Playing Blackjack As A Part Time Profession
What is your day to day “job”. Perhaps you are living out those
golden years, have been retrenched or let go or are lucky enough
to be a trust fund baby, or are otherwise working for a BOSS on
the day or night slog. Ever thought of playing Blackjack as a
profession- fulltime for a living, to earn a living? There is no
reason to stop you, taken you know and can play Basic Strategy
backwards flawlessly, have the ability to count a deck down in
roughly 25 seconds using a counting method, and know 12 or more
Advanced Strategies to increase your odds against the online
casinos.
Confident about your playing ability and have no problem with
the requirement listed above - you are on your way - YOU ARE A
PROFESSIONAL BLACKJACK PLAYER already. People require 3 very
important things before they will be convinced to becoming a
full time professional player - family, security, and finance.
In fact these 3 factors will influence any person in any major
job decision they take throughout their life, oh….and….where
they live! Living in Las Vegas or Nevada is not quite your
family neighbourhood! The lifestyle of a professional gambler
could also not be to the players’ liking - nor to his family’s
and he may lose more than just his money in the end. They must
also remember that Blackjack does not come with full medical or
unemployment insurance, and that his finance might not be large
enough to cover a long run of losses, or to make the big bets
needed to get the big one! It is a big decision, as changing
any job should be, perhaps it can be taken slowly?
What if the player could make some sort of achievable goal
during the time he still ahs that stable job, family, security,
and extra cash to play with? If a player has “professional
Blackjack” skills, why not let it work for him?
For example: A part time player has a day job making just under
$ 100 / day . He keeps records his play at the tables and has a
win : loss ratio of about 5 : 1, (5 wins out of 6 times). He
wins on average 6 units of his smallest wager / hour. So…., if
the table minimum is $5 and he places bets of between $5 - $25,
he normally takes in roughly $30 / hour. Sometimes he wins more
and sometimes has also lost $300, but consistency will
ultimately pay off. If a player wants to average wins of $100 /
playing session, the same amount equal to his daily earned after
tax income. Taking the win : loss ratio of 5 : 1, and a
implementing a stop-loss set at $100, this means he had to win
$120 5 x to cover for a loss of $100 on the 6th session. The
players’ stop-loss is set at $100 (daily work rate and maximum
amount he can afford to lose). Each playing session would be
treated as if it was a day at work, so…off days would simply
be breaking even. Though the game of Blackjack is win some, lose
some, a player can effectively double his income per day.
Any good player keeping records can come up with a similar plan
or system - if he earns $50 a day and wins 2 out of 3 times, he
can set a stop loss of $50 and aim to win $75 each time he
plays. The system can help players contemplating the move to
professional, see that the income can remain the same or even be
better than their current income at their present “jobs”. They
can prove it to themselves and …become profit from playing
blackjack. This system will show players what they are capable
of, over a period as long as they want, until they feel
comfortable to make the move. Players who make the move to
Professional must also realise that this play is a long term
game, and not short term as played before. Basic playing
principles much the same : small wager with a Count of +1 and
larger wagers above it. This strategy is a “slowly slowly”
strategy that makes most Counters their money (% advantage x
size of bankroll). There are players who no bankroll, and only
their table betting to play with. Here a conservative approach
must be used to remove volatility from the game.
Some players (Counters) use Jerry Patterson’s “Takedown”
strategy. Jerry is the Father of “Alternative Blackjack” with
his mentions of biases and strings of small and large cards due
to shuffling and card pick-up routines. He explains why and how
counters can avoid being ‘caught’ by betting large amounts as
the count rises. “Takedown” is a method of betting for
non-counters and Jerry explains that players should bet as the
count drops, not as it rises, as it is now that the 10s are
coming out. Most successful Counters use a bankroll and
increase their advantage when placing each wager based on the
count, and end up earning more money long term, riding out the
swings of the game. One such swing can result in a player
quitting Blackjack play all together, usually having lost all
his money. 6 and 8 deck games are the hardest to beat due to
shuffling biases, which is hard to prove mathematically.
Traditional Patterson betting strategies are more effective
against one and two deck games, which are still common in Las
Vegas.
Jerry in “Takedown” also recommends that players lock up their
winnings and play on to other limits. i.e. a player must set a
goal of say $150 for the day, but if he needs to bet out of his
$120 win, he must not. If he got to $150, same deal. Jerry calls
this a “winlock” and explains that players must divide their
winnings into 3 piles. Using the above example, the player
pockets his $120 and place his $30 win in 3 piles, two $5 chips
each. He will place bets from 1 pile only. For the next hand he
places a 1 chip bet from pile #3. If he loses, he bets the last
chip from pile #3. If he lose, he is done for the day. If the
player however gets on a winning streak he replenishes pile #3
back to 2 units. He then places the next win on pile #1, then
pile #2, and finally to pile #3, the betting pile. He might get
these 3 piles up to 8 units each, then hit a losing streak and
lose pile #3, then it is time to QUIT. This is an excellent way
to maximize your winnings and minimize your loses.
