Any consistently winning Blackjack players around???  Hints? tips? advice? please!!!!!!!

Join the MIT Blackjack team?

ALWAYS double down, never join in on a new shoe.

Outside of basic strategy you can read anywhere... learn to count cards.

Don't fuck up.

don't play 15 deck shoe blackjack games, Try and be in a position on the dealers right so you get to see the cards coming out, Double down as much as possible.

Supposedly Blackjack in the one games where the odds can be turned against the casino, but I assume this is done by learning to count cards?

Also, I have been told that casinos forbid counting cards, but how the hell would they know if you were or not?

I once knew I guy who totally kicked ass at Blackjack and many other games.  He was a 36 year old unmarried computer programmer who would spend months studying books on assorted games and never went into the casino until he had it all memorized.  He'd walk into a casino with $500 in his pocket and the least I ever heard of him walking out with is $3000.  He once walked out with $8000 from playing video poker of all things.  

But for all that intelligence, he was an idiot.  He'd come back home and spend it all on crap like lottery tickets.  Actual net income from games of chance = $0.  

Quoted: Supposedly Blackjack in the one games where the odds can be turned against the casino, but I assume this is done by learning to count cards?

You can't turn the odds against the casino, but they are least against the player of all games.

Played it abit not for big money, sometimes came out aehad, sometimes down

You want to press your bet. On a ten dollar hand, if you win and let it ride 3 times you make 80 bucks. So if you go to the table with $100 and can pull it three times from your starting funds, you will have $240 from your original hundred. If you're on a roll it's not all that hard to make a couple grand in a few hours.

Some people will try to roll it eleven times on a five dollar bet, which comes up to like $10,300 if you can pull it off. If you're in vegas you also have the "right" to request a private table with no limits, which is what you'll have to do if you're going to press your bet 11 times.

You can turn the odds in your favor by a small percentage by playing basic strategy and counting cards.  In Atlantic City its legal to count cards, but Las Vegas casino's frown upon it and subsequently have you blackballed from most if not all the casinos there.  Double and single decks are easier to count than a 6 deck shoe.  Dont play at a table that pays 6:5 on a blackjack.  Find a 3:2 table.  Much better payouts when you do hit it.  Tables that pay 6:5 on blackjacks generally pay out less as a general rule.  Dont play any of the side bets, they're sucker bets.

Just play basic strategy, when you're winning...recognize and capitalize.  I cant stress that enough.  Most people think 'I'm winning...but my luck is about to change'  Bet high til you lose..then feel out how its going again.  I shit you not, in Tunica, MS at the Sherton I played at a table where we lost the first and last hand out of the shoe.  That was probably the most notable experience of my gambling career.  Everyone at the table walked away with a few thousand dollars.
Always hit a 12 against a 2.  When you're losing...dont bet as much.  The house will always win if you dont up the stakes when you're winning.  The best way to get better is to learn the basics and start playing.  You dont have to start with $25 dollar hands.  $3 tables are a good way to get your feet wet.

Bet one for bad, two for good.

80 or 90% of house take comes from the slots on average!!!!!!  Never, I repeat Never, play the slots!!!!!  Single deck blackjack is the best odds in any casino and house advantage is still 1.5 / 1 !!!!!!
Slot machines are random number generaters designed to take your money.  tHEIR IS NO COUNTING TECHNIQUE OR PROBABILITY CHART TO BEAT A SLOT MACHINE   Anyone tells you they win consistently on slots they are UTTERLY FULL OF SHIT!!!!!!!

Quoted: Supposedly Blackjack in the one games where the odds can be turned against the casino, but I assume this is done by learning to count cards? Also, I have been told that casinos forbid counting cards, but how the hell would they know if you were or not?

They for sure don't like it.

In Vegas, if you are spotted counting cards and making a large profit.. you'll get kicked out, blacklisted, etc.    In Atlantic City... I don't think they are allowed to kick you out over it.  I've heard they will just distract you to no end to mess up your count.

They'll know if you're plainly obvious about it.  Staring at every card, taking forever to do anything, etc.

Find a 2 deck game.  2 decks is almost ideal in terms of deck penetration.

Quoted: Anyone tells you they win consistently on slots they are UTTERLY FULL OF SHIT!!!!!!!

That's not neccesarrily true. Casinos also do marketing. There are certain machines that only pay out big and certain machines that pay a small progressive at almost the same dollar amount every single day. That's generally right around $1,150 as it saves filling out tax forms. It draws people into the bigger money makers for the house. I lived in (as in a inhabited) a casino for 4 months. I saw it day after day in the same place. In four months only one machine that was not in the given category of "winning machines" actually paid. I've won literally tens of thousands of dollars on one specific type of machine consistanly for the last six years. That said, almost all the rest are for suckers. I used to have a system that included almost strictly machines. There were many nights I won 2 or 3 grand from a $5 starting point. I'm not going to discuss all the specifics in public, but any time you want to meet me at a casino I'd be glad to demonstrate my technique for you. I can promise after you've seen it you won't make the above statement again.

Quoted: Quoted: Supposedly Blackjack in the one games where the odds can be turned against the casino, but I assume this is done by learning to count cards? You can't turn the odds against the casino, but they are least against the player of all games.

Nonsense.  Casinos often offer games that are beatable, especially blackjack.  The problem is, if they notice that you are playing a winning strategy, they will throw you out and sometimes permanently ban you.

Basic strategy is easy and will at least keep your losses to a minimum, but it's no fun to play like a robot, and that's all you are.  Really, you have a choice:  be a losing player and enjoy losing money, or learn to count cards and play the "spy game" of avoiding detection while cleaning their clocks.

If you want to relax and lose money, you'll be made more than welcome at any casino on the planet.

If you want to learn about how to play for real, go to the forum at  http://www.bj21.com/ and do a bunch of reading and practicing.  Tell 'em Rosemary says hi.

Hmm.  What other games are beatable?  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The problem is, if they notice that you are playing a winning strategy, they will throw you out and sometimes permanently ban you.

It's true. After four months I got a little bold and they axed me quick. I think they could tolerate my small time winning but I got stupid and made a show of teaching a few other folks how. That's when I politely got welcomed to leave and not come back.

On the bright side it wasn't really any fun any more. Glad I moved away from a place where gambling all the time was the norm.

Quoted: Hmm.  What other games are beatable?

Video poker is probably the most common.  Some machines are net-positive with the correct playing strategy, others are net-positive only if the casino gives enough of a cash-back bonus.  You must be very careful as to which machines you play, because the casinos program the machines with different payout schedules.  http://www.jazbo.com/ has some of the basics.

There were a few "progressive jackpot" slot machines which were beatable a few years ago, but the casinos tore them out as soon as they figured out that the machines were beatable.  Still, these are something to watch for from time to time.

Occasionally, casinos make mistakes in calculating odds;  there was a roulette variant called something like sic-bo which was popular a few years ago, on which they had listed the wrong payout for one of the bets.  People who carefully checked the odds made a killing at it for a few weeks until the casinos figured it out.

Otherwise, typically, it's promotions that the casinos offer, like slips for free bets, free double-downs, and so on.  A former coconspirator is a professional gambler in LV nowadays, and makes his living by clipping coupons from the freebie magazines that the casinos dump on residents' doorsteps.

There is quite a bit of discussion on the pay boards at bj21.com if you really want to learn.  Even the free board sometimes has clues.

Counting cards isnt all that usefull since the dealer only hands out half the shoe anyways. If you think that there is any way to tilt the odds away from the Casino i want you to try a little excercise:

Stand outside of Ceasars Palace (or any big Vegas Casino) and just look at it. Then realize that the guy who built that building payed it off and is now a right man, just like EVERY OTHER casino owner out there. Guys who build casinos arent gambling, they are playing the ONLY sure thing in the entire gaming world, the house ALWAYS wins. I've spent half my life playing blackjack for fun, if you play all the rules perfectly you can get pretty close to even odds but, thats the best your going to do (unles your Rainman).

Think about it, if there was a way to beat the house in Blackjack they wouldnt be offering the game.

actually, all casino games are in favor of the house. there are games that will reduce the advantage the house has when you calculate the payoff or occurence odds. blackjack and craps are the best ones. people will say differently, but most agree on 1-2% in blackjack to the house if you play by-the-book tight. someone mentioned roulette, but roulette is one of the worst. i'll have to dig up the numbers, but i think the advantage to the house is 11-12%

as far as blackjack goes, stick with one deck if possible. no more than two if you're frisky. shoes are worse since it's near impossible - i say near only to separate rainman -  to count. the thing casinos do is cut deeper and deeper into the six-deck stack as the years pass, therefore eliminating more and more of the plus tens and aces from getting out to the players.

as far as getting kicked out of casinos, they can do anything they want since they're considered private clubs. if you play aberrantly it'll raise eyebrows since the dealers and bosses know how the game should be played. don't worry if you win a couple of crazy plays, they'll look but can soon determine if you're counting.

as far as getting kicked out for winning big legitimately, i've never seen that in either vegas or atlantic city in nearly twenty years of going(mostly vegas). it doesn't make sense since a winner draws other gamblers, but casinos write their own rules.

personally, i think on the seventh day god created craps and cocktail waitresses. poker is the best game invented by man.

folks get intimidated by craps because of the layout, but if you read a good book or go with someone who really knows the game - not someone who makes loud exotic bets because it makes them sound knowledgeable - and can explain the basics you can easily see the simple symmetry of the payoffs - between the place and come for example - and the odds of each number coming up, and the game is much more understandable.

out of 36 possible combinations on each roll of two dice, the numbers break down like this:
2: 1-1                                       one combination
3: 1-2, 2-1                                two combinations
4: 1-3, 3-1, 2-2                         three combinations
5: 3-2, 2-3, 4-1, 1-4                  four combinations
6: 5-1, 1-5, 2-4, 4-2, 3-3           five combinations
7: 6-1, 1-6, 2-5, 5-2, 4-3, 3-4    six combinations
8: 6-2, 2-6, 5-3, 3-5, 4-4           five combinations
9: 5-4, 4-5, 6-3, 3-6                  four combinations
10: 6-4, 4-6, 5-5                       three combinations
11: 6-5, 5-6                              two combinations
12: 6-6                                     one combination

see the symmetry? matching combinations pay the same. the main thing you have to memorize is the difference in payoffs between place and come bets so you can bet the proper amount and keep track of your winnings, but that isn't hard since the casinos have simplified the odds bet and the dealers will help you. remember to tip them or bet for them if they're a good crew. it doesn't take much and they'll look after you.

the last time i was in vegas was august. i was at the bellagio and a french guy came up and put $4000 on the field, a one-roll win or lose bet. he won and let the $8,000 ride. he won again and pulled back to $1000. he lost, but in the span of 45 seconds he made $15,000. that kind of luck makes people think it happens often and the casinos love that.

develop a good basic betting strategy based on your session-budget and layoff the prop bets and field unless you're frisky or drunk or way, way up. once the dice get to you, you'll never go back. there is no action like at the craps pit. it is both the cross-section of all human types and the roller-coaster of all emotions - from love and hate to joy and despair and everything in between.

sorry i digressed and got bloated with my post, but i truly believe that if we all rolled, there would be no liberals or conservatives, and we all can join in peace, love and harmony.

Blackjackinfo.com

all i used to play was blackjack, i got pretty good at counting card. you add +1 for any face card and -2 for any no-face card. when you get a + 4-6 in the deck you start laying bigger bets, thats when the deck is stacked more with face cards. when you get a +9 in the deck you better start betting the house. all i play is poker now, it has the slimest house odds out of them all. oh yeah and daily betting on sports, dont know who to go with tonight yet but i'll be taking someone.