Blackjack Strategy

[WackityWhiz]

(CLIFF NOTES @ BOTTOM)

I've been a blackjack dealer for the last 4 months and I can tell you that this system is the worst. I can't tell you how many times I've run off 7 wins against someone without even batting an eye. This happens ALL the time. Lets say you are betting 5 a hand (standard bj minimum @ casinos) and you lose 7 in a row. 5 - 10 - 20 - 40 - 80 - 160 - 320... so on that eighth hand you are wagering $640 bucks to win $5. You are down $635 total in 7 hands and are one hand away from being down $1275.




IMO the following way is the way BJ should be played (from experience). lets say you sit down at a table and play 10 bucks a hand and go on a 7 hand losing streak. That is a 70 dollar loss. No need to panic because all you need is one good run and you are up.

Everytime you win, place an extra chip onto your bet. So if you win a 10 dollar bet, the next hand you are going to bet 15. Win that one and you will be betting 20, etc.

If you go on a 5 hand winning streak, here is what you should win:

Hand 1 : Bet 10 .. Win 10

Hand 2 : Bet 15 (put 5 back on your stack) .. Win 15

Hand 3 : Bet 20 (put 10 back on your stack) .. Win 20

Hand 4 : Bet 25 (put 15 back on your stack) .. Win 25

Hand 5 : Bet 30 (put 20 back on your stack) .. Win 30

OK... in 5 hands you have just turned 10 bucks into 110 (profiting 100 bucks). On the 6th hand, I usually bring it down to 25... if I win then I bring it down to 20 and if I keep winning, I just keep it at 20 bucks/hand.
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At this point I start to think that I'm due for a loss, so I bring my bet down 5 bucks a hand for 2 hands.

Hand 6: Bet 25 (put 35 back on your stack) .. Win 25

Hand 7: Bet 20 (put 30 back on your stack) .. Win 20

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I just keep it at 20 bucks/hand until I lose

Hand 8: 20 bucks (put 20 back on your stack) ... Lose

Ok, so you went on a 7 hand winning streak and turned 10 bucks into 135 (after the 8th hand loss). This is also the least aggressive way that you can play this system.

You can be more aggressive off the start and full press your $10 right away, then when you win the $20 bet you can take back 10 and be betting $30 bucks on your third hand.

Cliff Notes: When upping your bet, make sure you are using the casino's money, and not your own. IMO this is the best way to play blackjack.

[GTL]

the strategy above is just as flawed as any martingale system. Every bet has -EV. No batting strategy will allow you to beat the game. (Without counting of course).

[WackityWhiz]

[ QUOTE ]
the strategy above is just as flawed as any martingale system. Every bet has -EV. No batting strategy will allow you to beat the game. (Without counting of course).

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not designed to be a flawless system... but it's the best way to manage your money when playing blackjack. It will give you the most return on your money if you hit a hot streak, and will give you the least amount of loss when you hit a bad streak. The EXACT opposite is true for the Martingale.

It is a very profitable way to bet IMO, as it gives you a chance to make some real money. I see thousands of hands played out a day, trust me [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[MicroBob]

You're wrong.

What you're doing is pretty much the same as a martingale, just not as severe.

Lots of people believe in that stuff. That doesn't mena that it's correct. And your limited experience and selective memory of the times you saw it work great mean diddly to this discussion unfortunately.

Lots of dealers claim to know the best way to play just because they've been doing it for 10 years, 30 years, whatever.
But most do not.


If you aren't counting cards and want to play blackjack in a way that minimizes your losses then you need to bet the minimum on each hand.

Betting the 'house money' and stuff like that is really no different than all the other martingale stuff.

[Jeff_B]

In the orginal posted I noted the obvious flaw I was just thinking about it and figured there had to be some sort of simliar system...
I am just noting that I have played blackjack whenever bored for a while and well I have been winning recently.. using this method despite the flaws.

Anyone have comments on Wackitys system? it seems decent might be worth trying to see how it works

Like it has been said I understand there is no way for +ev on blackjack on the net (cant count) but I am curious about how some people do play the game and this system thus far has made me actually walk away from black jack with more money then I sat down with I have actually left with 5 times what I sit down with on multiple occasions
When I played blackjack in the past I would almost always lose


WackityWhiz your avatar is very distracting btw

[WackityWhiz]

Bob,

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I feel that progressive betting is a million times better than the martingale system. I understand that BJ can't be beaten with any specific betting strategy, but progressive betting gives you the best chance at a very profitable day IMO. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Jeff - If you press ESC my avatar will pose for you [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Photoc]

Just take your inital $10 bet and do this then:

10 wins, double to 20
20 wins double to 40
40 wins, keep same bet now 80 in your stack
40 wins, keep same bet, now 120 in your stack.

4 wins at you're at 120 risking $10. But the house edge is still the same, and you aren't going to change that.

It's all about the action baby!

[DpR]

Is there any more of an indisputable fact in the world that so many people refuse to understand or believe?

No non-counting betting strategy does anything to affect your win rate, period. It is a fact. Yet practically no one in the world believes it to be true. Man the casinos are good at marketing.

[Mike Haven]

Basically, you're telling gamblers to press their luck, and if they have some luck, because they've increased their bets, they will have won more than the guy who reduces his bet to 1 unit when he wins.

However, in fact, because of blackjacks, splits and doubles all working to make it an almost even game, (using basic strategy), blackjack is a game where you win less hands than you lose, but some of those you win pay more.

Pressing in a game where you win less hands isn't good play, in the long run. It's better to press your bet when you lose and decrease your bet when you win, imo.

The simplest system for this is to add 1 unit when you lose and decrease 1 unit when you win.

A run of bets might go something like this, (leaving out doubled bets, etc):

-1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 +7 +6 -5 +6 -5 +6 -5 +6 +5 +4 +3 +2

Running total:

-1 -3 -6 -10 -15 -21 -14 -8 -13 -7 -12 -6 -11 -5 0 +4 +7 +9

You'll notice you win as many units as the number of winning bets you made to get back down to a 1 unit bet again.

However, you are in profit after 9 losses and only 7 wins, in this particular sequence, so some might choose to revert to a 1 unit bet after the 16th, or, indeed, even after the 15th, bet, and "start again".

But, whatever. It's all luck, anyway, and you can have bad sequences even with this conservative betting strategy.

[Mitch Evans]

[ QUOTE ]
I feel that progressive betting is a million times better than the martingale system.

[/ QUOTE ]

Martingale is a progressive betting system, it just happens to progress after loses instead of after wins. It all equals the same [censored]- you lose in the end.

The only way to win long-term is to count and track slugs, but with continuous shuffle machines or weak penetration these days, it's a thing of the past for the most part. Find a $1 table in Vegas, flat bet, and drink for free.