cash machine: RoR 4 % or 10%

[cash machine]

Hi to all; BJ is my last and only source of income. Shall I play to a RoR of 4% or 10% ? BR is $ 18000.
Thanks in advance

[Don Schlesinger]

> Hi to all; BJ is my last and only source of
> income. Shall I play to a RoR of 4% or 10% ?
> BR is $ 18000.

How would you propose that we answer such a question, knowing nothing about you, your situation, or resources. It could be that even 4% is ridiculously too high. It could be that 10% is fine -- even too low. How would YOU answer the question??

Don

[T-Hopper]

AFTER expenses are subtracted from your EV. If you bet too little and have bills to pay, your ROR is 100%.

[ET Fan]

> Hi to all; BJ is my last and only source of
> income. Shall I play to a RoR of 4% or 10% ?
> BR is $ 18000.

... some other means of support beside that $18k! Separate savings? Social security? Pension? Also hope you are single with no dependants.

ETF

[just a counter]

> Hi to all; BJ is my last and only source of
> income. Shall I play to a RoR of 4% or 10% ?
> BR is $ 18000.
> Thanks in advance

I certainly wouldn't risk my life savings on Blackjack.

Before it's too late you better get a job for security purposes.

I'm not into "Custards Last Stand."

JAC

[cash machine]

> I certainly wouldn't risk my life savings on
> Blackjack.

> Before it's too late you better get a job
> for security purposes.

> I'm not into "Custards Last
> Stand."

> JAC

Thanks for all the input. It will, as I stated, my last and only source of income. No other savings are available. But I am able to play hours 150/month. To Don: How can a RoR of 4% be rediculous high?
a month.

[bjcounter2002]

> Thanks for all the input. It will, as I
> stated, my last and only source of income.
> No other savings are available. But I am
> able to play hours 150/month. To Don: How
> can a RoR of 4% be rediculous high?
> a month.

The point Don was making was that it depends on your comfort level. He was saying that for some 4% is too high and for some 10% was fine. The point here is how much of a "gambler" are you? Take it from someone who has played BJ for a living and has been playing for about 10 years; my advice is to not overcomplicate the game. If you use some version of a Kelly betting system, your chance of wiping out are almost non-existent. The problem with calculating a ROR is that it assumes the same betting level and spread throughout the course of play. However, it isn't practical. If I'm spreading 10-100 on a 10k bankroll, I am certainly not going to spread 10-100 when my bankroll gets down to 3k. Adjust your betting in proportion to your bankroll. If you hit a bad streak, you'll just have to play smaller and build it back up.
You don't have to be precise to the penny. No one can make the calculations and the exact Kelly bet required on each wager, it's simply impractical. Just familiarize yourself with your approximate advantage at each TC and bet accordingly. I have used this system for years and my bankroll has just continued to grow.
The other recommendation I would make is to FIND GOOD GAMES. By that, I mean primarily good penetration. Give up DAS and S17 if they're dealing 75% on a double deck.
Most of my big losses have occurred on 6+decks. The SD is simply too high on these games and the swings can be demoralizing. Don't play them unless you have to.

Best of Luck,
bjcounter2002

[Dave]

BJcounter,

So you are saying stick with double deck games if you can? You said that you experienced big swings with 6 deck games. Could that be because it takes so long to get through one shoe and if you only want to play an hour...if it was a bad shoe where the hands weren't coming for you then you were out of luck that time? Also, what system do you use? And do you use a different system for double deck than you do 6 deck? I'm using Hi-Lo for 6 deck but was thinking of using something with more PE for double deck so I could flat bet if need be.