billryan
billryan
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LostWages
May 7th, 2017 at 1:43:02 AM permalink
After a several year break, I've decided to get serious about BJ again.
I was happy to see Ken Smith has his site up and running so today I went to it and practiced only splits and soft hands. Did 400 hands and only scored a 95%, but a handful of "mistakes" were hands I knew but hit the wrong key- stood twice on 10 vs 10, once split 10s vs 6 to see what it would say. Getting even three percent wrong is still unacceptable, though.
I figured I'd give myself a week or two of practice and get up to 99.9 or so.
Is 400 hands a day enough? I eliminated the easy hands, concentrating on splits and Soft doubles. The rest I have down 100%.
Counting practice is the next step, I tried counting down two decks today. It weren't pretty. Both times I was under 90 seconds, I was off by a few. Most times I was over 90 seconds and off. I used to be 100% at 70 seconds or less. Never did get under the minute for two decks., but that was good enough for me at tables.
There is no rush. I live here now.
The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction is supposed to make sense.
prozema
prozema
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May 7th, 2017 at 6:09:36 AM permalink
Hi
Thanks for the post. What is the web site? Why do you prefer the training software on that site vs the wizard's simulators?

When I was learning basic strategy, I recorded my errors so I could focus on my deficiencies.

I'm not a professional counter, but speed counting down decks was just an exercise in repetition... Meaning 1) the more I did it, the faster I got and 2) even when I was counting down a deck in 20 seconds consistently without error, I still struggled in a live game. What helped me most is when I bought a cheap shoe and I played 4 hands at once at my kitchen table. That made me count while I did: deck estimation, divide for true count, total hands, consider playing deviations, and bet all at once.

Amazon and eBay have shoes on the cheap. IIRC, eBay was cheaper.
Last edited by: prozema on May 7, 2017
Romes
Romes
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LostWages
May 8th, 2017 at 10:25:43 AM permalink
There is no set amount of hands per day... It's until you can consistently produce correct results with no errors (if you're going to hold yourself to the highest of standards - which it sounds like you are). Though, 400 hands per day and done consistently over a few weeks should be plenty of hands, in my opinion.

The timing on your counting (at this point) isn't the important part. Having the count correct is by far the number 1 concern. If you have to go card by card and it takes you 5 minutes that's fine so long as your count is dead on. Speed comes from repetition, so don't worry about your timing as you re-enter in to the realm of counting. Focus more on getting the count right, the speed will come back to you.
Playing it correctly means you've already won.
billryan
billryan
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May 8th, 2017 at 11:08:29 AM permalink
I never had a problem keeping up with the count at tables, especially as I use KISS, which is unbalanced and doesn't require true count calculations.
The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction is supposed to make sense.
prozema
prozema
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May 8th, 2017 at 11:51:08 AM permalink
The opinion of Romes outweighs mine by approximately ten billion percent. :-)
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