So are there any experienced blackjack players out there? I've been playing a lot at the Borgata lately and I'm trying to figure out if I am wasting my time. For a long time I would only go down to AC maybe 5-6 times a year and play blackjack or craps. I'd usually lose a few hundred dollars. I would maybe only win 1 out of every 4 or 5 times. But for the last 2 months I have been playing A LOT of blackjack. My last 5 trips I won $1600, won $600, lost $900, won $2500, and just last night I won $2000. I've changed my betting style and managed to not get too drunk most of the time, and I think this has helped me. Most of the trips consist of playing for anywhere from 6 to 13 hours at a time.

Now obviuosly the odds are in the casinos favor. But I often wonder if it is possible to be a successful blackjack player. Have there ever been people who can consistently beat the casino at blackjack? Before I never thought this was possible, but recently I've started to wonder.

I've been able to survive my losses and losing streaks and I win most of my money by doubling down, splitting and blackjacks. I always play the last hand or second to last hand b/c I like to be able to see the cards in front of me and I like having a little control over the outcome of the hand. When I have a few dollars, I play 2 hands.

One thing that I like doing (that other people hate) is sometimes when I'm end man I'll stay on a fifteen or a sixteen against the dealer showing a higher card. This often pisses people off, but If I have been wathcing the deck and I think there is a face coming out, i'm not gonna take a card. Sometimes there is a low card in the card and I look like a total idiot, but many times i win. When I lose people get angry and start spouting off the rules like i dont know the odds and shit. i usually just tell people "shut up, I know I know." In actuality, the odds are that the dealer has a face under his high card, so it really shouldnt matter to these people b/c they probably would have lost anyway.


Back to the topic. Is it possible that I am a good blackjack player or am I due for a nasty losing streak and I might as well quit while I'm ahead?

I've also been getting crazy comps and eating $300 dollar dinners at the Old Homestead.

from what i understand about blackjack is that if you play perfectly you win 45% of the hands. If you can count cards (knowing how many decks are in the shoe) your odds go near 50%. Poker is a much easier way to make money than blackjack.

Waste your money on your 8 instead

come on, no blackjack players out there?

Anybody ever heard of anyone beating the casino at blackjack?

its impossible, and anyone just asking the question of beating the casino at anything either is cheating or has a gambling problem.

The only game its possible to actually get "good" at is poker.

Odds of beating casino is less than .000001%

There was a good Wired article http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.09/vegas.html about a group of students from MIT who used card counting to win a lot of money. It doesn't change the odds, like Feres said, it only affects your betting strategy so you bet more when the deck is favorable. On a weighted average, you can beat the casino.

There are good explanations of the technique on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_counting. They usually require multiple players to avoid detection. While its not illegal, the casino will ask you to leave if you win too much of their money.

I've not tried it myself. I usually don't gamble because I believe that gambling is a tax on those who can't do math. :)

Hold 'em is where it's at

They call me the Milker.

Well, since I started playing seriously 2 months ago, I'm up $5800. I've also been comped hundreds of dollars, free rooms on weekends (they go for about 2-300$ per night), and tickets to shows. The free meals at the Old Homestead are unreal. Colassal size shrimp, King crab legs, oysters, 18 oz filets, clams, you name it.

My friends have actually done better than me. The Borgata bought my one friend a new Infiniti G35 and my other friend a new Range Rover Sport.

I thought since I said I knew that the odds were in the casinos favor that I wouldnt get the stupid repsonses, but I should have known better.

I'm am too young to play, but my father and all uncles hold a Borgata black label card. Blackjack does have the best odds, Hold em' isn't so easy. If you study blackjack, and keep playing, you will get it. That's all my father plays, along with russian roulette, and he wins 4 out of 5 times he goes. Continue playing and you will learn and you will develope a good strategy, and it will help you win. Good luck

I thought since I said I knew that the odds were in the casinos favor that I wouldnt get the stupid repsonses, but I should have known better.
i dont know how explaining the odds of blackjack qualifies as a stupid response, but suffice it to say you seem to be lucky and luck does eventually run out, but if you're happy riding the wave keep riding it...people have been trying to flesh out strategies to beat the house for many more years than either of us have been alive. So be happy with your luck keep on gambling and i hope your luck lasts long enough for you to quit ahead. As for me instead of getting insulted for my opinion (which you asked for) i think i'll skip your arrogant self aggrandizing and boasting and just wish you the best, i think your just proving that you and your buds are in the casinos pocket and they are succeeding at keeping you in there which is what they want.

Card counting can put the weighted average in your favor IF the house is playing sufficiently deep in the shoe and you moderate your betting appropriately. It REALLY can play into your favor if the house lets you jump in mid-shoe. I recommend the "knock out" blackjack strategy. It is easy to learn and can be performed by most people. I bring a small card which shows you how toplay "by the book", and I put a few asterisks in places where the playing strategy changes when the count runs in your favor.

Most of the time, the borgata wont let you in mid-shoe. Sometimes they will on the $25 tables, but not on the 50. The borgata only plays with 6 decks, which seems to help. Most of the othe casinos play with 8, except on high money tables.

I cant really "count" cards b/c my short term memory isnt always the best, but I think u can get a feel for when face cards are up. If you play "by the book" the odds boviously aren't in your favor.

I'm am too young to play, but my father and all uncles hold a Borgata black label card. Blackjack does have the best odds, Hold em' isn't so easy. If you study blackjack, and keep playing, you will get it. That's all my father plays, along with russian roulette, and he wins 4 out of 5 times he goes. Continue playing and you will learn and you will develope a good strategy, and it will help you win. Good luck


wow, youre dad must be pretty damn good if he plays russian roulette and only loses 1 out of every 5 times. does he still play, cause most people usually stop playing after the lose the first time, but then again, its usually not a conscious choice either

Most of the time, the borgata wont let you in mid-shoe. Sometimes they will on the $25 tables, but not on the 50. The borgata only plays with 6 decks, which seems to help. Most of the othe casinos play with 8, except on high money tables.

I cant really "count" cards b/c my short term memory isnt always the best, but I think u can get a feel for when face cards are up. If you play "by the book" the odds boviously aren't in your favor.

The knock-out strategy is not terribly complex. Some cards have a plus 1 value, others have a negative 1 value, and the remainder are neutral. You just have to keep a running count. Six deck shoes are obviously favorable for the system since only a couple of hands have to come out before the shoe may shift out of balance. Essentially the knock-out strategy tells you whether the shoe is rich on high cards or low cards or whether it is neutral.