quality for the sake of getting rounds in. In this case you were not getting many.

[21forme]

Did Zee hack Midwest player's profile? wtf

You were playing a DD game cut 50% and there were 7 players at the table? Why were you even playing?

Even Zee knows better. Is MWP the new Zee?

[Three]

It sounds like he was playing a tournament and needed to make a lot more to finish in the money. If so he should have bet everything he had. The correct answer if it was a tournament was to bet enough to finish in the money and start betting very aggressively as early as you need to in order to accomplish that goal. Most tournaments don't play with real money (they use funny money chips that have no cash value) but if this tournament used real money, some do, then the issue of winning or losing chips that could be cashed in for money at the end of the tournament might be factored in.

[Bigdaddy]

Did Zee hack Midwest player's profile? wtf

My thought exactly...

[ZeeBabar]

Did Zee hack Midwest player's profile? wtf

Another attempt to introduce my name into yet another thread and the same guy talks about hijacking threads.