Up until about a month ago I spent about 3-4 days a week in the casino playing blackjack for about a year. Sooo...
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Originally Posted by Barefootsies
Questions:
1. Do you believe it makes a difference how many players are at a table in regards to your chances, and cards?
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Yes, absolutely. I always pull back my bet when someone new sits down at a table. If they play stupid, I walk away. If they play smart I give it a couple hands to see how badly it affected the table. If the table is already cold I see if it helps. Sometimes it does, sometimes it makes it worse. But the number of players always affects the cards you're dealt. If there are two players + dealer I will sometimes play two hands if the table is really cold in order to switch things up. It only takes one player that doesn't know what they're doing to ruin it for everyone else, such as hitting a 16 when the dealer is showing a low card and pulling the dealers bust card. Just keep in mind that once you figure out what you're doing, you can suggest to other players what to do if they look unsure. That saved my ass a lot when I was learning how to play.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barefootsies
2. Do you believe that everyone must play their cards right (i.e. basic strategy), and that if others do not, it will ultimately effect your hand and money making over the long term?
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You just have to be smart and play how you play and play consistently. I always stay on my 6's no matter what a dealer is showing. I never split tens, I always double down on soft 15, split aces and 8s, basic strategy. I bought in with a couple hundo one time to test out a betting strategy where you would play simple strategy but bet 1x, 4x, 2x and 6x table minimum (assuming you continue winning hands, if you lose you start over) and I made good money doing that. If you win all 4 in a row you start over then even if you lose the next 6 hands you're still way ahead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barefootsies
3. Do you think that progressive betting is necessary to play blackjack? Or do you simply play optimum betting strategy over the long haul?
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This is where it varies, person to person or even visit to visit.
Me personally, I buy in small to each table (usually about 8x table minimum) and I will play the minimum until I have doubled my buy-in. Then I will start changing my bets according to how hot the table is. If my first four hands are losers I will simply get up and walk away and find another table with the same min. bet. If the table gets hot and people are playing consistently I will raise my bet. I played 9 straight hours about 2 months ago at a $100 min table, everytime I'd get back down to $100 I'd get back up to about a grand then go down and up and down and up. Normally when something like that happens I'll bet the min 4 times and walk away regardless of the outcome.
At the end of the day the dealer always wins, so keep track of how much you buy in to for the month vs how much you win. After a couple of months if you are up, keep playing how you have been. If you're in the red, either change up how you play or just stop. Try to keep emotions out of it, you will always lose hands and you will always win hands, it's just a matter of being a consistent player and not changing your technique because you have a bad feeling or you think you should. If you're consistent and lose, chances are you would have lost that hand anyway. Can't tell you how many times I have "thought" I should hit a 16 then did and I busted and I pulled the dealers bust card and they hit a 21 ruining it for the whole table.