How many hours of practice did it take for you to be good at hi/lo?

I realize this is kind of a broad question...but does anyone know approximately how many hours it took them to get to the point where they could count a deck in 25 seconds, and with distractions etc.?

Quote: v14

I realize this is kind of a broad question...but does anyone know approximately how many hours it took them to get to the point where they could count a deck in 25 seconds, and with distractions etc.?

Counting down a deck for speed builds stamina. Other than that it's worthless. Dealers don't deal that fast.

Ok fine fair enough. I'm simply asking how many hours of practice in whatever form you deem to be appropriate to efficiently and effectively count at a blackjack table it took you?

Took about 45 seconds to learn to actually count the cards. Easiest part by far.

Quote: v14

Ok fine fair enough. I'm simply asking how many hours of practice in whatever form you deem to be appropriate to efficiently and effectively count at a blackjack table it took you?

Well, there's practicing your count, and then there's understanding your game (spread/bankroll) and the games you're going to play (hourly EV rates for given rules/pen/etc).

A lot of people don't realize this and just think "I can count a deck down, let's deal out some hands. Yep, this is easy, I can beat the casino now!"

In my opinion, for someone to be ready to play in a casino they must master the following:
1) Basic Strategy
2) Counting
3) Indexes
4) Rule Variations
5) Calculating EV
6) Bankroll Management / Spread Requirements

These are all covered in a tremendous more amount of detail in my 3 A to Z Counting Cards in Blackjack articles (which you can find under the Articles section of this site).

Giving you an "educated guess" I'd say a couple hours a night for a month. So if you practice 3-4 hours a night, maybe a couple weeks? It really also depends on the player, how well they pick up the concepts, how dedicated/focused they are during their practicing, how they practice (with distractions/etc).

If you ask me, a month of consistent training, or two months of an hour or two every other night, is a very small price to pay for a skill that you can apply for the rest of your life.

Quote: v14

I realize this is kind of a broad question...but does anyone know approximately how many hours it took them to get to the point where they could count a deck in 25 seconds, and with distractions etc.?

It depends how you deal. Do you fan them? Do you deal one at a time? Do you use cancellation? I can get below 20 seconds using Hi-Lo and a bit longer with Zen. I never practice because I feel it's a waste of my time.

This question comes up often and my answer is that you, not the dealer, control the pace of the game. Don't waste too much time on parlor tricks. Use that time to solidify your basic strategy, perfect your count and learn index play among other things.

Quote: v14

I realize this is kind of a broad question...but does anyone know approximately how many hours it took them to get to the point where they could count a deck in 25 seconds, and with distractions etc.?

I don't really know how long it took me, but in a live game there's lots of hands/cards that cancel eachother out. Playing a live game will be much more helpful than flipping over cards, and you'll learn what works for you.

Once you decide to play a live game I would recommend a low minimum game. And never play 6:5 ever.

When I first learned to count I thought I'd place tounge to teeth. +3 would be my right upper canine tooth; -3 would be my left upper canine. I gave this up pretty quickly. One of the things that's very interesting about counting a live game is that you very well might have to adapt and change what you think might work.

Quote: Greasyjohn

I don't really know how long it took me, but in a live game there's lots of hands/cards that cancel eachother out. Playing a live game will be much more helpful than flipping over cards, and you'll learn what works for you.

I started to respond, about Ibeatyouraces short response, about Romes' longer response, then Gj chimed in.......
Now I will just wait and see how 'this plays out', excuse my intrusion.

Just so I don't have to create another thread. When keeping track of the true count...it's how many decks are left right? I plan on playing 2 deck the majority of time I'm in vegas so at the beginning of the deal it'll be RC/2...then after a few rounds it'll be 1 deck left so I convert my count to where it basically = the RC right?

You'll be more accurate if you're dividing by fractional decks instead of whole decks, but yes.

2 is different than 1.5 is different than 1 is different than .75... but you'll be reasonably close with integers.