Oh, the Anguish! Review of 2023

[Midwest Player]

I've been playing online blackjack for 3 years now, and year 2023 has been the worst by far. The year started out bad and by the end of January I was down over $8,000. At one point during the year, I was down by over $14,000. However, several times during the year I would make a comeback and go slightly positive for the year only to be followed by a large down turn.

Well, for some reason everything came together for me in October, and I found myself up over $10,000 for the year at the end of October. It was then I tooted my horn proclaiming I was up enough for the year without having to worry about having a losing year with only two more months to go. Then everything went to hell.

I started losing again. It seemed like all I was doing was losing. I remember checking my records on Dec 8th and I was still up $89 for the year. Then 5 days later I was down over $5,000 for the year. Oh the anguish! I'm going to have a losing year.

Then, I was offered a promotion. It wasn't a great promotion like in the early days of online blackjack in MI, but wasn't bad either. The promotion was for every $100 played on table games they would give a $1 credit up to $1,000 in credits. So I thought this was a good chance to win a few hundred dollars. To get the max number of credits in would require $100,000 in play.

I started playing the promotion, and to my surprise I was winning for a change. I knew at some point it would turn bad again, but at the halfway point I was still winning. I then started thinking would it be possible to still pull off a winning year. Yeah, then the downturn started, and my hopes for a winning year were dashed. However, the down turn didn't last long and soon I was winning again with hopes renewed for a winning year.

As I was approaching the $100,000 mark in play after 12 hours of play, I realized with my $1,000 in free credits I probably had enough to pull off a winning year even if it is only by a few dollars. I then said if I get ahead for the year, I'm quitting for the year. I played the free credits which also went well, and I found myself up $550 for the year. It was a $5,600 comeback in one day. Only a few times in my life have I made more in one day.

PS. Wish me well for 2024. As of right now I'm up over $3,000 for 2024.

[Aragorn]

Being totally ignorant of online blackjack, stupid question: How do you know the game is honest and is also being played with the number of decks and shuffle point 'advertised'?

[VonDox]

I hope everyone has a good 2024 and gets some good variance. I just don't think on-line black jack is a good proposition. If you are up,, cash out... Better to play live because eventually those on-line black jack outfits will clean you out down to the last penny. The rules are horrible and the slow game play is even worse than a 6 person table with everyone drunk and playing every side bet possible and having a newbie dealer. The house edge is so high it makes playing the lottery look like a better deal. Best of luck,, cash out,,, find a real casino... Just my 2 cents..

[Midwest Player]

Being totally ignorant of online blackjack, stupid question: How do you know the game is honest and is also being played with the number of decks and shuffle point 'advertised'?

There are two kinds of online blackjack.

The first is just a computer generated game where the shuffle is after every hand and the rules are stated. The number of decks is usually 6 or 8 and the house edge is usually stated in the rules. These games usually have very good rules. Legal games are regulated by the state so assumed to be very honest. The way you make money on these games is from the promotions and bonuses they offer. Some are real good and some don't even give you an edge.

The second is online live dealer games. The rules are not as good and usually 8 decks are used and the decks are cut in half for the shuffle point. The min bet size is much higher than the computer generated games.