Just getting into blackjack (always been a craps player) and wanted to see if anyone had any positive experiences with any training software (basic strategy) or handheld BJ games (with training mode for basic strategy). There’s free software and there’s expensive software, hand-held games run from $15 - 150. Appreciate any guidance.

How did you do in craps?

Craps has been good to me. Wanted to venture out and try something new. Played BJ, but wanted to get into the Basic Strategy and counting side. Seems to be less dependent on other people’s luck (or lack of).

Pop,

In my opinion as well as most of the card counting world treasures the qfit program Casino Verite blackjack.  The training programs are excellent.  A big plus is that you do not need to register/buy the full program to take advantage of these training drills.  It has everything a beginner could ever need to become a quite serious card counter.  The game it self will correct you if you played the hand wrong or bet wrong.  After You have worked your way through that program and you are satisfied with your scores and times, I would suggest another qfit program with the name of CV data.  This is simulation software where you can put in exactly how you play and it will tell you within a certain percent how your play stacks up against 400 million rounds of play.  From there you can tweak your play and decide whether or not you want to learn the finer points and more profitable ways of playing blackjack… side counts, deck composition and nuances… Shuffle tracking and card tracking or hole carding…  If you need any help or have trouble memorizing basic strategy PERFECTLY, email me and I tell you all I know…and trust me it is substantial.

                                                                                                              May the count be in your favor,
                                                                                                                            Guitar gambeler

Much appreciated GG!! I looked this software up and it looked pretty clear cut. I will take advantage of the great advise! Going back to LV in a few months. Hope it helps!

Pop, I would not recommending going up to the casinos for a year.  I would get decks of cards and chips and use a house shuffle when shuffling, nothing beats a couple hours a day practicing real deck for a year.  Also on Casino Verite Blackjack in the free demo mode the 5’s and jacks are removed.  Taking out the dealer’s second best bust card and the jacks that a counter loves.  So it isn’t like a real deck unless you get the full program mailed to you.  Just one of their catches for the free software…The drills are the only useful thing on there.  That is why I recommend practicing with an actual deck and chips if you do not have the money for the full program…  I personally would look at buying the full program as an investment.  It will pay off in the future if you set out to concur every aspect of the game.  I wouldn’t go for another year just so you know that you will win playing blackjack.  Never again will you have to get ripped of by high house advantage you will have the advantage.  Sorry if I sound crazy I just stopped and saw mary-jane earlier, so is doing better than ever.  Anyways Hope you choose a year before you go back.  If you do go just go to try to count a few decks a casino and do not ever lead on that your counting dont gamble just watch and count a few shoes or decks at a couple games.  Figure out your own style of play that is the most important, how long are you going to stay at each casino, how much do you want to win from each casino, what is your bet spread going to be, are you going to be a quarter deck true count converter where you can have a slightly better chance increasing your bankroll or the simpler half deck true count conversion where you would have less money than is optimal out thus missing chance to increase your bankroll.  Like I said to make money at the game you have to know everything about it anytime you have questions or any trouble at all I dont mind it… I actually like helping people out…

Great advise! I will take that to heart. as they say, “Practice makes perfect.” I understand the importance here, I’m not in the habit of throwing my money around (unless I’m at a crap table). I’m out here in Hawaii, no casinos other than our ‘9th Island’ of Las Vegas.

Let me let you in on a little secret…  I know of a blackjack player investment company.  If you play that game religiously for a year with real deck practice for a year , do an hour of each each day.  And you can get on a webcam and play that game for me and I am satisfied then you can get an interview with the blackjack player investment company, if you pass their test then they will invest money in you so you can use that bankroll that you have to have to win big and win right…  They are former MIT Students and run a group of players throughout the year.  They arnt the ones you are thinking of though, they are not the people the mit team was based on…They actually could be better but sacrifice cover for extended longterm profit.  But the reason I say play investment company instead of team is because the company in and of itself firmly believe that there is nothing that a team can do at the tables that a single person cant do.  So why spread your money among many players and split the main profit between a whole team when you could win just as much playing by yourself and keep it all.  The real mit team only got to keep a fration of the profit that they made.  They didn’t make as much as you think individually.  and boy do they like to over glorify themselves.  The team as a whole won like $250,000 in a weekend once and they boast about it on tv interviews when in reality after they paid the investors 50% it was like $125,000 split like 6 ways.  So in there best weekend they only got to keep $125,000 split 6 ways.  and each players part of the money was normally how much they would win playing blackjack in a year.  So they got lucky what….once. You get the picture.. I mean I know of people who average $100,000 in ten sessions. Plays alone keeps all the money…  One thing you want to do is learn money management… I ll give you a free lesson…  Lets say your starting bankroll is what your income tax was… say $2000.  Now if you want to make money and grow your bankroll you have to look at your bankroll like an investment or a store or something.  If you owned a store and wanted to have another one…  you would save your own money and invest to make another one…  So when ever you win playing blackjack keep it for blackjack and only blackjack after you have taken out trip expenses.  Keep your 9-5 job to pay bills.  After about 20-30 sessions then you will be ready to start doing what you want with the money…again you wouldn’t just stop investing in your store to keep the shelves stocked if you didn’t want to keep making money would you.  Sorry for the run on’s im like bob marley right now…

Pop,

      So how is it going?  Do you need help with the game…  I know it can get confusing at times.  Just try to act like you can already do it.  Let me know how your doing on times and scores.  Also let me know how many hands you have won/lost and pushed.  Along with you playing errors.  If you are dealing your own hands keep track of how you do after 5 full decks.  Devise your own betting strategy.  If you need to add chips to how much you start with then do it.  Every body plays different.  So everybody should bet different to achieve optimal bet spreading because not everybody plays the same and they usually play different consistantly.  The things that math geeks fail to take into consideration is the persons added IQ.  Or the human element.  Whether th math geeks want to believe it or not there is a a certain amount of Human Intelligence or what I call the human element when talking about the ability to read a deck.  A successful magician can read a deck of cards like nobody’s business.  He may have lived at the casino but he wasn’t allowed to play blackjack.  lol.  Also he toke the luxor for about $35,000 in one spin from a $1000 dollar bet on a straight number player roulette.  Some people are gifted like that but that does not mean they dont have to practice to achieve that skill.  I look at blackjack deck like a puzzle, so before I go in to the casino for two days before I do suduko puzzles and word searches, crossword puzzles and other brain workers.  If I do not do this I will not win as much.  Always trust your first instinct humans are more intune to the universe than you make think,,,

Aloha!! Just returned from LV and did quite well. Doubled my money, 30% at the BJ tables and 50% at the crap tables and the rest at the sportsbook. I always play the frist few days of March Madness! Place was packed! Aria’s lowest table minimum was $25. I was a little reluctant, but had a good streak at the craps table so I just dove in. Had about 2 weeks practice and used hitorstand.net 8 hours a day prior to visit. Got the basic strategy down and used a ‘wash’ count system (first toss out all cancelling cards hi-lo and take what’s remaining, compiling hand to hand). The first few shoes were 50-50, but about the 3rd shoe hit a major streak of low cards and ended up +15 with a few rounds left in the shoe. I was using a positive progressive betting system and was up to $75 a hand when I got to this point and immediately bumped it up to $200, low and behold, 20, 19, 20, BJ, 20, then the shoe ran out! Called it a night, up $2,800. May be small potatoes to some, but I was hooked. Didn’t do as well on the next two nights, but was positive and got everything comped (room and most food)! Had a couple of great runs at the crap table (OPL - Other People’s Luck) and had a couple of great ML bets on the first round of the NCAA Tourney. It’s nice to go to LV and come home with money in your pocket, especially when its the casino’s money!!

I will be purchasing the software you suggested and have a few freinds who want to start a Hawaii BJ club, where we will be ‘practicing’ for our next trip to LV (July)!!

The festive mood at a crap table is addictive and much more social than the acativity at a BJ table. With that said, I still see the high up-side to BJ and the profitability that can ensue.

Thanks for the heads up!!

no problem pop…I dont get how your not having trouble learning the game…  People always have a hard time undrstanding all the stuff that has to do with blackjack… if you ever have any trouble or want some help I check my email more often than I check here…Hit me up…    .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)