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!

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!

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 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!

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!

Many casinos offer the option to double up on a single hit card. Some of us look to divine inspiration on when to double up, others use a lucky charm, I myself like to use mathematics.

There are some hard and fast rules about when to Double Down. They are as follows.

If you have 11 you can double. There is a 30% chance of making 21 and no way to bust out. If you do make 21 the dealer can only beat you with a Blackjack and even then you’ll have your money returned.

If you have a hand of 10 you can double. The odds of winning are similar to that of if you have 11 and you have no chance of going bust.

If you have 7/8/9 don’t double. As tempting as it is that you might make 17, 18, 19 or even 20 it is unlikely. Any card other than a 10 will leave you with a vulnerable hand. The only exception to this is if you have a nine and the dealer had a low (2-6) up card and thus has a good chance of going bust.

If you have 12 or more DON’T DOUBLE. As tempting as it may be when you see the dealer has a card that means he is likely to go bust. You also have a high chance of busting and losing out.

What you must remember with Doubling Down is that you can only have one further card.

I would stress that doubling up can also affect the effectiveness of your betting strategy. Especially if you are using the Paroli or Martingale system. You should make the decisions about when you are going to Double Down and stick to them so you don’t click the double button on a whim.

There are several betting systems floating around to help you maximise your profits from playing Blackjack. Here we look at the good the bad and the ugly.

Lets start with the most well known; the Double-Up. It is actually known as the Martingale system. You start with a one unit bet ($1 if you are me or $1000000 if you are the Sultan of Brunei – you base your unit amount on your bankroll). If you win you make the same bet. If you lose you double the previous bet continuing to double until you win. When you win you start again with one unit. This betting system is madness and you have to have a huge bankroll to make it work. It is not uncommon to lose 8 hands in a row, by which time you will be betting with 128 units! In the long run you will not make money this way. Your bankroll will be broken in no time at all –unless of course you are the Sultan of Brunei.

The Paroli betting system is the opposite of the Martingale system. This time you double up when you win. To use this system you need to decide how many you times you double up before you start again. This system can be effective as it is simple to use and easy to remember. You also don’t need a large bankroll to play in this way and it can make a lot without risking too much.

The Parlay betting system is comparable to the Paroli system. It is simple and easy to remember. You base your bets on your profit, so you make a bet where your original bet plus your original winnings are used for your next bets. To use this system, you simply start by making a bet of any size. If you win with this initial bet, you use the original bet and part of the profit to place your next bet with. For example you bet £10 and win, for your next bet you use the original bet, $10 and part of the profit say $5 to make the next bet (Total $15). This way you are not always risking your profit. As with Paroli you need to decide how many times you will do this before you start again. Although you won’t make as much profit as with Paroli you will be risking less of your profit.

The Parlay betting system takes a little thought before you hit the tables but in the long run it can be a good option for beginners and seasoned players alike.

A pretty good lesson on single deck blackjack by the Sahara casino. Obviously in these tutorials you’ll see everyone winning and the bank pretty much busting all the time — but hey — we all know that’s not too reaslistic hehe!

Still, a pretty solid first tutorial for anyone who never played single deck blackjack before — so check it out if you’re new to the game!

By the way — excellent dealer skills!