Bankroll

If I'm using the KO count and using a 5 - 10 unit spread, how many units should I buy in for at each session and how many units should my total bankroll be in order to avoid the risk of ruin?

Thanks.

Bob

If I'm using the KO count and using a 5 - 10 unit spread, how many units should I buy in for at each session and how many units should my total bankroll be in order to avoid the risk of ruin?

You cannot totally avoid risk of ruin. There will always be some element of risk, regardless of the size of your bankroll. You can reduce it to a tiny percentage, but it will still be there.

It is hard to know from the way your post is worded what kind of betting spread you want to use. Does "5 - 10 unit spread" mean you are spreading from five units to ten units? If so, that is only a 1-2 spread. Does it mean you are spreading from $5 to $50? It would be impossible to answer your question without knowing exactly what game you are playing, ie: the number of decks, the rules, and the penetration; what kind of betting ramp you are using, and the length of your sessions. The answer will be vastly different, depending on those factors.

The book will be put out by Square One Publishing. I am told it should hit the shelves in the spring of 2003. For the moment, the title is Bootlegger's 100 Proof Blackjack. I'll let you know more when I know more.

100 proof = 50% alcohol.

Why not 200 proof?

I swore off bootleg liquor years ago because quality control was poor to say the least and about all you could get was sugarhead which tastes OK but its hard getting past the smell.

But, a chemist friend has been making some corn in glass which tests out, he says, at about 190 and I believe him and has been taking some over to the Happy Wednesday bluegrass gathering of age challenged hippies and red necks at my old homeplace.

Knowing the niceties of drinking good corn must be in the Southern gene. You take a nice sip, roll it around in your mouth for the flavor, and let it trickle down, savoring the burn. You then shudder a little bit and let out an audible deep breath. With 190 proof the shudder and the expelled breath becomes quite involuntary.

A consensus quickly spreads to cut it about half and put it back in the freezer.

So you don't want 200 proof. I can testify it just gets you asleep or in trouble, neither of which are good at a blackjack table.

because it will contain some water evaporated from the mixture and some moisture from the air. However, I think there are methods other than distillation that will acheive close to 100%, although I cannot remember them. It's a terrible thing to lose one's mind.

200 proof isn't whiskey at all, just pure grain alcohol. It might be good for getting drunk, going blind, or for a quick trip to the ER with alcohol poisoning, but it isn't good for human consumption.

I'd rather go for good whiskey with some body, that is aromatic, and has a distinctive taste, something that will be selected from the top shelf, not something sold out of the trunk of some moonshiner's car. I'll take the 100 proof stuff anytime.

Bootlegger (& everyone else),

Sorry about the bad wording. I realized it after I posted it. I meant to say up to a 5 to 10 unit spread. In other words, I start out at one (1) unit and when the count improves I increase my units gradually up to 5 or possibly 10 units. I usually play at 6 deck shoes with about 1.5 decks left before the shoe is shuffled.

I know you can't eliminate the ROR completely. I just want to know a good estimate of what I should buy in for and what my total bankroll should be.

Am I going to be looked at as a a possible counter if I buy in for $200 and then use $5 units?

Thanks.

Bob

How about Bootlegger's bootcamp for BJ without leaving home.

I'd rather go for good whiskey with some body, that is aromatic, and has a distinctive taste, something that will be selected from the top shelf ...

Yes, so would I, but bootleggers didn't sell that kind of stuff. You're mixing metaphors.

You have to use some chemical tricks to get 200 proof. One way is to add benzene, then distill again. The water azeotropes off with the benzene, and leaves just the ethanol behind. Of course, if you open the bottle, it will absorb water from the air. (You are probably best off leaving the bottle closed anyway, in case there is residual benzene!!)

Bootleggers sell very good whiskey, depending upon the bootlegger. Remember, a bootlegger isn't a moonshiner, and usually doesn't make his own hooch. He sells the same stuff they sell in the regular stores, but does it in places that are dry or in after hours joints.

My own opinion, based on some experience in book marketing, is that it is a mistake to put something in a book title that many educated people will believe demonstrates a lack of knowledge. Remember, it is not a generally accepted meaning of 100 proof that it signifies a top shelf whiskey. All 100 proof signifies is 50% alcohol content. It is, however, a generally accepted meaning of 200 proof that it signifies something extremely strong or full of bite. Many educated people are going to look at the title and think "Why would I want a 50% blackjack solution? This guy doesn't understand how alcohol is measured!" I believe such a reaction would be common among educated people and runs the risk of harming the credibility of the book in the eyes of consumers. (The reasoning would be: Someone who makes this kind of perceived error, in the mind of the book buyer, might well make more substantive errors in the body of the book.)

Anyway, as I say those are my thoughts, based on some experience in the publishing biz. It's your book and you can call it anything you want. I made the original recommendation in a constructive spirit, and I do not believe that your defense of the 100 proof language (it's a top shelf product, etc.) is going to naturally occur to the minds of many book buyers.

I still favor Kick Ass at Blackjack, but some people might find that objectionable for an entirely different reason!

"Kick Ass at Blackjack" hah,hah, just kidding!

Say hi to your wife for me. It's almost that time of year again, what do ya say we all do Denny's again and make it an annual tradition :)