I am new to counting and recently tested my skills in a small casino for low stakes. To preserve my small BR ($1500), I wronged in and out of games. I did this for about three hours, yet only got to play for about 20 minutes. My strike number was at a +2, and once in I played until the RC got into the negative. Is this normal, and is 90 rounds an hour feasible?
I guess I’m looking for tips to better utilize my time when backcounting.
90 rounds per hour is not feasible playing that way.Originally Posted by WarmBlood19
And with that bankroll, if betting accurately...your EV is like less than $10/hour. And the variance of the game will almost certainly wipeout said bankroll within a few playing sessions.
Last edited by Counting_Is_Fun; 03-10-2020 at 09:19 PM.
If your strike is a TC +2 then yes, only getting in about 20 minutes in 3 hours sounds well within the realm of normal. There is almost no way you'd get 90 rounds per hour consistently. It might happen once in a while but those sessions would be outliers to your typical experience.
And I agree that you'd be in danger of wiping out your BR simply through normal variance unless you were extremely lucky at the start as well as extremely disciplined with earnings.
Well 2 players using the same tiny bankroll is probably going to end up being even worse off regarding variance, dependent on how correctly each player actually plays etc. I know it's probably not what you want to hear.
Honestly, if I was using a $1500 or $10,000 BR then my only choice would be to treat it as a "hail mary" roll and hope that I got really lucky. I would spread more than triple your spread, and just hope that I win when I had my biggest bets out. It's possible, but very unlikely.
Even if you increased your max bet to $300...you still only have 5 max bets of bankroll. It's easy to lose 5 max bets in a row, in just one shoe.
Last edited by Counting_Is_Fun; 03-10-2020 at 10:57 PM.
Even if you cannot get that many rounds per hour, you are doing the right thing. Look at any losses as tuition. You are learning as you go along. However, don’t fall for crap on BJ Apprenticeship, don’t make plans to be a full time professional, work on another career and blackjack as a supplementary income down the road.
Playing shoes at a TC+2, dropping out at TC0, resisting the pull to play side bets or to tip, is a viable way to build a bankroll. Yes there is a possibility of losing your small bankroll but if you remain disciplined, odds are good that you will get there.
There really is no better way on such a small BR. You don't mention the game specifics, but if it's an 8D shoe, you might want to find a 6D shoe. You'll find significantly more opportunities to play.
I agree with this, however, hopefully you have no urge to play side bets. That's an indication you are a gambler and not an AP.
WarmBlood19, when you are asking questions about your chances of success about a specific game you should state ALL the house rules for that particular game. Along with the table "in your case" minimum bet, and what counting system you use, do you use deviations, etc. In your case also using a partner is his/her skill level equal or similar to yours?
The reason for you stating the house rules of the game is so that the reader will know what the upfront house edge is starting out.
No disrespect intended, but just having to ask the above question leads me to believe that you, to put it frankly, need to put in more study. Plus you stating that you are playing with a partner working off an $1500 bankroll I do not like the sound of any of that.
Finding a good six-deck game with fair rules and a low minimum bet is much harder today. Plus it is all about the depth of the cut, and he is back counting. When two decks are already played, and counted he is essentially now playing a six-game anyway.
Last edited by BoSox; 03-11-2020 at 06:27 AM.
First, check out the section in BJA III on backcounting for some valuable information.
Next, backcounting (or spotting) and entering 6/8 deck games at TC+2 and before three decks are dealt (past this point provides too few rounds) will get you an average of 12 rounds played per shoe entered. The number of shoes that present a TC2 and you are backcounting is roughly about 20% (refer to BJAIII).
And, no, you will never achieve 90 rounds per hour but remember, the EV levels (and the variance) are much higher for the rounds played making it more profitable than all play.
Back counting is a very "exposed" technique to the pit. You can offset some of the exposure by flat betting when you enter the shoe but you must have a bank sized to make this effective. You will need to sim this effect and consider playing 2 spots to insure you are at an acceptable RoR.
Luck is nothing more than probability taken personally!
21forme wrote:
"No, it's not.
That's like saying after you play one deck of a DD game, it turns into a SD game."
BoSox:
However, we are comparing 6 and 8 deck games (not single and double deck games) from a back-counting perspective.
Okay, let's compare games. Benchmark rules in a S17 game:
6deck -0.546
8deck -0.573
Last edited by BoSox; 03-11-2020 at 11:33 AM.
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