I want to make $500 a week from BJ

I am completly new to BJ and card counting. I want to average about $500 a week to use as extra spending money because my current job only helps pay the bills. Is card counting effective to make $500 a week? How long can I expect to play in one week to win about $500 a week at the low-bet tables? How much money should I bring to begin the week with? I want to set $500 as a weekly goal and once I reach that point, I leave. I am not too greedy. I know that these questions may seem stupid to the seasoned professionals on this site who make $500 in a matter of seconds, but I am enthusiastic on playing Blackjack. I need a vacation! :)

Thanks!

>>Is card counting effective to make $500 a week?

Nope,

You cannot drop a Garanteed Barney in your trousers every week.

I would love to tell you what you want to hear. My Session bankrolls reflect about a $10,000 1/2 Kelly BR.(1-4 Green SD, 10-80 DD, 10-100 red chip shoe[6-8 decker with discretionary wonging]).

I have made about 5-6 bucks an hour screwing around with these Midwest 6 and 8 deckers. The past 2 years I didn't turn a profit until the fourth quarter. Also, I didn't make it to Vegas enough to have the good games make any significant effect on my overall win rate.(4-ish visits a year).

Some high-order pros with MUCH bigger bankrolls go a full year without a profit because of variance alone. If you don't have a strong grasp of the concept of variance, find another path. This is not a get rich quick scheme.

-Felix

That was my thinking at the start too. (Many years ago) Cheched out a few books and found it was too much work for too slow a payoff, needing money I didn't have. Had friends that liked to gamble every month and with Basic S. and light counting I could at least not lose as much money. What I found back then was rule #1 "It takes money to make money!". Now that I have a good paying job, I am re-reading the books, buying new ones, working on simm software, and adding to my BR (bankroll). I am now working on rule #2 "It takes a lot of money to make a lot of money"

"but I am enthusiastic on playing Blackjack"
Well that's good, I was too, so I never stopped playing. If I were you I would check out a few books and see what it's all about (goto catalog page, all good). "Do the math" sorry, but it's all about the numbers and the long haul. Start saving up now, if you still think it looks like fun you'll need around $5000. (Think of risking $100 to $500 a night, walking out $500 down and ready to play again the next day). I got back into real counting not too long ago with a $15,000. BRoll. Some how I get the feeling that if you had this banked you might care less about BlackJack. Think of it as Stocks & Bonds! The good news with BJ? You get a better return on your money and your stock broker never pays for your room, food, shows, air fare (if your lucky) like the casino's do. Have fun and see you on the tables...

Seeing Doubles

If you don't mind losing 2000 the next :)

Is card counting effective to make $500 a week?

Given the proper bankroll and time, you can easily average $500 per week.

How long can I expect to play in one week to win about $500 a week at the low-bet tables?

The operate word here is expect. You can play $5-$20 single deck with an expectation of $5.00/hour. So, it would take 100 hours. You can wong in 6 deck games at TC>=+1 and wong out at TC < 0 for an expectation of around $10/hour, or 50 hours to expect $500.

How much money should I bring to begin the week with?

This depends largely on what game you are going to play and your desired risk of ruin. For example, according to Blackjack Attack, playing with $2000 bank, using a $5-$20 spread on single deck with 50% penetration carries a 26% risk of ruin.

I want to set $500 as a weekly goal and once I reach that point, I leave. I am not too greedy.

Herein lies your problem. You will not win $500 each week. Some weeks you win several times that and other weeks, you will lose several times that. For that reason you should not quit simply because you've won $500. As card counters we gain our money by giving time at the table. Over the long run, you will win at your expected rate, but in the short term, you will encounter large ups and downs.

I know that these questions may seem stupid to the seasoned professionals on this site who make $500 in a matter of seconds, but I am enthusiastic on playing Blackjack.

You are asking the right questions. There are many misconceptions about card counting and you've come to right place learn the truth.

I need a vacation! :)

There's this town in middle of the desert not too far from the California border....

Thanks!

Your welcome.

More advice:
- If you haven't already done so, buy a good book on counting: KO Blackjack, Professional Blackjack are among those sold on this website. Alternatively, follow the link to BJ School.
- Buy, learn, and live Blackjack Attack. It does not teach to count, but it will answer the above the questions and much more.
- Join greenchip.

Well said, Rick.

And donmak, consider some implications of the statement, "You can play $5-$20 single deck with an expectation of $5.00/hour. So, it would take 100 hours."

100 hours of SD per week, that's about 33 hours per shift, and with, say three decent low-roller SD venues in LV, that's about ten hours per week in each venue on each of the three shifts, or about 1.4 hours per session, (in each of the three casinos three times a day) working seven days a week.

After about the fourth day, when each of the PCs on all three shifts are calling you by your first name and offering to comp you for Krispy Kreme do-nuts (because they're confident the Variance will kill you the first time your 26% ROR kicks in), and then after a week of this you head to Reno for a couple of weeks, and you come back and there's already a box of KK's sitting there at your spot...

Also, on some shifts, the tables will be packed, and the dealer will be shuffling up after every hand.

The above time-table does not include moving-around time. Add another couple hours per day.

Or eating. Or sleeping, which, when working 4.2 hours per shift, you will never again get a half-way decent 8 hours, unless you are sleeping on the sidewalk outside the Western to cut down travel time.

Plan on a lot of traveling on top of your 100 hours a week, plus paying for airfare to Tunica...

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