Bankroll/Max Bet Question

Is there a formula for the recommended size of one's max bet relative to one's bankroll for a 30-hour trip? If one's bankroll is $1,000, how large should one's max bet be?

There is probably a formula in Blackjack Attack somewhere, but the best formula is to use CVCX. For your particular case, there are WAY too many factors that you left out in order to give you a good answer. However, I will assume that you are playing a game with the following parameters: H17, 6dk, DS, and LS, 75% pen, 100-hands per hour. I will also assume that the table min is $5. With these parameters, if you are "playing all hands," I would spread from $5 to $60 max. You will have a 30-hour expectation of $330 ($11 per hour) and your risk of losing the entire $1000 over the 30-hours is 36% (but...look on the bright side--your chance of doubling the $1000 is 34.3%). You can improve on these statistics by finding a more profitable game (better pen, less decks, better rules, lower table max allowing for a wider bet spread). Wonging in and/or out would be a great idea, so that you only place bets in profitable situations (i.e. if you enter the game at a true count +1 or higher (departing at true count -1), your risk of losing the $1000 over 30-hours is only about 10%, however your 30-hour expectation is about the same.

...that you are counting using HiLo with I18/Fab4 indexes.

You want to have a bankroll that equals at least 12 maximum bets-and like Watoiler said you definitely want to Wong in and Wong out.

Twelve [12] Max bets will create a rather high "Risk of Ruin"

I prefer to always have 100 Max bets at hand.

But what is high to you may be low to me.

There is no "correct" figure.

Stating the following is incorrect:

"your risk of losing the entire $1000 over the 30-hours is 36% ... your chance of doubling the $1000 is 34.3%"

You are presenting the percentages for a LIFETIME R.O.R. not for a TRIP R.O.R.
The player in the situation cited will be unlikely to double his bank or to go broke in 30 hours of play.

If he played UNTIL he double his bank OR went broke - then the percentages would be perfectly reasonable.

The figures I gave are in fact for 3000 hands. CVCX calculates 36% ROR given no goal and 3000 hands, and 34.3% ROR for hitting a goal of $1000 (stopping if the goal is hit) or 3000 hands.

My figure of 34.3% to double his $1000 during the trip was incorrect. The correct figure is 30.4% (0.51 Standard Dev.)

Thanks for the replies, which are helpful. I play standard KO, don't have CVCX or my SD at hand, and will be playing SD and DD. Any further replies over the next few days will be appreciated.