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Thread: My training regiment and plan, hoping for suggestions on a plan of attack.

  1. #1


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    My training regiment and plan, hoping for suggestions on a plan of attack.

    Howdy folks! I've been training for a few weeks at this point, and I think it's time I started trying to connect with other counters and AP's, although I can hardly call myself a card counter yet. I was hoping if people could provide suggestions on things I should be doing before I walk into a casino.

    Anyways, here's what I do currently.

    1) Write out the basic strategy table (no doubles on splits, hit on soft 17) from memory

    2) Answer questions based on the basic strategy errors I made in my previous playing session

    3) Play for an hour on an app, doing on basic strategy and not counting. I record all of my basic strategy errors, and why I made them (it's usually because I am going too fast)

    4) Go to a physical single deck, count it down until I get 5 runs perfectly through it.

    5) Play an hour on a physical double deck, keeping the running count while I play. I try to do this in loud places so that I have more distractions, and I force myself to double-check the math on all of the dealer and my cards while still holding the running count. If I don't remember a basic strategy perfectly, I check it in Professional Blackjack, write it down as an error, and then keep playing.

    6) at the end of the session I write down questions based off of all of my basic strategy errors. Usually 5-8 questions

    And that's it. I am a little concerned I am doing something wrong, however. I still drop the running count sometimes, so I wonder if I should get training software to quadruple-check that I am right.

    A few questions

    Should I start modifying my step 1 to include deviations in my rundown? Or am I still not ready for it?

    Is there a good list of deviations? The ones listed in Prof BJ I found a bit confusing to grok. The chart labeling in the Hi-Lo chapter is just a bit confusing.

    Should I wait to get betting software until I am ready to go into a casino? Is a bankroll of ~5k okay to start out with?

    How can I tell what a is a good game, and what isn't? I see a lot of "no bust blackjack" which I imagine heavily favors the dealer, and there's one table in my area that I *think* is PvP blackjack, which sounds like a terrible idea too.

    I've been listening to some podcasts, and consistently people have sorta eluded to "other advantaged play opportunities" and then just ignored what those might exactly be. What sort of other AP's should I be looking into, to ensure I attain the highest EV?

    Thanks for your time everyone, really excited to meet people and learn more.

    PS. I heard tale of blackjack: The Discord. Does that still exist?

  2. #2
    Senior Member Gramazeka's Avatar
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    "Don't Cast Your Pearls Before Swine" (Jesus)

  3. #3


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    I would suggest buying the casino verite bj software. Best invest In blackjack I made. You can do all the things you doing on the app and plenty more. Its been over a year of my stedy practice with the software and still learning ways to train with it. Omly $95 I think. Then get the CVX software to find your best betting spread. Very well worth it. Its actually a blessing to have it available to the public.

  4. #4


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    If you read ProfBJ carefully, you won’t be confused. What do you find confusing?

    If you are still having 5-8 questions regarding basic strategy, hold off on deviations, running count and true counts until you are consistently perfect with BS. The deviations are deviations from BS, so you really need to have BS down, and play perfectly with many distractions in your practice environment e.g., loud music, TV, spouse or roommate talking to you.. Don’t worry, just practice and you’ll get there. Learn to walk before you try to dance.

  5. #5


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    There were some parts that have contradicted some of the information I have from more recent sources, and sometimes I didn't quite understand what a chart was saying, and how surrender factored against certain decisions.

    I am perfectly consistent with my bullshit, but am still working on my basic strategy. I am at around a 99% player on Basic strategy right now, occasionally I'll forget something to do with when to double on hard 9's, or I will forget to surrender on a 16 or 15 because I'm going too fast.

    Thanks for the advice friend, really appreciate it

  6. #6


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    Regarding your question "How can I tell what a is a good game, and what isn't?", there are a host of factors depending on your level of play and risk tolerance. For someone new to the game, I would focus on just regular BJ (no variants, don't play any side bets). The house edge will depend on the rules. Penetration and Bet spread are huge drivers on your Advantage once you start counting and varying your bet. I suggest getting CVCX software if you really want to dive into what is a good game for you.

    If you just want to execute your Basic Strategy and test your ability to keep a running count in a live game, I would suggest starting with the lowest Minimum 2D or 6D game with 3-4 other players (just to keep the pace slow), and flat bet. You won't have an edge, but you'll see if you can execute Basic Strategy and keep a running count with all the noise and distractions.

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