{"id":1140,"date":"2012-11-15T22:12:55","date_gmt":"2012-11-16T06:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dognmonkey.com\/svlife\/?p=1140"},"modified":"2021-09-23T10:46:48","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T17:46:48","slug":"play-blackjack-to-win-more-than-lose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dognmonkey.com\/svlife\/play-blackjack-to-win-more-than-lose.html","title":{"rendered":"Play Blackjack To Win More Than Lose"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Winter again, and we’re ready for the Sierras where ski resorts are close to Casinos. Every year, we try to go at least 2 or 3 times for skiing and hope the Casinos would pay for the trips.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"blackjack\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When I was single, I read all the books about how to play Blackjack, how to count cards, single decks, double decks… etc, and I’d lost my shirts every time I went to Vegas or Indian Reservations Casinos. After I got married and have children, I became more responsible and patient, and I found out, I lost more times than won at the Blackjack table because of my attitude, negativity, and being impatient although I do play quite well.<\/em><\/p>\n

So, why did I lose more times than winnings?<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Emotion: It’s always easy to see how people are doing wrong until my money is at stakes, the same as investing in stocks. To win, I have to play as a dealer, machine, no emotion, consistent every hand.<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Impatient: When I’m losing, I want to get the money back quickly, play bigger and lose faster, taking chances while my luck is down.<\/em><\/p>\n

3. The way I bet: I lose because I lost on big hands and won on small hands, reverse positive trend. Blackjack statistic says our chances to win is 40\/60 if we play correctly. So if we play 100 hands with the same amount of bets, we will lose 60 hands and win 40 hands, after 100 hands we will only have 80 hands left and keep on losing until our money is gone.<\/em><\/p>\n

4. Blame people for losing: Bad karma, keep the positive energy at the table, if I can’t stand the table, move!<\/em><\/p>\n

5. Learn how to play basic Blackjack.<\/em><\/p>\n

I’ll go through details when I have time, it will be a long post – a question always comes up, why don’t I play to make a living if\u00a0 I win more times than lose? I like to be productive, gambling is not productive. I only play Blackjack on vacations where my family can have fun and I get comps for room and board.<\/em><\/p>\n

Everyone has his\/her own ways to play Blackjack, I’m just showing the way I’ve been playing for many years and I won more than lose. The only time I lost is because I lost my discipline and played with emotions or being over confident.<\/em><\/p>\n

Learn how to play basic Blackjack.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Learn how to play basic Blackjack.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

At every casino, player has disadvantage is to bust and lose before dealer show all the cards and finish his\/her hands. So the goal is to NOT to bust, bust means go over 21. All cards have numbers on them, except Jacks, Queens, Kings<\/strong> are counted as 10<\/strong> and Aces<\/strong> can be counted as 1<\/strong> or 11<\/strong> only. We are dealt every hand with 2 cards only, we can hit as many cards as we need (want) to get to the sum of all cards equal to 21 and bust (lose) if over 21. Each deck of cards has 52 cards and each number has 4 of different kinds: Heart, Diamond, Club and Spade = 4 aces, 4 kings, 4 jacks, etc.<\/em><\/p>\n

Most of Casino Blackjack rules are similar besides a certain options: Double down first 2 cards, double down on any cards, double down on splits first 2 cards or NONE, surrender on any first 2 cards, Dealer stops at soft 17 or hard 17. Before we sit on any table of a casino, we must know the rules of the table.<\/em><\/p>\n

Casino Blackjack tables: Single deck, Double decks or 6 decks shoe. I preferred 6 decks shoe table over Single or Double decks tables (I don’t play single deck or double decks at all).<\/em><\/p>\n

So let’s start to play, if you’re new about Blackjack, download one of any PC blackjack games to practice or play online.<\/em><\/p>\n

My rules are simple and NO emotions, second-guessing myself.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Stay put with any cards from 12 and up when dealer face shows a 3,4,5 or 6.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"stay\u00a0\u00a0 \"stay<\/p>\n

\"stay\u00a0\u00a0 \"stay<\/p>\n

2. If dealer face shows a 2 and I have 12, I’ll hit 1 card only.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"12\u00a0\u00a0 \"hit<\/p>\n

3. If dealer face shows a 7 or higher card, I will hit until 17 or bust, never stay on 16 or less. Many people stay on 16 hoping dealer will bust, and yes, I’ll bust and lose first, but I know if I stay at 16 or less, the only way to win is if dealer has small cards in the whole and hit more cards to bust. I don’t want to have to second-guess myself every time, play consistent.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"hit\u00a0\u00a0 \"hit
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4. I don’t split 2×10, 2×9, 2×6, 2×5, 2×4 ever, regardless of how small dealer face cards are. I’m sure many players think different.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"No\u00a0\u00a0 \"No<\/p>\n

5. Never stays at soft 17 (Ace = 11 + 6) regardless how small dealer cards are.<\/em><\/p>\n

Splitting<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Splitting<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When I have 2 same cards, I can split them to have more chance to win 2, 3, or 4 hands (I can split up to 4 times if the same cards keep coming out). But it’s extremely important to know when to split and when NOT to split them. Some Casinos may NOT allow me to double down on splits, therefore I don’t split often with these rules.<\/em><\/p>\n

I Never split<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

20 (2x10s), 18 (2x9s), 12 (2x6s), 10 (2x5s), 8 (2x4s)<\/strong> regardless what dealer face cards are. There are lots of debates at the tables about splitting these cards. My logic is this, why split a nice 20 to try to get 2 unknown cards? Why split 6s to get anything that we know we have to hit more (I bust and lose before the dealer), same with 8 (2x4s), if I want to win more, I double down if I’m lucky with the dealer shows 4,5 or 6. Again, I play to win not to be fancy. If whatever works for you, stay with it.<\/em><\/p>\n

If the dealer shows 2, 8, 9, 10, or Ace, I DON’T Split any cards<\/strong>. My logic is this, if the dealer shows 8, 9, 10 or Ace, assuming he\/she already has 18,19,20, why would I want to split anything to lose more. The chance to split any 2 to hit 18 or higher for BOTH hands are slim to NONE and number 2 is the card that dealer is seldom busted with. Again, if you think different and win, stay with it.
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\"NO<\/a><\/p>\n

\"stay<\/p>\n

Split with dealer has small cards showing 2,3,4,5,6<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I DON’T split anything except 14 (2x7s) and 16 (2x8s)<\/strong>. My logic is if I get 2 10s, I’ll have 2 hands of 17s or 18s, which are good enough to push or win if the dealer doesn’t bust. Yes, if the dealer hit 19,20,21, it doesn’t really matter.<\/em><\/p>\n

Split 4 (2x2s), 6 (2x3s) and Aces (2xAs)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I only split 4 or 6 when dealers show 3,4,5,6. The logic is whatever I get on my 2 split hands, I can expect dealer to have to hit and bust.<\/em><\/p>\n

Splitting Aces is hard because dealers only give me one card each, this is how the house get more advantage to win. I rather hit on Aces with dealers show 10s, or Face cards. I split with anything less than 10s.<\/em><\/p>\n

DOUBLE DOWN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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DOUBLE DOWN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Double down is to double your bet and only take ONE (1) card (total is 3- we can’t hit more even if our cards sum is small). I double down to win more when the chance to take 1 card and win more than lose. I never know what the next cards are for both me and the dealers. If I play 6 decks shoe, normally, the house allow us to double down on any 2 cards, but for single or double decks, they may only allow 10 or 11. Again, I only play 6 decks shoe, the reason will be explain in the betting section.<\/em><\/p>\n

My rule of thumb is NOT to double if my sum of 2 cards is not at least 2 points over the dealer shown card. i.e, I double down at 9 if dealers show 7, 11 if dealer shows 9, and Never double down when I’m in the down trend, losing streak. Again, Positive and Negative trends exist as if they’re in a sine wave<\/a>. If I’m not patient to ride out the negative trend, I’ll be out of money before the uptrend comes, so my philosophy of playing Blackjack is this, ride hard on the uptrend and don’t ride at all on the downtrend.<\/em><\/p>\n

DOUBLE DOWN when dealer shows 3,4,5,6 (NOT 2) when I have 9,10,11. My logic is this, regardless of any 1 card I get, I still stay and with 9,10,11 the chance to have 19,20,21 is high + the chance the dealer has to hit to bust also high, take a chance to win double. I’m reluctant to double down when dealer shows a 2, because 2 is a very hard card to bust.<\/p>\n

\"double<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"double<\/a><\/p>\n

\"double<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"double<\/a><\/p>\n

Double Down when the dealer shows 4,5,6. I will double down with 8,9,10,11 and soft 13 (A +2), 14 (A+3), 15 (A+4), 16 (A+5), 17 (A+6). My logic is the same as above except I expect dealer to bust at 14,15,16 although soft 13,14,15,16,17 chances to hit 17,18,19,20,21 are slim (I normally double down on soft hands when I’m on the uptrend, I seldom double down on the downtrend regardless (when I did, that’s when I lose, didn’t stick to my rules). Again, I NEVER double down on soft 18 (A + 7), 19 (A + 8), 20 (A+9) regardless what dealer card shows even on the UPtrend.<\/em><\/p>\n

HOW TO PLAY TO WIN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/em>HOW TO PLAY TO WIN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Some people want to gamble to make a living, some want to make quick money, some want to show off that they’re high rollers to get free rooms, food, shows and treated as VIP, whatever the case may be, most of them help to build the beautiful casinos. People who play Blackjack, read books, count cards, and I don’t know how many really won anything in their life time. I did and I lost always until I realized everything must have a plan, a goal, discipline, patient, know how and a positive karma. The way I play Blackjack now is for recreational (whatever that means), if my vacations happen to be in Casinos area, I play Blackjack, I don’t go to Casinos just to play Blackjack, I don’t know if it makes any sense, but it is.<\/em><\/p>\n

To play to win, it’s not easy because sitting down on a Blackjack table, the odds already are against us (we bust we lose before the dealer even lift up the second card), but it’s not hard if we have patient, discipline and an open mind (positive karma). The way I play is extremely simple, no counting cards, if I think I’m going to lose, I don’t play (fail by default), if I play, I’ll have to win (by default).<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/em>ONLY 6 DECK SHOE TABLES<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

– why? <\/em> Because Single and Double deck tables are for professionals who can count cards to play. No, not really, I like six deck shoe because I can win 10 hands in a row or lose 20 hands in a row without being shuffled (interrupted)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

How much to bring to a table?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ve playing so much, I have markers at every Casino I go to. But when I didn’t have markers, I would bring 4 times 20 minimum bets when I sit down at a table. If a table minimum bet is $5, I should have $400. in my pockets or anywhere readily accessible. But I play $25 minimum bet, the reason is that if I play long enough, I’ll have some VIP treatment regardless if I win or lose, (these days casinos runs very tight, if you don’t lose, you don’t get much, doesn’t matter how long and how big you play). Actually, I don’t really care about the comps on the food or anything, all I care about is to have rooms on special holidays with good rates, because if you’re not a player, you don’t get rooms even if you want to pay. Anyhow, I like to celebrate New Year in Sierras and July 4th or hot Summer in Vegas, so the casinos would give me player rate, say $300 night, we stay 3 nights = $900 + food and stuff $1000 = $1900. So, if I win $1900, I would have a nice vacation for free, just like comps.<\/p>\n

$25×20 = $500 cash in table + $1500 in the pocket (or ATM or marker).<\/em><\/p>\n

I always play with minimum bet. As long as I lose, $25 is all I play. Now, when I win, I leave my money there – this is my logic (this is why I like 6 deck shoe).<\/em><\/p>\n

Won 1 hand = $50.<\/em><\/p>\n

Won 2 hands = $100.<\/em><\/p>\n

Won 3 hands = $200.<\/em><\/p>\n

Won 4 hands = $400.<\/em><\/p>\n

Won 5 hands = $800.<\/em><\/p>\n

Won 6 hands = $1600.<\/em><\/p>\n

Won 7 hands = $3200.<\/em><\/p>\n

One time at Caesars Palace, only sat down for 15 minutes<\/em>, I won the 5th hand and started to play the 6th hand $800., I got 2×8 and the dealer shown a 6. Guess what, I did split 4 times and won with 2 double down. The thing is if I didn’t have the money to split all 4 times, the dealer would get 21 instead of busted. That’s the reason why we need cushion money for this type of scenario. <\/em><\/p>\n

Ok, forget about winning hands, when the trend is down, I won 2 hands and lost the third, or won 3 hands and lost the 4th, the bottom line is I only lost $25 for each of these runs.<\/em><\/p>\n

So, why did I say I need an open mind (positive karma), I don’t blame the people at the table, even at the dealer, again if I don’t like the table just leave, but if I could win 3 hands than lose the 4th, I would take the money back after the 3rd hand and start all over again, so I take back $200, which is 8 hands of $25 I can try to push to that 6th hands run.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, I’m a patient person (when my mind is good), I can play $25 until I get my run of 6 hands in a row. If I’m patient enough, I’ll get my run. Remember, if I won 4 hands, I have $400 = 16 hands of $25 that I can lose. Can you see the different odds for me?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 If I get the 5 hands run after 10 tries (10 x $25 = $250), I’ll have $800 = 40 hands of $25 that I can try again.<\/em><\/p>\n

NOW, I don’t know if I will win the next hand or the 3rd or the 4th or the 5th or the 6th but if I hit the 6th hand run with my last $25 chip, I’m still a head of the $500 I put out. And believe it or not, I did make a come back to $3000 from the last $100. Remember it’s a sine wave for both luck and no luck.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, I bet your hands will shake when the dealer yells “check play” on your 5th hands $800, and she gave you a Black jack – “Yellow out” – It’s better than sex – May be.. I did have a few. Remember, the more “check plays” you have, the more VIP treatments you may have depend on the CASINOS.<\/em><\/p>\n

Extremely hard question?<\/em><\/p>\n

In Vegas Casinos, you can surrender on the first two cards – losing 1\/2 of your bet without seeing the dealer bottom card – You play your 6th hand win $1600. Dealer shows a 10 and you have hard 16, do you surrender or take a chance to play?
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Cheers and good luck,<\/em><\/p>\n

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