My Most Amazing BJ Hand Yet

The following hand occurred during a casino cruise I took with my wife over Valentine's weekend (02/15/04). This is absolutely true.

It was the third and last session of the night. I was up about $200 for the night, and all I needed was another $80, so my wife could get the brass-bottom pots and pans she had been talking about.

This is what happened:

I had reached $50 in my progression. I was dealt an A-9 against the dealer's Ace upcard. I was getting nervous, but excited. This is what blackjack is all about. Well, listen to what the dealer got: She turned over her hole-card; it turned out to be another ace. So, she has two aces showing. She turned over another card - a third ace. She turned over another card - a fourth ace. She turned over another card - a fifth ace. She is now sitting with five aces - five or 15. Then, she turns over the next card - a nine. She is now sitting at 14, and I'm feeling pretty good, but still stunned from the five aces. Time to turn over the next card. And guess what? Yep, you guessed it - she pulls a seven for a seven-card, five-ace 21!!! The most amazing thing I ever saw - particularly in light of my $50 bet. This is a classic - a hand for the ages.

I had reached $50 in my progression.

Please elaborate.

My progression is 10-20-40. However, when I hit a BJ, I leave the entire winnings in the pot.

So, in this case, I had a BJ on a $10 bet, which became $25. Then, I won the $25 hand, which in turn became $50.

Make sense?

No, it doesn't make sense.

MC

Nothing worse than arrogance.

What difference does it make whether I'm right or wrong? The point is that I have fun playing blackjack, I don't lose my enjoyment by getting bogged down in the work of card counting, and I don't lose a lot of money.

Blackjack is a GAME, not a way of life.

And speaking of life, please get one and leave me alone.

If you don't like progressions, don't play them. Just stop trashing those of us who do. If, over the course of 30 years, it works for me, how are you going to convince me, on my deathbead, that I was wrong for not card-counting? And, if I am wrong, if I have had 30 years of enjoyment, what difference does it make?

Please elaborate.

BJBlogger did not advocate a progression or make any false claims about it. It was not even the main focus of the post. Let's not turn this into one of "those" threads. If you actually want to know about BJBlogger's progression you could send an email.

Tolerance and acceptance of others is an important attribute to have. This is a BJ website and nothing says non-counters aren't allowed or tolerated. Your statement about having fun and the fact you are comfortable with your choices are some of the important apsects of enjoying life.

Although progressions don't make sense to me your progression makes sense to you and that's all that matters.

Good Luck!

ODAAT

I appreciate your gesture of respect. I have found it to be rare with serious BJ players, particularly on this site.

I will continue to update my weblog and keep an ongoing accounting, to see if, along with having fun, if I am truly staying about even, or if I am deluding myself.

Were you playing at the Gulfport Grand by any chance?

If so, I was sitting at 3rd base next to you at one table.

Nope, that was not me. I did forget to mention where this took place. Sorry about that.

I was on a casino cruise in South Florida, on the St. Tropez.

One of the reasons so many aces came out was that I was playing an eight-deck shoe. I don't really like to do that. However, it was either play the eight-deck shoe, or drink all night. I chose the former.

You double your bet every time you lose. You're doing the opposite, doubling your bet every time you win. A reverse martigale.

MC

bogged down in the work of card counting

I totally respect your choice, in how you want to play, with your own money. But why not try KO...it is simple and effective. Yes it will take some practice. But you will be surprised at your results.

With practice, KO is hardly "work". And easier still would be the KO rookie system...and you can get that for free on their web site.

You are correct; I use a 1-2-4 unit progression when I win. Needless to say, there are MANY variations for splits, double-downs, etc. However, since my original post was not about progression bets, but rather a wierd BJ hand, I'd rather not get into it here. Don't need the abuse.

If there is a progression forum where I can discuss what I do openly, I'd love to participate.

Also, for those of you who are interested, check out my blackjack weblog from time-to-time. I am maintaining an ongoing session diary as well as an ongoing financial results tabulation. I intend to eventually set out all of the variations of my progression.

Thanks for the tip. I have the book, have read it, and worked with the count. It is relatively easy. However, I am not a "regular" player. I go through stages where I play a lot, then not for months. So, it is work for me to get back into the rhythm of counting.

If and when I get into regular play, I will definitely get back to the KO method and use it. It does seem to work.

Thanks again.

are just trying to point you in the right direction in their own misguided ways. No holleration or hateration, just trying to keep it real for ya.

Many Progressionists advocate progressions claiming that an advantage can be gained by using one. The Progressions Zone used to have cyber slugfests over who had the best secret progression.

This site is about advantage play, and many here are concerned about possibly misleading newcomers of the site and also being associated with a site that would do so.

Your initial post just brought in progressions as if it were an acceptable means to advantage play. Your post above gives indication that a progression could work for you in the long run. It might work for you in the short run, but not the long run.

Perhaps it would have been better if you had started your post with, "I know that progressions are not accepted as advantage play".

Expecting nobody to challenge your cavalier acceptance of progressions here is not fair to advantage players and the newcomers. It's also unrealistic.

I hope you win a million, though.

You wrote: "Your initial post just brought in progressions as if it were an acceptable means to advantage play."

Nowhere did I make such a claim. The purpose of my post was to share with a group of BJ players a very interesting and memorable hand. I had no hidden agenda, or any agenda, for that matter.

I do not advocate progressions for anyone but me. I like playing that way. If I am not going to count cards, I need some variation to take away the boredom of flat betting. So, the progression I play makes it exciting for me.

I hope you fully use Basic Strategy with your progression. That way, you can play with a tiny disadvantage against the house and enjoy the excitement of moving your bets up and down.

Sincere best wishes for your enjoyment of the game.

Peace.