Being a semi-professional gambler it’s always hard going through periods of cold play. My first week of 2008 was a cold one — and it pretty much started with a hand I never expected to lose…. I’ll run you through it:
3 players at the table, I’m playing 3 boxes — all in front. Two other playes both play a single box — one is behind me on one of the boxes.
Cards come out — I’ve got:
- A/A
- 7/3
- 6/6
Dealer’s upcard is a 6.
Yay — that’s excellent news! I split the aces — and in the casino I’m playing that means ONE card extra only — no blackjacks. I get a 7 (18) and a 9 (20). Not awesome — but good enough against a six.
Second box is an obvious double down. I get a ten. 20.
Last box isn’t too tricky — i split my sixes. First card: 5. I double down on 11 and get a 3. 14. Second split six gets a 4. I double down on ten and get a 10. 20.
At this point, there’s a good deal of money on the table due to all the double downs and the splits.
Dealer goes:
6-10-5.
I’ve seen this happen before (it still hurts but oh well), but that seemed to be the start of a cold run for me. I went on to lose more than I wanted to that night — and have decided to take the second week of January off from playing blackjack and play some low-stakes poker… Let’s turn the tide!
but sometimes it’s even better to use trainer software to really finetune your game and lean basic strategy by heart. I’m working on an extensive list of online and desktop free blackjack games to allow all of our readers a good free way of upping their skills — but I might need some help…