The worst sessions

I need the pros to tell me about their worst sessions. I dropped around 40 units in 5 hours. This would be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that it wasn't from losing high count bets. This was mainly 1 unit or less than 1 unit bets that did this. I'm sure there's much, much worse out there since I've only been at this for just less than 10 months. I think this falls around the 2% range of happening. I need a breath of foul air to share in misery.

Quick check please: 5 hour x 60 (ish) hands/hr = 300 hands.

sqrt -> 16 ish

2.5 standard deviations down.

To describe this session in words, the feelings I had before I figured the odds of it happening:

It felt like not taking insurance was a bad move and when he didn't have it, that was the shocker. (No, I didn't take insurance on the low counts, it just felt that way)

Seeing the dealer hit to 21 was normal. New players complaining about it seemed out of place.

Hitting yourself up to 20 doesn't feel satisfying anymore because you KNOW it's not enough.

Getting a blackjack would nearly gives you a heart attack, if it wasn't for the fact that it was a table minimum one.

The only time you get a chance to raise your bet to a good amount, you get a 20 to have the dealer get a blackjack. The killer is, by this time, it doesn't shock you anymore.

the feature article in the current issue of BJF.

Don

unless they were cheating, which is rather unlikely.

Don't give credence to such silly notions as hot dealers and "hunches" and flowbie hocus pocus. You know better. Trust the math.

The challenge for me was totally ignoring the "hot dealer" thing. Less people at the table helps me through that. I actually got a heads-up game which is rare at my place.

I looked up BJF in Stanford's Glossary and saw that it was Arnold Snyder's Blackjack Forum. Sorry to bother you!

Evanar I feel your pain but remember that these things just happen. In the long run the counter has the advantage, but in the short run, anything goes. I am up 200 units since August, playing only about twice a month using Omega Advanced II. Even so, I have experienced terrible sessions in this time. I once played a 2 deck deal heads-up and lost every hand to the dealer by one. Neither one of us ever busted. I drew 17 the dealer drew 18. I drew 18 the dealer drew 19 and so on. These things happen, but counting will make you a long-term winner.