Private blackjack members only forum.

[Guest CarlosM]

Hi Keith! How about getting a private blackjack forum for members of NBJ, Wcb only, like with Baccarat. We could have class rooms and treads/posts. I would LOVE to help with that since blackjack is my FULL soul. It would be amazing! Ellis, what do you think?

[Guest CarlosM]

People! Tell me what you think?

[Mad Dog]

Hey Carlos,

The forum would be a great idea, but if no one else is interested, we'll just have our own private email forum. BTW, who are the other heavy hitters that are actively playing right now? Are we it?

Mad Dog

[Guest CarlosM]

I don't know? You need to ask Ellis. Ellis, are you around? I know for sure that you and I are currently active heavy hitters who are consistently successful.

[daytrader77459]

Hi, Carlos, Mad Dog, Uncle Ellis,

I am a newbie into the world of NBJ - I just found the NBJ manual fascinating and coincided with many of the observations and years of BJ playing I have experienced thus far. Just recently purchased the WCB manual. I would love to have a BJ members only forum for serious players. Carlos, your posts have been entertaining, helpful, and encouraging. I would love to observe a true professional at his craft in Vegas.

That being said, I have a few brief very basic questions for you serious BJ professionals:

1. Given a new table, would you prefer 6D or 2D games? Why/why not?

2. If playing 2 hds heads up against the dealer, do you play hd 1 as 1st base strategies/betting (1-4-6 dual color chips), and play hd 2 as 3rd base strategies (using TRB, progressions, etc)?

3. Regarding the betting in 1st base - using 1-4-6 on the high color chips, do you all recommend a recon betting period using the low color chips until such time you can establish a shoe to be highly reliable (T's following Ts, regular sequences of high and low TRB's per round, etc)? At what point would one begin to "go for the jugular" in a shoe game? After seeing 3-5 reliable rounds?

4. Even if I have found a shoe that was highly reliable (i.e., T's following T's, etc), but my 1st and/or 3rd base plays kept on losing despite this highly reliable shoe, at what point would you want to walk to another table (departure point)? Normally I have a tendancy to give up a shoe if I lose 4 consecutive times. Do either of you have ideas/suggestions to departure points in a shoe relative to W/L or bankroll standards?

5. How often do you professionals end up staying at a table? Do you depart quickly after winning X units in one shoe? Or do you prefer to play for a specific interval (like for 4 shoes per day? or for 40 mins at a time? other types of playing schedules?)?

6. Carlos or Mad Dog - if you hit your target (let's say $2k per day) - would you stop even if you had a hot run in the first 30 mins of the day? And then wait for another day? Or do you recommend pushing on as professional players?

I am certain I will have additional playing questions - I appreciate your patience and insights to helping us all learn to become better BJ players. Ellis, I'm looking forward to learning many more practical insights into the BJ modern games from the WCB manual. I hope to be able to observe/participate in some active learning/playing with you all in the future. Thanks again for your time and help!

Daytrader77459

[Mad Dog]

My thing is that I try to play when I'm in tip top shape. What we do with NBJ requires us to handle lots of information, notice things that happen and react to them. I just can't do it very well when I'm tired or in any way nervous or gorked out, under pressure for my time, etc.

My strategy for when I play is that I only do it when I'm in top shape. I usually do not plan my trips to Vegas. I play when I feel good, and when I estimate that the conditions will be good. When these two things are aligned, I hop on a plane to Vegas. I get a room and use it as my base to rest and regroup. I have a fixed buy in and I select a table that has a low number of players, but is showing some winning activity. I buy in and play 1-4-6 right off the bat. In other words, I don't worry about testing the water. I buy in for an amount of money that isn't very meaningful to me. If I lose, it does not matter too much. It is much like drilling for oil. I sink a few dry holes and eventually I find a table that I can beat. I ride the fibonacci wave as high as it'll go. I bail out when I lose the pile of twelve in play. Fibonacci gets me out with locked up money.

As for a stop win, I don't use one. I do try to leave Vegas within a day or two, as I tend to get tired.

[Mad Dog]

Regarding the question about schedules: I think it is wrong to have a schedule. If a game is good you want to stay in it. If you have a schedule, then it can make you leave a good situation that you would otherwise exploit.

When we find the conditions for success we hit it. When those good conditions start to turn, our our own abilities are affected because we are tired, we leave. Don't play if you have somewhere else you have to be. It can affect your judgement and get you into a game you shouldn't be in, just because you're in a hurry to win. Sometimes when I have tried to force it to happen, I would lose. Now I just let it happen. The right conditions show up, and I exploit them.

Schedules are bad. Anything that makes me have an emotion is bad for my game. My brain can't do both at the same time. I need to be a clean slate when I play because blackjack demands my whole brain.

[daytrader77459]

Hi, Mad Dog,

Thanks for your ideas and observations. Currently I continue to play when my equity highs are continuously being reached or at least re-tested. I do not like to play thru shoes where I have a net four losses in a row.

Regarding session plays, however, if I reach a shoe target, I tend to remain pretty disciplined about sticking to that target and not letting it draw down any worse than (-3 units) from its equity highs.

Regards,

Daytrader77459

[ECD]

To the general public from Ellis. The private BJ forum was established and is alive and well just like the private Bac members forum. Both are extremely active. Of course, for security reasons, these forums appear to be empty. Far from it.

[Guest CarlosM]

Keith or Ellis! Is Daytrader 77459 elligible for the BJ private forum? I wasn't sure. I ask because all of his questions can be answered in the private forum!