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!
Archive for the ‘Blackjack’ Category
Blackjack Results: Back up for ‘08
Sunday, May 18th, 2008More Blackjack Losses
Saturday, April 26th, 2008Have 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. 
Blackjack Betting Strategy: my $100-$150-$250 system
Monday, April 7th, 2008
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.
Two blackjack wins…
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008I 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 a little last week…
Friday, March 28th, 2008
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…
Blackjack addiction 1 – 1 DC
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008I’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’m still on my break, and succesful!
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008I’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.
Lost quite a big portion of my bankroll
Thursday, February 21st, 20082008 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 Homegames: How to?
Friday, February 1st, 2008Blackjack is fun in the casino’s — it really is, but, just like poker — there’s quite the range of possibilities to enjoy a game of blackjack in your own home… It’s obviously not the most legal activity in most countries if there’s real money involved — but as long as you keep it private, you should be ok.
Anyway, what you need:
- One or more decks of cards
- A table
- Casino chips (poker chips)
- Maybe even a blackjack table lay-out
I suggest using a single deck setup for homegames. It allows for more suckout and makes card counting way easier. It does mean cards should be shuffled, which could slow down the game somewhat. If you want to play at high velocity — use multiple decks.
And… have fun!
Free Online Blackjack Games
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008Using free online blackjack games to learn the finesses of the game can be a good thing — 
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…
If you know of specific blackjack trainer games (free!), and want to make sure I include them in my list — holler at me using the comment system. I’ll make sure to add any relevant link!