Read Blackjack Betting Strategy

Concept of Betting

All of the concepts described in site regarding risk of ruin, fluctuations, Kelly betting, etc., apply to both casual card counters and full-time pros. But if you make your living at this game, or are otherwise betting at a level where the wins and losses make a substantial difference to you, then you should be even more aware of the dangers of losing streaks, which are inevitable. In this site, we're going to expand on these topics as they apply to pros. But first. ..

Starting from Scratch

Of the many pro players I've known through the years who were playing on small banks (say $15,000 or less), most either went broke or were scraping the bottom so often that they ended up getting jobs. Some lived in their cars, borrowed money from friends, bummed nights in friends' apartments. None had an easy life at the start. Of those who went on to make it in blackjack insurance, there were various reasons for their success. Some just experienced a period of unusually great luck right off the bat that gave them the bank they needed to continue. Many formed partnerships with other good players, entering into informal agreements to work together and share games and results. But most found various ways to exploit casinos without card counting. They continued to count cards, but they opened their eyes to other opportunities around them. They hustled casino coupons, comps and fun books. They knew every 99¢ meal in town. If there was a free hot dog at some casino sports book on Tuesday nights, they were there to eat it. They learned how to extract maximum value from slot clubs. They got on casino mailing lists to get every freebie possible. They kept their ears open for any promotions that gave the player an edge on any game. Some cashed in on currency exchange deals. Some were lucky enough to find investors, or teams, that allowed them to play at higher levels than their own meager bankrolls permitted.

Video Blackjack Machine

The smartest ones discovered exceptionally high edges on games that no other players had even noticed. Others were particularly good at finding and exploiting casino "mistakes," such as a valuable new rule on a blackjack game, or a different payout on a crap table. These were usually just temporary opportunities, but these players made the most of them for a few days, sometimes for a few weeks, before other players-and finally, the casino itself-caught on. I know players who won thousands of dollars playing video blackjack machines that had incorrect slot-club cash-back bonuses. I know a player who won two cars from the same casino by playing an overly generous slot club promotion that the casino hadn't really thought through. This isn't old stuff-most of this is recent.
Last year, the Horseshoe in Las Vegas decided to put in a double exposure blackjack casino game, but they didn't realize that in the standard version of the double exposure game, naturals pay even money. With naturals paying 3 to 2 at the Horseshoe game, the players had close to a 2% advantage off the top. The game was there for weeks before most card counters discovered it, and the players who found it first made a lot of money. Inevitably, an opportunity like this will be found by a rank amateur who will then go and post his "discovery" on the Internet, and that's when the Opportunity dies. The counters swarm in like hungry jackals; the (casino freaks out at the invasion; the game is gone.
If a player living in Cleveland told me he was dead earnest about making a living as a professional blackjack player (and numerous players in Cleveland have told me this!), starting with a bankroll in the neighborhood (If $10,000, I would tell him right off that his chances were slim at making It. Most who try fail. But if that did not deter him, I would tell him that is chances of making it, if he intends to continue living in Cleveland, are closer than slim, and closer to none. With a $10,000 bankroll, you cannot "afford the travel expenses, and you cannot get in enough hours to make .