It's a given that whenever you go play blackjack, there will be fluctuations in your bank roll despite the fact that in the long run, you lose all your money.

If you start with 10 chips, I want to know what the chance of getting to 11 chips is before running out of money.  Note this is with a 2 deck show.

Obviously, this chance should be pretty high.  If you place relatively large bets, it should be worth it to walk away whenever you get +1 chip right?

ETA:  Bet 1 chip at a time and play basic strategy.  The theoretical house edge is actually negative if you play 2 card decks and dealer stands on soft 17.

Depends upon how many chips you play and your skill level.





It is pretty easy to lose all 10 chips in the first hand.





 

I have a rule that has served me well when playing black jack, and I am pretty good too, NEVER EVER hit on 12, no good will come of it. Live by it.

I did it once for grins and the guy next to me got up and left fuming.

It hasn't served you as well as hitting against a dealers 7,8,9,10s and A.  Simple arithmetic.

I took the wife to Vegas for a week. Airfare from Seatle, WA, rental car, nice hotel, all the food, gambling and shows every night and I won so much money the entire week cost me $46.

I thought he was joking, since the "never bust" strategy gives the house a 15%-20% edge,



 

You hit a 12 once if the dealer is showing a 2 or 3.  You hit until you have 17 or better (stop at 17 if you hit it) if the dealer is showing a 7, 8, 9, 10, face card or ace.





 

The house wins. You're wagering 10 to win 1.

The above is true.  I know a GA Tech grad. Poker player.  Smart guy....seemingly.  Won't hit 16 no matter what the dealer shows!  Idiot.

Your fancy math has nothing on my experience.

Hit on 11 or 13 but NEVER 12.

My record is 16 lost hands in a row. They were $25+ dollar hands.

to the OP,
Your best bet is to take all your money and call escorts. Thats the only kind of luck you'll getin Vegas.

Never mind

Been drinking tonight but if I am reading this right you are saying this is with a 2 card deck, not a 2 deck shoe?  If that is the case the odds are 100% you will never finish the first hand.



I used to be an online blackjack bonus whore and there is a reason you are not going to find casinos offering versions of Blackjack with 2 or 4 deck shoes with the house odds actually stacked against them.  If you know of such a place good luck trying to make some money before being tossed.

If people would stop quoting me, I could have gotten away with it!

I won $1200 on a $5 table. I always double down, if you do it's not the number of times you win, it's the amount you win vs lose. If you lose $5 bet $10, if you lose $10 bet $20 and so on, so that when you do win, you win $5 more than you lost. I bet $640 twice that night, so when I won on $640 I really was only winning $5 plus the money I lost back. I was playing 6 deck BlackJack, dealer odds to bust are 1 in every 5 hands, I could double down 7 times before I reach table limit. When you win, you start over with $5 again. Other time I lost $250 in less than 10 mins that way too......soooo
ETA I also knew this guy that would go to the Boat everyday, that he worked for lunch and win $25 on the BlackJack table and come back to work. Extra $125 a week, and free lunch.

Always play SINGLE DECK

Lowest I've ever seen is 2 decks...

That can work, until like I stated above, you get on a losing streak and loose 16 hands in a row.

ETA: You can also do that on the craps table playing the field, or mini baccarat, roulette with red/black.

There is single deck at Slots of Fun infront of Circus Circus.

The system you cite is called 'negative progression'; starting with a small bet and doubling the wager when you lose.

Again, the advantage is with the house. You are eventually betting $640 to win $5! Also, you need to have at least a $1275 bankroll to weather this storm. Like you said, there is a table max bet. It's usually $1000 unless you're in a high-limit pit.



When I see someone using the negative progression scheme, I just smile and accomodate their needs. They won't be there for long anyway.

AKA Martingale or double up. Nothing funnier than someone playing it, and of course, they get their money back after 2/3/4 doubles and then have even more confidence in it.





 

I was playing $5 single deck at the Mirage last month. I was walking back to my room at 3AM and saw the table and went when I saw it. I sat down and played an about 2 hours and turned $20 into $200.

There is a very good reason why the house hits on 15 and stands on 16. It has to do with the large pile of money they've got stashed in the basement.

I don't know why, but I thought the title said "blackbelt jacking" at first.

The first, and so far only, time I went to Vegas was with a couple of cousins of mine. One cousin was a seasoned gambler. Myself and the other cousin were Vegas newbs and gambling newbs too. After playing a while I started getting the hang of it but my other cousin wasn't doing so hot. Anyway, at one point we were dealt our cards and my newb cousin got 2 queens. Or course a normal person would stand on those but before we could tell him he said split them. We just looked at him like, "You dumbass!!".

The dealer then dealt him 2 aces to go with the queens. Lucky bastard!

Single deck $5 table!? I'd be all over that like white on rice on a paper plate with milk in a snowstorm!

First timers amaze me. I tend to keep upping the bet as I win a few hands...if nothing else it keeps me at the table longer Buddy of mine, first time at blackjack table, won a couple hundred betting $5 at a time. Never increased his bets...despite no shit winning 10+ hands in a row. Not having a clue when to hit, stand, etc.



I hate and love blackjack...I usually just set a loss limit and enjoy myself.



 

That's how I bet. I've only played a few times, but I came out ahead each time. Tonight was rough though... I hit table max and lost within 20 minutes, 30min later hit table max again and split aces to win both, and an hour later hit tble max and was lucky enough to hit blackjack.  I called it quits after thst, walked away from a$ 3 table with an extra $200+. You can lose a lot this way, but it also seems like the only way to win.

It's risky, but

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Well, you have about a 43% chance of winning on the first hand, so your probability of being up one unit should be better than that. There are an infinite number of ways to get to +1 so I am not going to mess with the math for that.  



If you truly have an edge over the house with two decks and no hit soft 17 then you should play as long as you can with bets sized proportional to your edge and bankroll.



In the case where you are at a small disadvantage to the house, you will double your bankroll to 20 before you go broke ~45% of the time betting 1 unit.  



If you were to follow one posters advice and continually double your bet (when you are at a small disadvantage), say you had a bankroll of 31 (to make the math easier), about 96.7% of the time you would win 1 unit.  The other 3.3% of the time you would lose all 31 units.  Your most frequent result would be +1 but your average result would be negative.

I do pretty good with those single deck video blackjack games.



I use those to finance a bankroll for roulette and poker.

Here's an idea: Why don't you give me half the money you were gonna to bet, then we'll go out back, I'll kick you in the nuts, and we'll call it a day!





 

Yep.





Using a MINIMUM $1,200 bankroll just to have a decent shot at winning a net $5.





And THAT'S why there's so many Blackjack tables at every casino in Vegas - because there's just so many systems that work so well!
 

Martingale + counting + doubling and splitting every chance you get will piss everyone off, but I've done ok with it.



You'll get called out for doubling 12s, but they won't throw you off if you don't do it too much.  It looks like you're just playing like a drunk.



"YOU TOOK MY CARD!! !!" guys really amuse me

No.

My favorite casino strategy I've ever heard is the "Roulette Hawk" strategy.  I've used it and it's fun.

Here's how it works:
When entering the casino, acquire several $20 chips.  Let's say ten chips for $200.  Put them in your pocket and do not touch them.  Fully expect to lose them all.  Find a roulette table with a medium amount of people.

1) Watch the table.  Watch it for a long time.  Don't take a seat, just stand there and look over shoulders.  Don't bet.  Any time the waitress comes around, get a drink.  I take "vodka, rocks, lemon."
2) When you get a "feel" for the table, start mentally calling red v. black, looking for numbers to come up, etc.
3) If they change personnel, leave the table or else spend a few rolls to reacquire your "feel."
4) With just the right amount of alcohol and some time, you'll eventually slip into "the zone."  You'll feel like you can make a ridiculous bet with confidence.
5) Bet on the zeroes.  "0,00"  That white bar right between the green numbers.  With a single $20 chip.  Place no other bets.

Now at this point, a few things will be happening in the minds of your fellow gamblers.  
The "experienced" ones will immediately think you're an idiot.  They bet with a "system," after all, and you apparently have none.  Moreover, nobody ever bets on zeroes, it's "bad luck" or somesuch horseshit.  The zeroes are just there to give the house an edge, right?
The inexperienced gamblers will think "maybe he knows something I don't know."
Some will be oblivious.
Some won't notice or care.

Zeroes are a 2 in 38 chance of winning, and it pays 16x + x your original bet.  With a $20 chip, that's $340 back, or $320 profit.

The actual odds of you winning are low and the actual payout is less than the odds (naturally).  However, it's as smart a bet as anything else on the table (since you're not "betting against yourself") and it's the best risk vs. reward in the casino (and in fact, any single chip placed on a roulette table is as well).  Unless there's some really loose slots, which there never are.

The brilliance with this "strategy" lies in the head games you play with the other gamblers.

If you win you rake in a serious pile of cash.  It also probably means everyone else at the table has lost since few people play zeroes.  That means all eyes are on you as you attempt to cram a bunch of chips into your pockets.

Make sure you drop a chip or two onto the floor.  Play up the amateur thing.

Then stand there with another chip in your hand, rubbing it furiously.  I mean, wear the finish off the top of that thing.  And then, when the time is right, place the bet on zeroes again.  Meanwhile, you should be drinking as much free booze as your stomach can hold and looking as amateurish as possible.

If at any time you lose more than 2 or 3 in a row, walk away from the table, go cool off and wait for the gamblers to change out.  Then return.

The idea is, if you win, especially twice or more, you look like some roulette savant.  If you lose, nobody notices.


Personally, I take the first winnings (if I win), and sequester the whole thing back away.  If I walk in with $200 and walk out with $320, I'm very happy with that.  I'll go buy myself another Benchmade or something.  And if I lose it all, so what.  I'm not there to win money.

But the mental game of trying to guess when the wheel will hit zeroes (and it eventually will, you're just trying to guess the right spin) is entertaining to me and when it works, everyone at the table looks at you like, "Who the fuck is this guy?!" and I love that feeling.  

What house does that?





I need to go play there pronto before they go bankrupt.





 

Holy Shit.
OP just educate yourself on the actual odds of the game you are playing.
Here:



http://wizardofodds.com/
For Black Jack you WILL need to learn basic strategy to get the odds for whatever type of game you are playing.



Single deck, 3:2 w/o any BS rules will get you close to 1.5% house edge w/ basic strategy...IF you bet every hand correctly
Ever wonder why there are SO many BJ tables at a casino as compared to other games?



Because every Tom, Dick, and Harry thinks they have a good strategy... Casino's love it.
Personally I like games w/ a low house edge that don't require me to memorize charts, so I stick to mini bac and craps.



I seldom walk away down from a baccarat table...
YMMV.
Speed


 

"Back for more, greaseball?"

"It's Griswold."

"Whatever. Changing $500!"

Electronic card shufflers are the devil.  I wont gamble at any table tat has em.


Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

You will always get fucked flat betting, the odd are not in your favor at any game. When luck is on your side, stick another chip out there, it's the only way to have an edge on the house (and you'll still lose most of the time)

I'm not trying to be a dick, but $20 chips are almost unheard of at most casinos; they typically go from $5 chips to $25 chips.



Also, roulette is one of the few games where you are NOT allowed to hang around the table w/o betting They will ask you to walk away or play.



On top of that, waitresses aren't going to bring you drinks unless you are at a table/machine playing
If someone actually tried to follow your advise in that post they would find themselves looking pretty silly.
Speed
 

Yep, that site actually says that the house advantage is NEGATIVE (with shuffling every hand) if you play a 2 card deck allowing 4 splits, doubling, etc and dealer stands on soft 17.

I haven't seen any baccarat tables in Shreveport so I've never played that.

It's a great site there is some video poker w/a negative house edge as well

The issue is...Finding those games, lol.



There is a husband/wife team who retired and play FP Dueces Wild video poker for a living in Vegas

They only make about $10k/year at it, but they are comped on meals, shows, hotel rooms, etc...for life.



Mini bac is usually w/ the asian games like pai gow, tucked behind some craps tables...you really have to dig for it at a lot of places.

I love it, but i am a fiercely conservative gambler and don't drink, so I just stick to my betting strategy and bet on house every hand(1, 2, 1, 3)

...that's pretty boring for most people, but I enjoy playing the odds, hitting a nice run and taking my $200 or whatever and getting a meal and a cigar

Worst case scenario I lose $20 or so. (most I've ever walked way down from a bac table was $25. It was a $15 table, so i was betting a max of $45...I played for 2 hours on bank like that)
Speed



 

Does this husband/wife team collect welfare since their income is <$20,000?  

Long day yesterday.

You're really playing up the "amateur thing" with a strategy like that.





Just sayin'.





Among the worst odds in all of Vegas are at Roulette betting on numbers, even a single bet split between two.





You do realize there is nothing special about splitting 0/00 don't you? It's the IDENTICAL bet as splitting 2/3 or 35/36 or any other split on the board.





And splitting a bet between two numbers (even that "super-special" 0/00) is NOT "as smart a bet as anything else on the table" - the even money bets are the best odds.





Yours is the second WORST bet you can make, the difference between the odds and the payout is the largest in the house's favor (except for the single-number bet).
Stuff like this is why casinos give a way "free" rooms and meals. But hey, it's your money. I'm just trying to clarify that your bets are not as good or special as you're saying they are.
 

Lol, i'm guessing they have pensions/SSI as well





I'm trying to find the article where they interviewed the wife...here is one, but it's not the people I was referring to:


http://www.readybetgo.com/video-poker/strategy/video-poker-pro-507.html





I'll keep digging.





ETA: Here it is

http://www.readybetgo.com/casino-gambling/strategy/jean-scott-frugal-2676.html
Speed





 

make sure and double down and always split, that's how you make real money, like if you split some 10s and double down you will totally rape the casino.
oh yea when you play craps be sure and play the field and had 10, and all the other stuff in the middle, the rest is sucker bets.

This is just about the only post people should pay attention to in this thread if they want good advice.

My #1 rule playing blackjack is don't take any advice anyone gives you about how to play.  99% chance it's wrong.

People a lot smarter than you have already figured out the math of what to do in every possible situation.  It's called "Basic Strategy" and in my opinion if you sit down at a Blackjack table without knowing it you're throwing away your money.

Some people don't care to learn correctly because it's too much work.  That's fine, but please don't give advice like you know what you're talking about.

This is coming from someone that used to gamble 6 hours a day 3-4 times a week as a hobby during college.

What he said!