Blackjack by DC

My blackjack results for the first few days of July are resembling those of the rest of June - steady in the plus thanks to finding a new 4-deck shoe-game which allows me to count much easier than the 6-deck game I had at my local casino. Also - I’ve been doing great on the addiction side of my gambling hobby. I’ve put myself on a tough schedule not playing for 5 days in a row at some points during a work week and getting just a set amount of hours during weekend play… Not only does it work for now but it also means I can’t keep track of my win/losses during a session that much as I am supposed to leave the blackjack table at a specific hour anyway…

I have allowed ONE exception — I’m allowed to keep playing if the deck is hot, but quit when it drops below my collercount.

Wish me luck everyone!

Don’t say anything, please.

I’ve climbed from my negative downfall at the start of 2008 and turned it into a marginal plus for the year.

I realize it’s minimal, but at least we’re not $5000 behind…

Wish me luck for May!

Have been on a cold streak and it’s hurting. I’ve gone back to gambling more than I was hoping to do, and I’m learning my lesson the hard way.

Down a couple grand for April and only had a couple winning sessions early in the month.

Planning a couple days outside the country, hope they don’t have casinos in Valencia.

It’s one of the most successful betting strategies I’ve used in my time has been paying off in the past few weeks again. It takes long sessions to make a living, but it cuts the risks to an absolute minimum if you stick to basic strategy.

I used to play each day and quit as soon as I got $1000 ahead. I made about $4000 a week losses included on a 6-deck game.

A quick rundown;

1. Forget about doubles. Stick to basic strategy, but when you lose a double, don’t up your next bet.

2. Lose the $100? Bet $150 next. You’ll win $50 over the course of two bets if you win.

3. Lose your $150 bet? Bet $250 in the next run. You’ll break even over the 3 bets if you win and will be down $500 if you lose.

4. Once you lose a $250, go back down to $100. I know this means you’ll encounter some downswings, but believe me — all you need is a $2500 bankroll to be almost safe to not go broke.

Won $1200 yesterday in about two hours. Never was down a single second.

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…

I’ve been doing pretty ok in March, but I did have a little slip-up at the casino when I flipped a coin about whether to take a trip to city A without a casino or city B with a casino. Faith landed on city B which to me was a green light to sit down at a blackjack table.

I did good until at a certain point I lost 13 hands in a row which obviously cripled me. I felt bad but as I’m doing great in the business side of my life the impact on my finances was close to none which is good considering some of the losses I sustained before…

Anyway, trying to get my act together, hickups along the way…

I’ve decided to set short term goals, and for now I’m doing okay. I haven’t entered a casino since my last post here, and I haven’t played any online blackjack either… I feel good. I’m working hard, I’m doing good at work, and I’m focussed on the important stuff in life…

I also talked to a friend about my problem. She knew about my gambling, but was quite surprised to hear me say I had a problem. I’m a strong person in the real world, people think I’m not prone to these kind of things. Heck, I thought I wasn’t prone to these kind of things…

Admitting to myself that I am is an important step. I’m glad I made it.

I’ve been doing anything but gambling for over two weeks now, and I’m still ok. Been holding out quite a lot, and actually even drove past a casino and NOT WENT IN. It’s always tough for me to drive past one and just keep driving — it’s almost like my body wants me to move into the direction of the shiny lights…

Anyway, still doing ok. Playing some low-stakes poker home games amongst friends as the only form of gambling — and seeing as that’s in a game I pretty much beat on a 75% win-session basis I feel pretty confident that’s not gambling.

Oh well — wish me luck, hope not to gamble in March at all — we’ll see how long I hang in there.

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!