Money management and exit strategies

[BJ anonymous]

Hi,
This is my first post here so please be gentle.

I've been playing BJ predominantly for almost 10 years now, mostly at B&M joints. The most active plays were last year at LV. I play basic strategy most of the time but the thing that catches me is not knowing when to stop. My last run was incredible, chalking up almost USD60k before giving most of it back in the course of a night at Bellagio.

Now I'm in Europe and I must say that the rules here simply suck. I played at 2 casinos, in Belgium and Paris and I wouldn't even classify them as casinos, more like gambling joints. Anyway, the tables, rules and company pretty much ruins it for me.

Why am I here? I figured out trying online because I can avoid some of the jokers that sit on 11s and draw on 17s (you cannot believe how many of those I encountered in Paris!). I deposited 500E and played at 32red only to lose it all. My second 500E grew to 6000E, effectively pulling back my loses at the casinos in Belgium n Paris. Then greed and disaster struck, but thankfully I withdrew 1200E. So as far as online is concerned, I'm still up 200E.

Can the sages/wisemen/ladies here kindly share your money management strategies and how you discipline yourself to stick to it? Deciding a profit, loss, time cut off, etc. I'm now in the process of depositing another 1000E back into the Neteller to stage a comeback, hopefully I'll be more disciplined this time.

Thanks.

 

[Macgyver]

I play almost exclusively with bonuses, apart from the rare $50 thrown into Intercasino or 32Red after coming home having a little too much to drink ...

That being said, if I've doubled the bonus amount after completing the wagering requirements, I take out 2/3 of my bankroll. I then try to double the 1/3 left; if I'm lucky enough to double that, I take out 1/2.

I then try to double it again, taking out 1/2 again if I do. And so on and so forth, until I bust the 1/2 out trying to double it.

Oh, and I NEVER reverse a withdrawal, no matter how tempting it may be.

 

[MissDevil]

Oh, and I NEVER reverse a withdrawal, no matter how tempting it may be.

sound advice there... hey nice sig too. Chris Rock fan I take it?

 

[pacers31]

That is an excellent strategy McGyver, I'll have to try it sometime (if I ever get ahead of the game that is!!!) Seems like breaking even is the best I can hope for these days. Like the saying goes, if it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all!!

 

[BJ anonymous]

Macgyver,
Thanks. I don't go by fractions, too complicated . But several times when I am disciplined to cash out, I end up getting drawn right into it. One incident that came to mind was about 18 months back at TI. Cashed out 10k profit and was on the way back to my room when I stopped at a table, only to lose 16k. It's also the desire to get the extra $50 or $100 to reach the target but ended up going way south.
I try to set a target now with a cut loss and evaluate the way the cards are running (I use about 3 hands to gauge). Nothing scientific about it, if the dealer's HOT, i.e. making 20/21s out of 5/6 or hitting BJs against my 20/BJ, I'll bug out.

 

[tennis_balls]

if I've doubled the bonus amount after completing the wagering requirements, I take out 2/3 of my bankroll. I then try to double the 1/3 left; if I'm lucky enough to double that, I take out 1/2.

good advice, Mac

you can't get hurt taking something off the table......it's also a good idea if it's your first visit to a casino to put their cashout system to the test in the early stages rather than after a huge run.

another good rule (which I admit that I sometimes break) is to set a stopping point where you will at least stop for an hour and let your head clear

i always take a break after any nice hit too although i know some people say to keep going when you're hot.......for me, it's better to take the breaks so I don't tilt.

 

[tantalos]

Hi BJ Anonymous, welcome to the world of Online Gambling - and I really hope you have a pleasant stay (I suppose you know that this is somehow harder than it sounds! )


One thing I guess we have in common is that I , like you, prefer BJ to any other game for gambling. If I were in your shoes, I think I'd stick to the B&M casinos. I've been playing online BJ for about 2 years now, and I've had some terrible ups and downs - that I don't think I'll ever have in a B&M casino.

For example , I simply can't understand how is it possible to lose 80 E with single 1E flat bets in like 15 mins. I don't think I had won more than 15 hands in a total of 100-120 hands at that session. This terrible session was right after having withdrawn 50 euros , twice in a row. It seemed as if this specific online casino was trying to tell me "Enough with your winnings, time to give us something back!"

I'm not trying to imply that online BJ is rigged - I just want to see the cards being dealt live to me, rather than on a monitor. For me,online BJ is like slots - but with their odds being slightly better than normal slots.

If you still want to keep up with online gaming, setting a winning and a losing limit for your initial bankroll, for each session, is the best you can do. The necessary discipline that you need as soon as you reach either of these limits cannot be provided by anyone else here than you yourself.

Thanks for sharing some of your tough experiences with us - and I do hope I find more posts by you in the near future

 

[KasinoKing]

If youre not playing with bonuses, why withdraw EVER?
Unless youve decided to completely give up all gambling, you are only going to re-deposit your funds again, so you may as well leave it in the casino for next time.
Just as safe there as in Neteller.
Ask yourself what is it you are trying to achieve?
If its profit, take a bonus and try to reach the WR without losing, cashout & move to the next bonus.
This gives you something to aim for, a target to achieve, a purpose to your gambling!
If you dont seek profit you may as well play in fun mode its much cheaper!

 

[BJ anonymous]

Tantalos,
Thanks for the welcome and words of wisdom. I tried online because of greed (yes, I'll admit it) and excitement. The problem with my situation is access to B&M casinos. As mentioned, I'm in Paris for a year and the casino scene here SUCKS! I swear there are players emplaced to screw up players. I had 2 different hands, about 1600 euros on the line and the anchor player drew 16 against a 6!!! I'm not kidding. Next he sat on 11 against a 5. Both hands were lost with much disgust. I'm planning a trip down to Monaco but that's unfamiliar ground also.
As you mentioned, I also was dead against online gambling till I chanced upon this site and started with 32red. I was doing alright and thought I could continue my run. How wrong was I.

On a different note, I've been dying to share one of my hands with a fellow BJ player. I was wondering if 32Red BJ games warns the player of a 'unusual' play, i.e. trying to draw above 17 or splitting 10s. Shortly thereafter, I unknowingly drew on 20!!!!!!! And guess what I drew! ACE! Made 21 from 20! Oh, and I confirm, 32Red DOES not prompt against abnormal play.
I must've a brain fart then and didn't screen capture. I tried the next day and ran through almost 200 hands before giving up and ended up losing my 4.4K back to 32red.
Oh well....

 

[BJ anonymous]

If youre not playing with bonuses, why withdraw EVER?
Unless youve decided to completely give up all gambling, you are only going to re-deposit your funds again, so you may as well leave it in the casino. Just as safe there as in Neteller.
Ask yourself what is it you are trying to achieve?
If its profit, take a bonus and try to reach the WR without losing, cashout & move to the next bonus.
This gives you something to aim for, a target to achieve, a purpose to your gambling!
If you dont seek profit you may as well play in fun mode its much cheaper!

1. I withdrew because I wanted to test out the inflow link between Neteller and my bank.
2. I wasn't comfortable leaving my money with 32red. I withdraw all to my Neteller after every session. Perhaps I'll leave it there as the trust grows.
3. Of course I seek profit, I'm greedy! However, I don't hunt down bonus, perhaps I'm still a novice in this online thing and I'm willing to learn. Could you kindly share your strategies, please.:notworthy

 

[KasinoKing]

1. I withdrew because I wanted to test out the inflow link between Neteller and my bank.
2. I wasn't comfortable leaving my money with 32red. I withdraw all to my Neteller after every session. Perhaps I'll leave it there as the trust grows.
3. Of course I seek profit, I'm greedy! However, I don't hunt down bonus, perhaps I'm still a novice in this online thing and I'm willing to learn. Could you kindly share your strategies, please.:notworthy

See my website. BTW I'm not a blackjack player. (Well, not much anyway!)

Crypto casino's warn against accidental hits - definitely for 20, and probably for 19 & 18 as well (not sure - I don't make many mistakes! )
Don't know if any other softwares have this feature.

Your money is 100% safe in 32Red - you can leave it there, no worries.

Good luck!

 

[tantalos]

The BJ of Absolute Poker , the BJ at Coral/Eurobet/Victor Chandler have this warning you're talking about, even when you're drawing with A-6 (soft seventeen).

Good luck at the tables !

 

[soflat]

Crypto casino's warn against accidental hits - definitely for 20, and probably for 19 & 18 as well (not sure - I don't make many mistakes! )

I wish their video poker had a warning. I accidentally hit the Deal button several times the other day before even holding any cards.

 

[Macgyver]

Macgyver,
Thanks. I don't go by fractions, too complicated .

It's not really as hard as it sounds ... when I'm close to finishing the WR, I already know whether I've doubled the bonus or not. I take maybe a minute to plop in some figures on a calculator and see where a nice, round division of 3 comes about (either above or below my current total). After I've done that, I'll play until I hit that number ... this sometimes means I play a few more BJ hands than is absolutely necessary, but I don't see that as a bad thing.

Then, I just try to double my bankroll ... simple as that!

 

[Linus]

BJ - the best advice I know of, is to bet only what you can afford to lose, and to play only as long as it's fun.

If you're interested in trying to beat the odds, you might check out The Wizard of Odds (wizardofodds.com) - there's a ton of great info there about odds and strategies for BJ. If you're interested in learning about bonuses, you might check out the "Internet Bonus" section on the 2+2 forums (twoplustwo.com).

 

[nektar4d]

Crypto casino's warn against accidental hits - definitely for 20, and probably for 19 & 18 as well (not sure - I don't make many mistakes! )
Don't know if any other softwares have this feature.

Playtech software has this feature in lobby options available for at least the last 2 years. I wasn't an online player before to know the past

BTW, great thread, very interesting subject