I have become a recreational BJ player, and use basic stategy. I use to card count, but found it to be a "grind." Can anyone assist me with a simple betting system, without the need to keep a detailed count?
Thank you
or a negative progression, both are simple and easy....BUT gives you NO edge, and you'll eventually lose all your money.
How about KO counting system...very easy...think about it.
Good luck.
It is unlikely that you will be a long-term winner without counting. If you are purely "recreational", then winning will not matter. Since you took the time to learn to count in the past, and to post here, however, I suspect that you would "prefer" to win.
The ONLY BETTING SYSTEM that will be a long-term winner is to OWN THE CASINO (and do not hire Becky Binion to run it).
Here are a few ideas:
(1) Play for Comps...bet small, and bump up when PC is watching. Not uncommon for the value of free meals, rooms, cash-back coupons, gifts, etc., to equal or exceed session/trip losses. System works best at full tables of "recreational" players, i.e., ones who want to talk through proper play of each and every hand, of each and every player, including yours. Great! Goal is to get down to 15-20 hands/hr., so that you are not exposing excessive $ to the house advantage.
(2) Scout for CC's...if you know how to count, but just do not want to expend the effort, then "backcount" tables until you recognize good CC's...once you find one, just sit right down and bet the way he/she does. If the CC raises the bet, bump up yours; if the CC lowers the bet, drop yours; if he/she takes ins., you do too.
On the upside, the CC may recognize you as a fellow "Pro", and buy you dinner (more +EV).
On the downside, while your bets and Ins. decisions will be appropriate, without knowing the exact TC, you will lose some advantage from playing decisions. Further, you and the CC will likely be 86'd in record time!....it is, at least to me, pretty obvious when you have mult. CC's at the same table. And, the barred CC, if he/she realizes what you caused, may just find you in the parking garage.
(3) On SD ONLY...with 3+ Players, you can often get a "feel" for relative positivity/negativity just by looking at "relative porportions". For example, in Round 1, #13 cards are dealt. Since you should have seen 4 10-value cards for the count to remain "0", you can use the # of 10's seen to your advantage.
If you saw only #2, for example, you would usually be ok to bump your bet the next round....converse, if #5 or more seen.
Same strategy would be valuable with other cards, especially the Aces.
Of course, you will not get exactly 13 cards dealt out each first round, so you will have to do alot of dividing, percentages, etc. By now, would almost be just as easy to just count cards.
(4) Check out the book "Winning without Counting"...probably the only BJ book I do not have....but I suspect it has more answers to your question.
phantom007.
Since you know BS, and presumably learned something while learning to count, you must know there has never been a betting system designed that can overcome a fixed negative advantage against you.
So unless you are playing for comps (as 007 stated already) then flat bet the minimum; you'll last longer.
then we can't help you much. For your best entertainment utility you would probably be better off with a mild positive progression using a 1-1-2-3-5 approach. This distorts the normal distribution and will cause you to lose less each session on average when you play, but lose a somewhat higher percentage of your sessions than if you were to flat bet. It will also give you a shot at an occasional very big win.
You have no chance to be a long term winner using this approach unless you get lucky early and quit forever. I don't know why a 100% certainty of being a long run loser can be remotely entertaining. Counting gives you a genuine chance to win and walking into a casino with a chance to win is much more entertaining.
If this is the path you decide on walking down, no kidding, make sure each dealer and each PC who works your shift knows that you are playing a progression based betting system. Announce it loud and often.
It will do nothing but increase your comps.
is when your progressive system shows signs of success. In that case, you will have to be prepared to become a historical relic from that casino. Consistent winners are habitually subjected to barrings-it matters little how you happen to accomplish it. Better it would be to make playes that look a lot worse than they really are and hope the casino surveillance crew is doing its job.
Gorgon wrote:
is when your progressive system shows signs of success. In that case, you will have to be prepared to become a historical relic from that casino. Consistent winners are habitually subjected to barrings-it matters little how you happen to accomplish it.
There may be small Ma and Pa some place that will back-off anyone who has exhibited an unusual win; however the majority of casinos will not. This is especially true in Nevada.
If a player wins consistently, they may analyze the tapes of the game. They may even run it through a computer. In this case, the computer will come back and say: �Negative EV progression player�.
If you are running a casino, the most desirable customer is a negative EV player who has won substantial amounts in the past. Such players are eventually going to lose, and the prior win will embolden them to bet larger amounts. Just make sure they are still in you casino when they start to lose.
In fact, progression players are so well-loved by casinos, that progression play is the basis for most cover betting systems.
In a pitch game, there is the possibility of a progression player winning in positive decks. So the bets go up as the count goes up, co-incidentally. Such players may be mistaken for counters, particularly at sweaty places which bar quickly. But this is a little different than what you said.
I suggest that instead of keeping a specific numerical count, simply observe the proportion of tens to non-tens that were dealt on the last round. About 30% of the cards in a deck are ten-value cards. If, on the last round, more than 30% of the cards were ten-value cards, then raise your bet. If on the last round fewer than 30% of the cards were ten-value cards, then raise your bet. While this "system" will probably not result in a positive-expectation situation, it will probably reduce the basic strategy edge slightly, and may even result in better comps! I hope this helps.
.. to your post.
If MORE than 30% of the cards in the last hand were ten value .. he should LOWER his bet. You inadvertently suggested raising the bet in both situations.
But what's the point. Monty knows how to count, he should count.
The 'system' you present may decrease the house edge some -but it might increase it also depending on how much over/under each previous hand was to the 30% mark.
Anything short of counting, while raising your bets, is losing. I still believe his best answer is to be flat betting the minimum for longevity.
I suggest that instead of keeping a specific numerical count, simply observe the proportion of tens to non-tens that were dealt on the last round. About 30% of the cards in a deck are ten-value cards. If, on the last round, more than 30% of the cards were ten-value cards, then lower your bet. If on the last round fewer than 30% of the cards were ten-value cards, then raise your bet. While this "system" will probably not result in a positive-expectation situation, it will probably reduce the basic strategy edge slightly, and may even result in better comps! I hope this helps.
