The End of a Nice Run

This is my first post here although I've been reading this board for a while. It's very interesting and full of good info. I would consider myself a serious BS recreational player. I still can't count well enough in a casino to use it, so all I have is BS and hunches for bet variation! I can see those eyeballs rolling now!

The past 4 weeks I guess you could say I was spoiled. A month ago I went to Vegas on my vacation and managed to win $1240 over a 4-day period. I played $5 tables, 1-6 bet spread, both 6-deck and continuous shuffle...more eyeballs rolling I'm sure! It was amazing, I was winning good chunks of money every day with little money. That weekend, I tried an Indian casino after I returned from Vegas and made $200.

Then, 2 weekends ago I tried another Indian casino and won $1175 in 2 days. I was shocked, I couldn't believe it! That Saturday, I won $750 in about 4.5 hours with $100. On Sunday, I went back and profited another $425 using $200. I played $10 tables, 6-deck and continuous shuffle, with a 1-3 spread. I returned there last Saturday and won $625 with $100. I was feeling pretty good, but from then on it was all downhill!

I just had to go back last Sunday, and lost the $625 I won on the previous day plus another $75. I went yet again the next day and lost another $150. Some of you may think that's not much, but I'm a small-time gambler plus I really hate giving back money I won.

One of the dealers told me something very interesting. I don't know how true it is, but as I was grumbling out loud about how lucky her cards were, she said one guy came to her table with only $50 and left later with over 6 grand! She complained that he gave every player at the table a green chip but only a $5 tip for her!

I read Ed Silberstang's blackjack book and tried it when I was at downtown Las Vegas, but converting to a true count was too difficult...I was still having a hard enough time keeping a RC and that was with single-deck! I really like K-O Blackjack and think that's for me so I've been practicing hard. I like the Fab Fives in particular, it seems easier than the preferred method.

That's nothing..I went to Atlantic City in a $3,000 car once and rode home in a $140,000 bus.

So you pawned your car and took the Greyhound home huh? I know making money at BJ is a grind for the most part, with its ups and downs but I don't think I could handle losses like that. I have a limited bankroll so if I lose what I take with me, I just leave and try again next time. Even that can add up though.

a dealer ( whom I am quite friendly with ) tell me about a woman who was a high roller 'way back when' at the DI, who had been down on her luck all night and was down to her last $12.50 from a $25k credit line. Anyway the story goes that by the end of the night she had paid back the markers and had 15K to go home with.

As I say I have no reason to disbeleive the dealer, why would he lie ?

I do hope its true.

..any counting system is better then just BS. While you are learning KO, if you are still going to play, I would pick up an easier count so that at least you are even money or a little better with the casino. The A-5 count for example, which is an extremely simplified count (I havent done too much research on it myself but I think you just count the Aces/fives..hence the name) will bring you just favorable, maybe by one or two tenths of a point, but that is still better then playing BS while waiting for your KO to improve..
Other then that, what you are experiencing is normal standard deviation, if you are serious about learning a count, get used to it:)

D

ALL the time. So many people play BJ. A very small % of them get down to their last few dollars and come back to make it big. It has actually happened to me twice.

The dealer seemed honest and I doubt she would lie about it, but it's so amazing. I asked her how he was betting and she said as he was building up his chips, he got more aggressive...pretty obvious but she didn't get into more detail about his max bets, etc.

I don't really think KO is that difficult, I guess negative numbers throw me off a little (especially with 6-deck) but using the number line helps me picture things without having to think "negative" each time I'm in the red. I still can't crack the 30 second mark for counting down a deck...it's not easy! I'll look into the A-5 method though, thanks.

I took another beating today, losing $400. The past 3 visits have been extremely tough, with dealers making crazy hands out of the few junkers they got. I can count on both hands how many times the dealers busted today! I've been getting many lousy hands lately and my double-downs and splits rarely seem to work. I think I'll play a lot less of the continuous shufflers although it doesn't seem to matter, they lay down the smack either way! Oh well, I guess I'm getting the other side of that luck now.

I'm going to practice like mad this week and go back again next Friday/Saturday. I should be good enough at KO rookie at least to use it by then. They gave me a comp for a room so I'm going to take them up on it...hopefully it doesn't turn into a very expensive night's stay.

I read something interesting in Lance Humble's blackjack book, about a $200 bankroll being sufficient. He said he once turned $200 into over 80 grand. On days like these, $200 will be gone in a flash. I think I'll use that number from now on though, because of my limited funds and to cut losses.

Also, he seems to have a crazy fixation on dealers, saying that was his most important chapter! He says to stay away from older dealers because those are the ones who will really beat you up, with studies to back it up. The younger, nice-looking ones are the ones to play with! That's just crazy. He also seems to have a lot of paranoia, founded or not, about dealers cheating.

Most gamblers naturally use progression techniques as they win. They usually lose the money they come with before they get up much but occasionally they are able to build a few thousand from a few hundred. Once they have a few thousand they continue to raise their bets until they are finally betting the table max. Most of these poor souls lose the money before they head home but occasionally they leave up well over 10K. Then they just come back the next day or weekend and lose it back to the casino. This happens at every casino to at least one person almost daily. It is simply the statistics of the game. Every dealer has some very strange and some very amazing stories.

I personally watched a 22 year old buy in with three hundred and build it up to over 43K. He eventually left the casino without a dime in his pocket.

and adjust the other #s accordingly & you won't have to face negative #s

That's amazing, turning $300 into $43K. I can't believe he didn't put a limit on his losses, even leaving with half of that would've been a tremendous win.

Before I knew better, I bought Donald Dahl's worthless progressions book and never won with it. After a few losing sessions I realized this wasn't going to work. I was basically relying on lucky streaks, on good shoes to win.

It is an excellent book, a must read without a doubt. However, in the world of blackjack literature, it is more of a history book then anything. Along with Thorp and even some of the old Scarne stuff, it definitely helps to paint the timeline of card counting, and at least for me, helped cement the big picture. Humble is perpetually paranoid, and the bankroll recomendations are for a game and limits that are just not available today. It is excellent reading but my rule of thumb is to not follow any charts or bankroll recomendations over ten years old, preferably five or less...(even though there are some books out there more then ten years old with remarkably accurate information)..

D

in 6 deck
IRC 10
Key 26
Pivot34
Insurance 33

I might have to experiment with different customized counts before I settle on one. I will definitely keep your #s in mind.

So far, I'm leaning towards the "Fab Fives" count:
IRC -3
INS +20
PP +21
KC +15

I like this count because I won't have to deal with negative and relatively high numbers much.

by adjusting the irc for various # of decks, insurance is constant at 33