Card Counting Progress – Day 28

It’s been a while since I have made any update posts. However, this does not mean that progress has not been made. Here’s what I’ve been getting up to:

Since my last progress report, I have played 3,157 hands of Blackjack, averaging just over 200 hands per day. And as I show here in my Achievements, I have gone on multiple 500+ perfect streaks with basic strategy. The last Achievement is 1000 perfect hands, but I want to earn that with the deviations as well, and that will be the true litmus test for when I feel ready to go to the casino with a bank roll.

Speaking of bank roll, I turned betting on in the app (fake money) and started with $10,000 and did consistent $100 bets (I’m sure there’s a better strategy but I haven’t looked into it). I went as low as $5,500 and went as high as $12,800, and I’m currently sitting on some profit.

My decision making speed has improved dramatically, but I still feel like it is slower than it needs to be, especially once I start keeping track of the counts. When it comes to hard counts, I can make decisions almost immediately, but both splits and soft counts still require some thought. Little did I know, but I could just go into the settings and change the behavior of the dealer to give me only soft hands. This helped out a lot, and this will help me to get faster at hand totals when there are aces out.

It is now the end of Day 27, which means I’ve been at this nearly a month, and I feel like I can start the next stage – improving my counting.

In order to do this, I bit the bullet and downloaded the premium speed counting drill for an additional $0.99. This acts the same way as the typical app, but the decisions are made for the player hand and the cards are dealt immediately. There are speed and deck adjustments, and I plan to get the speed as high as possible at some point in this journey. Also, with this drill being on the app, it makes practicing a lot more accessible than carrying around a deck of cards. The counts can also get way higher, and in just the few times I have tried the drill, I have gotten as high as 14, and with a single deck I’ve never gotten over an 8.

By next update, my goal is to be counting confidently, and to be ready for the deviations. At the casino nearby, they use S17 rules (At least to the best of my knowledge – I’m trusting a buddy of mine who is “pretty sure they stand on soft 17s”), so I will be reviewing that chart as well.

Overall, it’s just been a steady process toward improving. This isn’t glamorous or exciting, but it’s a fun little hobby that will hopefully lead to some payout in the future. If not, I master a new game that most people have some experience with. Stay tuned for next time to see deviations, and my improvement with speed counting.

Card Counting Progress – Day 12

Over this 8 day span I worked on basic strategy, using the Blackjack Apprenticeship free app. 

 I was 99.14% successful over this span, getting 3812/3845 moves correct over 316 decks. My last 36 decks had no errors, which is over 444 moves and counting.

I have a trip to Colorado planned next week, and before I leave I am going to download updated version of Blackjack Apprenticeship’s app, to begin working on counting and deviations as well.  Although I am not yet 100% accurate, I think it is time to start working in more skills while refining the basic strategy further. 

I also started playing StickRPG for nostalgia, and make my money on their from Blackjack, which is a nice little side project. I might make that a series as well. 

So far so good, and I’ve been enjoying the process.

Card Counting Progress – Day 4

Today I downloaded the free BlackjackApprenticeship app, which tells you when you make incorrect moves, and gives you the correct answer while letting your mistake play out. I find that this is the best app I’ve used so far for those reasons, however, there are things that will take some getting used to. 

 1. No running totals 

Every app I’ve used so far has told me what the hard and soft totals are. This one does not. While a difference, I see this as a positive, as obviously in a real scenario I won’t have the math done for me. This will help with pattern recognition. 

2. No fake money 

Again, not a problem. I tend to focus on the money in these games even though all that should matter is whether or not I make the best plays. 

 3. Hand gestures 

This app has you best using the motions that you’d use at a real table for hitting, standing, splitting, surrendering, and doubling.  I think that is amazing, and it will be one less thing that I have to think about when I make a casino trip.  

Speaking of which, I think my first will be in about a month with the boys, so I have to get ready. 

Here’s my practice today. I make 64 correct moves and 2 incorrect moves. The decisions are also slower than they need to be, but it’s literally Day 4 so I’m happy with how I’m doing. Follow along for more 🙂

Card Counting Progress – Day 3

Day 3 of my card counting progress. 

Today’s goal is find an appropriate mobile sim that is free. Maybe I’ll spend money eventually but that day is not today.

I ran the simulator on casino.online. This was my first time trying this site. 

Pros: it fits nicely on the screen 

Cons: can’t split I probably won’t use this sim again, as I need to practice splits, and one where I could surrender would be beautiful as well.  

Looking back at the hands after playing, there wasn’t a time that I needed to split, even if I could have. However, I doubled a 10 against a 10, which is not the ideal move. I still need to become more confident in the charts, but I welcome all progress and learning experiences. 

Speaking of learning experiences, watch me burn $1000 in just over 3 minutes 🙂

Card Counting Progress – Day 2

Today, I made a few advancements, but the most important one was memorizing the appropriate soft total strategies. I still cannot make instantaneous decisions when those cards come out, but with a second of thought I can make the right move. Progress is slow, but that’s the point. After all it is only day two of a long journey into mastering Blackjack.

My shuffling is slightly better, and will just come with time.

I also did a run through of a high / low count, and ended at 0 and an appropriately predicted final card, and that’s always great. The speed is better than yesterday already.

In my simulated hands, I got absolutely rinsed by the dealer, but I made accurate hard total decisions. This negative result is to be expected in real scenarios, and I cannot be swayed by good or bad outcomes – only whether or not I make the correct decisions. Check out the video below, and stay tuned for further progress 🙂

Card Counting Progress – Day 1

After a recent trip to the local casino (and losing $300 on slots), I decided it was time to learn a game with better odds. Playing Blackjack at the tables only has a slight edge to the casino, if following the proper strategy. And with card counting, the edge can be brought into your favor. So I’ve decided to first learn perfect strategy, while simultaneously working on card recognition for high / low counting.

For the detailed strategy charts and an explanation of the high low counting, head over to blackjackapprenticeship.com, or check out their YouTube videos.

High / Low

I attempted to get through a 52 card deck while counting. In theory, if all goes well, you should end at 0, as there is an even amount of high and low cards. I stumbled on my first two attempts, but was able to get through the deck on the third.

Final Time – 1:33

Best Time – 1:33

Basic Strategy

Played through one deck, attempting not to look at the chart. I need to get to the point where this is automatic and no thought is involved, so that I can focus solely on the count.

One thing that I was unsure of was splitting sixes. I am fairly confident with when to stand and hit on the hard totals and surrenders. However, I need to study the soft totals and the splits.

My shuffling is also abysmal if you cannot tell.

So far, I feel good, and it is going to be just a matter of pattern recognition which will improve as I do it more often.

Stay tuned to this page to follow along on my progress. I don’t ever think the production quality of my videos and this page will every get much higher, as this is completely for my own log, but who knows 😀