I can’t stand most of the “non-traditional” Blackjack variations that casinos have been pushing non-stop for several years now. Stay away from “6 to 5” games, Continuous Shuffling Machines, and “speed Blackjack” games of all kinds…
So, I’m playing real Blackjack in a casino – it is 6-deck, but the dealer stands on all 17’s, Double Down on any 2 cards is allowed, etc. It could have been worse. On this particular day, I am playing at a $25 table, but I made sure to start with a sufficient bankroll. I am keeping track of the cards and following the low-risk progression method described in Pocket Guide to Winning Blackjack.
The streaks of wins and losses are grouped somewhat, with very little “choppiness”. By maintaining minimum bets at the start of each shoe, and after each loss, my exposure is minimized. By increasing my bets after a win (within reason), and following Basic Strategy, as well as keeping track of the disproportion of high cards versus low cards remaining to be dealt, I was in an excellent position to take advantage of the winning streaks and excellent composition.
Although my risk of losing was minimized, I was able to take advantage of the positive conditions. It took about 40 minutes to make a $2,200.00 profit and walk away satisfied. This is a rare occurrence, but it was nice.
The lesson here is to play smart, know your strategy, know when to walk away (whether winning or losing), and apply proper money management based on the table limit you choose to play at and the betting spread you intend to use.
More Blackjack Winning
I can’t stand having to travel huge distances just to find what I consider to be a fair Blackjack game. But sometimes it is necessary if finding these “subtle” rule variations is important to you and will have a significant probability of influencing the outcome and potential profit.
Not too long ago, I drive myself about 2 hours (each way, as I did on a regular basis at that time) to a casino on a Native reserve. There is a casino that is much “nicer” and bigger much closer to my home, but the rule variations affect the odds. I figure in this case the drive, cost of gas and extra time are worth it for the better odds.
I was prepared, with a sufficient bankroll, to play for probably 8 to 12 hours in order to secure my goal (I thought about $500 to $1000 would be a good goal considering I would play at a $10 table, and maybe play some Poker).
The end result was that by playing smart, taking advantage of excellent deck composition, great winning streaks and increasing my bets during these streaks, I was ahead by about $1,700.00 after only 30 minutes. I didn’t feel like sticking around and risking giving any of it back – I just wanted to take the money and have some free time for a few hours.
So, back in the car I went to drive home at 12:30 in the afternoon. Four hours of traveling for 30 minutes of Blackjack play. But it was well worth it!
The lesson here is, “When you are winning, you are NOT playing with the Casino’s money – you are playing with YOUR money”. Feel free to put your money in your pocket and leave the casino with it!
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