card counting

[jordiepop]

is card counting really worth it. It seems like you have to put ALOT of time into it and it only gives you a very small edge over the house. I would think a poker player would do better investing that time in his poker game as opposed to counting cards??

[Edenfield99]

To be good enough to earn money consistantly at most games (backgammon, poker, blackjack, gin, etc) takes time, I guess it's a case of whatever you enjoy and you want to put your time into.
If your spending a lot of time investing into your poker game and you're winning then stick to that.

[jba]

the earn : bankroll ratio is much higher in poker than blackjack, so it really only makes sense if you enjoy it or the comps make your life easier, IMHO.

it's tons easier than poker though.

[ghollywood57]

if you can find good blackjack games and you like being constantly under heat,risking being barred plus that you are good enough to play a winning game under almost any circumstances, maybe you can go on with BJ,no matter the effort needed.on the other side almost no body has no problem with a winning poker player.you can concentrated on your game,walk away with your winnings and be a hero.especially if you are a regular in a casino or cardroom.

[AlienBoy]

The only people I know that do this professionally (for a living) are in teams.

Personally I think poker is easier and more enjoyable. I think counting is a grind. You can get a better advantage precision shooting craps.

AB

[charlie_t_jr]

Blackjack is definitely beatable and it can be very enjoyable...personal tast...playing poker can be quite a grind as well.

Most people over exaggerate the "heat" factor you get from a casino. Now if you are playing a winning game you will get heat, but most likely it will be in the form of what's called a "back-off"...NOT barring. If you're not a high roller, I wouldn't even worry about it. The trick is not to camp out at one table.

If you're prone to tilt...get those Ace's cracked by J8off and steam off a bunch of bets...stay away from BJ. The variance is a killer.

[AlienBoy]

That's just it - BJ variance seems pretty great.

Personally I don't find poker a grind - I like playing mind games with people. Personal taste is all.

AB

[ghollywood57]

I would like very much to play BJ,if a good game was available.unfortunatelly all the casinos that I can reach use card shufflers.
So you can rely only in private games which are very rare

[AlienBoy]

Continuous shufflers can't be beat. But if decks are shuffled and then put in a shoe, you can count as long as you get decent penetration into me deck.

AB

[binions]

For the casual player, I think a spread betting method using an Ace-5 count is fairly easy to keep track of, and reduces the house advantage to virtually nil given basic strategy.