Blackjack by DC » Bankroll management

Two blackjack wins…

DC — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:56:21 +0000

I haven’t been a good boy. Really — I haven’t. I was going to really cut back, yet this week I ended up in a casino twice playing blackjack. The good thing is I won twice, but that really doesn’t matter too much to me at the moment. I felt ok coming out, but once I stepped into my car I kinda felt sick and both times — realizing these wins are worth absolutely nothing when my real goal is seriously cutting back on my gambling.

Anyway, bankroll got helped out a little which puts me close to even for ‘08 — but I’m sticking to my plan to tune down the gambling… Bare with me…

Lost quite a big portion of my bankroll

DC — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 09:03:31 +0000

2008 has been tough. I’ve been playing my regular game, and I’ve been consistently losing money over the first 7 weeks of the year. It’s painful to see your bankroll get drained, and it’s painful to see your twentieth 11-double down against a 5 or a 6 get beaten by a bank making 21. It’s tough, it’s frustrating, it’s gambling.

I’ve decided to take a break until the end of march. I’ve got plenty of other sources of income, and it’s probably the only thing that can calm me as at this point I feel I’m close to compulsive behavior. Wish me luck – I’ll need it!

Blackjack money management: You Need Money to Make Money

DC — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:47:44 +0000

Isn’t always the way? With blackjack your bankroll needs to be sufficient to bear up under the normal fluctuations that happen during blackjack. You need to understand that you will not always win, even if you stick to the Basic Strategy charts. I’ll say it again, you will not always win. Sticking to the Strategy only increases the likelihood of you winning.

Only Play with Money that you don’t need
Never gamble with money you can not afford to lose. Gambling with rent, bills or food money is bad. If you are doing that, you might want to consider taking a break from gambling for a while. If money in your bankroll has an emotional attachment you will make bad decisions. Bad decisions lead to losing play. You need to think of you gambling bankroll as units to play with, not as the amount of stuff it can buy you.

You need to have enough
You need a bankroll large enough to sustain the short swings of bad luck that you will encounter at the blackjack tables. You still need money to keep playing and ride out the short swings. You need to have at least 30 times the amount you bet at the table and the same again in your bankroll for reloading. So if you bet in $1 bets then you need at least $30 at the table, if you bet in $20 bets than you need $600 at the table.

Don’t Bet Too Much
Don’t double up or triple up to try an regain your losses. You will lose more money and then you will be grumpy. Stick to your betting system. Have a fixed amount that you will lose in a session and when you reach it WALK AWAY. Write yourself out some little guidelines and stick to them. Many players will accept 20 times the amount they bet at as a loss but no more. Set up reloading limits if you play online. Many sites will help you restrict the amount you can reload in 24 hours.

If you are winning, put aside some of your spoils to use another day. Have guidelines about what to do with your winnings and stick to them. Don’t use a winning streak as an excuse to increase your betting: you will regret it.