Variance in Blackjack has made me her b----....

I have never played it

Quote: Headlock

I'm really starting to hate blackjack. Last weekend playing a $10 min game, 6 deck shoe. I get a pair of 4's with $10 bet, against dealer 5. I have a positive count, remaining deck is ten rich, so I feel pretty good with the split, hoping for 5, 6 7 or ace so I can double. Well, I get another 4, split again and then draw queens on every one. Dealer shows a ten and draws a 4.

I was going to joke that you should have doubled down on the third 14 but I feel your pain.

On January 2nd I caught the monster count that we all dream about. I was playing 2 spots at 75% of my max bet and lost 5 deals in a row for a total of 10 hands. Those few minutes put me under water for almost the entire month. It could have been worse as I was contemplating betting my full max on each hand. Although I have the bankroll for it, I decided to stick to my 75% strategy.

Why were you betting table minimum in a positive count?

Not to derail my own thread, but the variance in BJ has now turned its ugly head into Pai Gow Poker for me.

Update on BJ: DD is still treating me awful, but 6-deck has stabilized a bit. I played a little bit this past weekend, and actually did okay. I had a nice run going for a bit before the cards started to turn. I decided to get up before heading into negative territory (monetarily, not count).

However, most of my past weekend I spent playing Pai Gow Poker. Playing one hand, avg bet $20 + $5 on Fortune Side bet, nearly always at a full table, I saw ONE person get ONE straight flush... no other envy hands ANYWHERE. I played roughly 8 hours before I got my first full house, and only had a handful of flushes and straights in the meantime. When I was playing EZ Pai Gow, I was also playing the insurance bet, and would get small pairs with nothing up. The KILLER hand though, I probably saw it at least 6 times (possibly more) was A-A-6-4-2, with 10-9 in the low hand. It actually became a joke, as I would tell the dealer that was the most common hand I was getting. One time I actually managed A-A with 8-6 in low.

I know the bonus side bet is a sucker bet, so don't lecture me on that. However, it usually doesn't KILL me either.... I guess variance has a way of getting back at ya....

Quote: Tiltpoul

I know the bonus side bet is a sucker bet, so don't lecture me on that. However, it usually doesn't KILL me either.... I guess variance has a way of getting back at ya....

Well, not so fast, I think Lucky Lucky and Shortie - first 2 cards score 8 or less- are player's blackjack side bets (I found them both at Gold Coast casino, Las Vegas.)