Does this happen to you

Recently I was playing a 6 deck game and for about 2 hours. I wasn't winning, wasn't losing, just hovering around the same spot. There wasn't one time where the count warranted a max bet. All of a sudden the TC stays above 4 for 6 out of the last 7 hands of a shoe. I had my max bet out for all 6 of the hands: 4 I lose, 1 I push, and only 1 I win. I lost 48 units in about 10 minutes, and the whole time the TC was the highest that I had ever consistently seen. I would get 19 she would get 20. I would get 18 the dealer gets 19. I get 20 she has 20.
Frustating!
Does this happen to people often?

You wait for hours to get a +4 advantage and all you get in return is a huge negative swing. Your only consolation is that you know you did the right thing. Meanwhile, the ploppy next to you is raking in the money.

As many pros have pointed out (Arnold Snyder is the first one I saw in print), if the true count keeps rising right up until the end of the shoe, you generally stand to lose lots of money! You make your money most of the time when the true count starts to come down, the more it comes down after you have your big bets out, the more money you make, as a general rule. I guess it is obvious why this is true: the Aces and Tens are hitting the table then! If you get a few BJ's and they are paying you 1.5 times your big bets, that is the best of all possible blackjack worlds.

AB

It does happen often. It is frustrating and gut-churning to sit and watch hard-earned dollar after dollar being swept away into the dealer's tray. Just the other night, I watched about 80% of my monthly blackjack earnings disappear in 15 minutes. The count was sky-high, and I was putting out big bets and losing them all. Between splits and double-downs, I watched 92 units go down the drain during that period of time. This is what seperates the men from the boys in this game. It is inevitable and will happen again and again the longer your career progresses. Then there will be times when just the opposite happens and you feel like you are invincible. It's part of the game.

You have to learn to live with it Youngster,that's all.

we're the only one losing at the tables while the ploppies,progression players, and hunchies are raking in the chips.

>Arnold Snyder is the first one,I saw in print<
That's the point,I like "Blackbelt in Blackjack."
The last book I got from A.Snyder is "Beat the
6-deck game",a must for every advantageplayer.
Regards and good luck Rainer

IMHO it's possible to change that not at all,
but a little,by taking advice from Don's book
page 106 Team Play:

Do not increase your bet after losing a hand,

even if the count merits a higher wager.

Do not decrease your bet after winning a hand,

even if the count merits a lower wager.

Don't want to injure the copywright,sorry Don!!!!!!!!
Any comments are appreciated.
Regards Rainer

you will leave more money on the table in the longrun than you save in any potential losing streak. Don has that in his book as part of a predetermined team camouflage strategy.

Thanks bigplayer for your better information.

Does that mean to put always the money on the
table what the spread demands.
No matter how long the losing streak in
high TC's is.
Thanks in advance for your answer.

This probably explains the flames I caused when I was a green chip member.

I appreciate the advice,but I'll stick to my game for now. Just cant resist betting with the count.

Yes, I am sure it does happen, but now to me the question is "What can we, as card counters do about it?"

PS: I hope there's something, because I would hate to look foolish to those who count their lucky stars, while we of course count our loses.

I can't think of much one can do to avoid big losses in high counts. The fact is, the high count situation is the one we want to see. It is the time to put the money out. It is the time when we will either win big or lose big. If you are going to put the money out, you are going to take the chance that you will lose it. Sometimes you will.

If you don't put the money out when you have the advantage, then you will ultimately lose more.

After large numbers of high count bets going down it often helps to explain the situation to the dealer, sometihing like "I'm not really a gambler, I have a mbanbsbs in marine biology, don't smoke and this is an odoels not a bud im drinking, and prefer lacrosse in my leisure time, I hunt for bargins when buying the latest electro toy, and i dont appreciate you taking my cash like this im suppose to win i got the advantage i read it in my counting book so please at least return my buyin and i will take my business elsewhere" if it doesnt work ask to see a superior.

You want to look "foolish" to the ploppies, the dealer and the pit. The more "foolish" you look, the better off you are. It doesn't bother me a bit to hear the dealer chastise me over a "foolish" play or to wonder aloud why I keep putting the money out after losing and losing. I don't mind it when other players comment on my "poor" play when I make a deviation from basic strategy. It doesn't bother me when a pit boss comes by to commiserate with me over a large loss. In fact, if there is any silver lining to these monster losing sessions, it is that it might put doubt in the pit's mind about my skills as a player, and it never hurts your standing with the pit to book a large loss on occasion.

A thick skin and an emotionless approach are important attributes to being a successsful card counter. Of course, you can and probably should demonstrate emotion when losing large, but inside you should be as cool as the proverbial cucumber.

about showing loss, I think many if are playing in a place where thry can get away with a lot, will play to a seesion profit or to get even,
not a good idea if you are a "regular".I speak from experience.

Same scenario, finally the count goes to the moon. Dealer wipes out everybody at the table (mostly ploppies). I'm the only one left at the table with 3 decks left and a sky high count. I say thank you very much for leaving all the good cards for me. Spread to 2 hands and get killed....well almost killed. Lost more than I won in the last 6 rounds and took a big neg swing. Knew I did the right thing and left when the next shoe tanked from the top. Oh well. Thing is, if 2 of the hands fall on my side of the table, I walk out a winner. "This is a discipline thing"

already have your max bet out and you lose, do you interpret
"not increasing your bet after a loss,"
to lower your bet on the next hand or put your max bet out again (if the count warrants it)?

Once you have gotten to your max bet, keep it out as long as the count justifies it, win, lose or push.

Very negative counts and your minimum bet out. The ploppies are loading up and winning and then telling you how you really need to increase your bet during this hot streak. I see this quite often.