Blackjack Question

peeko

I see a lot of you seem to play Blackjack. Whats the deal with this!? Is it possible to be a winning blackjack player are are you just in it for the gamble. Just curious!

ty

EDIT: Sorry mods hope you don't mind me going slightly off forum topic.

gerry87

Blackjack has a built in edge that you can't beat just by strategy. There are strategy's that minimise the edge, like on http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack , but the casino has the edge, it's only around .5% edge.

The only way to be a winning blackjack player is by card counting(giving cards a +-1 value and doing a running sum), even that only gives you around a 1% edge.

stipey

Read "Bringing Down the House" by Ben Mezrich.

A fast paced, easy to read and apparently true story (if a little sensationalised) about a group of MIT students who devised a strategy that allowed them to win huge amounts of money playing blackjack in Vegas.

As somebody already stated, card counting does give you a marginal edge.... however in order to really make any gains, when the count is in your favour you need to start placing much larger bets than normal.

As a result, it is relatively easy for the house to tell who is card counting by monitoring betting patterns. Most casino's will politely ask you to leave if they suspect you are being naughty.

These guys came up with a simple strategy that allowed them to count cards and win big without it being glaringly obvious.... but I'll leave it at that so as not to ruin the story.

cardshark202

I would say most of the guys posting here do not play blackjack, I certainly don't

Samba

down circa 30 Eur.

Definitely -ev game.

After a night's session, I usually cash out and leave 10-20 Eur for the purpose of black jack....

I usually stick it all down on a hand if I win i leave, if I lose I leave.

peeko

cardshark202 wrote:

I would say most of the guys posting here do not play blackjack, I certainly don't

I just got the impression that a few of you did, and I didn't figure it to be a profitable game over the long run, so I questioned that fact! I guess a good punt would be the reason that a few people play it then.

Stipey, I did in fact read that book, it's a good story! And a CRAP documentary!

58o

i play when on mega tilt( doesn't usually solve this problem i find) or when i have an odd 20/30 left after cashing out from poker. have had some pretty amazing runs (20 up to 3000 in the fitz one day) but naturally thats pretty rare

gerry87

Card counting's pretty tough, easy to learn, but i'd say near impossible in a casino without a disgusting amount of practice.

I think since it's a fairly low -ev game, it's a good game to play if you're just looking for a bit of fun in a casino and it's easier to have a winning session than other casino games.

ianmc38

Boards degenerates such as HalfBaked and FlushDraw love the game. As with the poker, the monetary element doesn't make a difference to them. It's all about feeding the inner monster that needs a bit of gamble at some point in the day.

Speaking to Halfbaked about a possible skydive in Vegas, he told me how he'd rather play craps, as it would give him a "far greater adrenaline rush".

That guy experiences more highs and lows in his average week gambling, than a person suffering with bipolar disorder experiences in a lifetime.

bottom feeder

peeko wrote:

I see a lot of you seem to play Blackjack. Whats the deal with this!? Is it possible to be a winning blackjack player are are you just in it for the gamble. Just curious!

ty

EDIT: Sorry mods hope you don't mind me going slightly off forum topic.

this is a sick game / its a house game and the house always wins..... BEWARE ..:eek:

bottom feeder

ianmc38 wrote:

Boards degenerates such as HalfBaked and FlushDraw love the game. As with the poker, the monetary element doesn't make a difference to them. It's all about feeding the inner monster that needs a bit of gamble at some point in the day.

Speaking to Halfbaked about a possible skydive in Vegas, he told me how he'd rather play craps, as it would give him a "far greater adrenaline rush".

That guy experiences more highs and lows in his average week gambling, than a person suffering with bipolar disorder experiences in a lifetime.

lol.... good stuff ian

peeko

ianmc38 wrote:

That guy experiences more highs and lows in his average week gambling, than a person suffering with bipolar disorder experiences in a lifetime.

:eek:


I'd rather the jump meself!

Lafortezza

I was up more than $100 playing BJ in Vegas, over a considerable sample size of maybe 60 hands. BJ is EZ. Don't ask about THBP though.

peeko

is it like the link in your sig!? cause no matter how many times I click it out of curiousity I'm still not a mod/admin and I still don't have access to it!

hey Laf. Whats the deal with THBP!?

sikes

never played blackjack, however i am huge winner at roulette over my entire life time

Solksjaer

Blackjack is a game purely for the 'fish' in this world, for a start you will play with any two cards and you will never fold your hand until you are finally bust. I harldy ever play this game.

Roulette now if I have to playing anything other than Poker.. I do have a strategy for this (and I'm ahead with it :-) I bet my main bet on red or black (unlke Jake Stevens who bets on both ..classic)
and my cover bet in on the column with the most reds or blacks (opposing of course). Do this for 50 quid and quit at 200..throwing the odd euro on 9 red.:-) Works great for me.

Rnger

a friend of mine really believes he can beat blackjack. i fcuking hate the game

The_Chopper

The game is slightly in favour of the house but if u get a good shoe it can be very profitable.
Even if you don't card count its about pressing your bets at the right time

kakak1

The_Chopper wrote:

The game is slightly in favour of the house but if u get a good shoe it can be very profitable.
Even if you don't card count its about pressing your bets at the right time

what actually gives the house the slight edge, if he has to draw on 16 and has to stay on 17

RasTa

What gives the house it's edge is watching you go bust first. Although there is a book out written by one of the MIT BJ team and it's a different strategy then bringing down the house and reduces the house edge considerably. I havent read it but my mate has and he wants to try it out in the Fitz... You need to control the table though and have an understanding of maths.

HalfBaked

ianmc38 wrote:

Boards degenerates such as HalfBaked and FlushDraw love the game. As with the poker, the monetary element doesn't make a difference to them. It's all about feeding the inner monster that needs a bit of gamble at some point in the day.

Speaking to Halfbaked about a possible skydive in Vegas, he told me how he'd rather play craps, as it would give him a "far greater adrenaline rush".

That guy experiences more highs and lows in his average week gambling, than a person suffering with bipolar disorder experiences in a lifetime.

LOL

This from a degenerate who's google talk status actually reads 'Ian McDonnell: Feeding his addiction'

The_Chopper

kakak1 wrote:

what actually gives the house the slight edge, if he has to draw on 16 and has to stay on 17

The edge for the house is that you have to act first. You have no set of rules so you can pull or stand at any stage. Basically you can bust and the house hasn't even had to draw another card.
The house has to draw to at least 17. There's no thought process behind it - once 17 or above is reached the house stops.
Where the odds are best in your favour is when you are playing one box heads up against the house.

kc66

stipey wrote:

Read "Bringing Down the House" by Ben Mezrich.

A fast paced, easy to read and apparently true story (if a little sensationalised) about a group of MIT students who devised a strategy that allowed them to win huge amounts of money playing blackjack in Vegas.

As somebody already stated, card counting does give you a marginal edge.... however in order to really make any gains, when the count is in your favour you need to start placing much larger bets than normal.

As a result, it is relatively easy for the house to tell who is card counting by monitoring betting patterns. Most casino's will politely ask you to leave if they suspect you are being naughty.

These guys came up with a simple strategy that allowed them to count cards and win big without it being glaringly obvious.... but I'll leave it at that so as not to ruin the story.

That is an excellent read. Pure genius.

sikes

kc66 wrote:

That is an excellent read. Pure genius.

he has two other books that i know of, breaking vegas, same type of idea and ugly americans, about traders in japan. gread reads

Mellor

The_Chopper wrote:

Where the odds are best in your favour is when you are playing one box heads up against the house.

The odds are never in your favour. Unless you count times were you have been counting an know all cards that could bust you are gone.
But the house has the edge. Which can vary depending on how its run.

Only ever played Black Jack once. Amsterdam airport. There is a casino there with blackjack or roulette. My last €20. Played a few hands, reached €40 and called it a day. Thats like 8 buy-ins to student games, cant throw it away.

Flushdraw

ianmc38 wrote:

Boards degenerates such as HalfBaked and FlushDraw love the game. As with the poker, the monetary element doesn't make a difference to them. It's all about feeding the inner monster that needs a bit of gamble at some point in the day.

Speaking to Halfbaked about a possible skydive in Vegas, he told me how he'd rather play craps, as it would give him a "far greater adrenaline rush".

That guy experiences more highs and lows in his average week gambling, than a person suffering with bipolar disorder experiences in a lifetime.

Just because i have blown the odd €500, usually while on tilt after a poker dogging doesnt make me a degenerate....BTW wheres that monkey you owe me from when my fly beat your fly walking up the wall??

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

TacT

If you like playing BJ on a regular occasion seek professional help and fast.

RasTa

TacT wrote:

If you like playing BJ on a regular occasion seek professional help and fast.

Indeed, I had to get Paddy Power to suspend me from playing on my account online as when I tilt i normally go there and split any face cards and double from 9 upwards, cost me a fair bit of money...... and it's rigged online!

bohsman

I beat online blackjack all the time - it paid for my trip to Vegas last year, you can figure the rng out fairly easily and its easy then, just very boring.

gerry87

Is online blackjack is "shuffled" after every hand?

peeko

bohsman wrote:

I beat online blackjack all the time - it paid for my trip to Vegas last year, you can figure the rng out fairly easily and its easy then, just very boring.

It was actually a couple of posts from you that made me ask the question.

your not serious about figuring out the RNG are you?

hotspur

Yeah Bohsman's reply was the one I was waiting for, was hoping it would be a bit longer than that. I too am pretty incredulous about figuring out the RNG but I'd be interested to hear more on your experiences if you wanted to share.

cardshark202

I have a patter mapper which I'm willing to sell to you. Works on any RNG.

Seriously though, online BJ can only be beaten cos of the bonuses available

bohsman

Its bonuses, if you're interested enough google is your friend but be careful theres rouge casinos and money will be tied up for months on end - I waited 2 months to get paid from one place but knew I was taking a risk as there were rumours that the site was about to go bust.

wyndham

It's colder than a witch's tit in here.

TacT

bohsman wrote:

Its bonuses, if you're interested enough google is your friend but be careful theres rouge casinos and money will be tied up for months on end - I waited 2 months to get paid from one place but knew I was taking a risk as there were rumours that the site was about to go bust.

lol, that's enough to keep me well clear. I had done so in the past and at the time decided against it and have no intentions of changing my mind. Be interested to know how much you made though? I'll stick to the 100BB NLHE games myself. Wyndham, google is your friend if you want answers but personally I advise all to steer clear with a ten foot bargepole and not to give into the temptation of easy money. I have a good friend here in France and his cousin managed to lose his house, his car and his wife in a few days after discovering and playing Blackjack online. :eek:

bohsman

You need discipline, really need to avoid going on tilt if you go on a bad run and at some stage you just get sick of scanning and emailing documents to casinos.

I made around $10k in 3 months last year despite going on tilt losing $1500 in the space of an hour doing a bonus where you lodged 1500 got a 1500 bonus and had to play $120,000 worth of blackjack before withdrawing.

I discovered all of this on bonuswhores but the forums have since gone private. The regulars got very pissed off with all the Noobs coming in asking stupid questions as they watched their incomes decrease with **** bonuses. The more people who do this the worse the bonuses get and it also leads to whole countries getting bonusbanned - rule one is to always read the terms and cons and take a copy of them if you're not sure.

If anyones interested Id advise bonus bud. com

bohsman

Also everbody also does the inter casino bonus on a monthly basis and they can afford to take the hit so go for it if you want to try it out although the terms have gotten worse in the last couple of months.