Ace Five Counting questions

In the last year I have been dabbling in counting. I started with a system that I found online somewhere called OPP. I played 38 hours at $5 and $10 tables and did ok. I played 12 sessions and made money on 7 of them but never more than $100. On the 5 losing ones; 3 of them were $200 and the other 2 were around $100 so overall I am down a little but after the comps I received I am probably right around even.

So last week I went to AC. I decided that I wanted to try out Wizards Ace-Five method. So far I have played 6 sessions for 19 hours at $10 tables and I have been positive on 3 of the 6 but my session yesterday had me positive by $480 so I am up since using it. I know most people on here will say not to use such a basic count. My problem is that with working 40 hours and having 2 young kids there is no time for me to practice hi/lo.

During my $480 win yesterday, I bought in for 200 at a $10 table. I was planning on doing a 1-8 spread. On the very first shoe the first hand looked something like this. I am basically making up the hands but the number or aces and 5s are correct.
5 players + dealer.
1. 5-A-5
2. 5-5-5-t
3. t-k
4. q-k
5. 2-7-5-5
D. 7-7-8
So after 1 hand we were at +6 which would be a bet of $80 since that is my max. Normally I bet $10 and press to $50 if I am on a huge streak. Now I am supposed to go right to $80. I was a bit nervous about it but figured what the hell. I pressed to $80 and luckily got a BJ. ETA: I just realized that Wizards page says to double your last bet so I guess I should not have been at $80 for a few hands. Owell, it worked out. The count stayed at +2 or better for the entire shoe. I made $700 which was my largest win ever on 1 shoe. Now I am not sure if I just got super lucky or if this basic count is enough to get me into positive HE as Wizards site suggests.
https://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/17/

I have noticed that I can really tell a difference when the count is high with the amount of good hands that are being made. Since I really only play BJ 1 or 2 times a month I think I am going to continue using this count. As mentioned above I have very rarely bet over $50 in my life and since I have started using this count I have had bets of $80 and $160. I lost my $160 bet in AC or that session would have been nice as well. The only negative that I have seen so far is that it seems like the count gets to +2-5 quite often which means big bets. I played a handful of hands at $80 on 1 shoe but 1 hand had 6 aces so my next bet was $10 which I received a BJ. It was so anti climatic, the dealer said WTG and I was like oh yeah Weeeeee $10 BJ. A month ago I would have been like YAYYYYY $10 BJ. Anyways, my questions.

1. A spread of 1-8 would be my max I think but if I wanted to go 1 more level it would be 1-16. Would this draw a ton of heat? Surely if they wanted to track it, the count would be different if they used a hi/lo so maybe they would just think I was a spastic bettor?
2. The wizard says to min bet at +1 or lower but at what point should you wong out? There was 1 shoe that made it to -6 but actually recovered to +2. I actually won 5 or 6 hands in a row at -6.
3. Whenever the dealer burns a card they do not show us. Does this hurt you or do you just consider it a card that would be in the rear of the deck? In AC they show you the card and there were quite a few times that it was an ace or five.

Most likely, no one cares about your red chip action. If you start to get some heat, re-evaluate.

My main concern is that you are overbetting your bankroll. A-5 is an extremely weak count. Your edge is tiny (if you even have an edge) and your swings are going to be massive. I suspect that this will not end well for you. I would absolutely not bet more than you are usually comfortable betting. If you never bet more than $50, then don't bet more than $50!

Your statement that you notice more good hands when the count is high is most likely selective memory -- you even mention that you won a bunch of hands in a row at a hugely negative count. The edge is not big enough that you could notice it in such a short amount of time. This is not a huge deal, but don't let it lead to overconfidence and betting more than you can afford. A-5 is so weak that I would just ignore the edge, and play at whatever levels you are comfortable playing when you have no edge.

Consider the burn card to be the same as a card at the back of the deck (it essentially reduces penetration by 1 card). Unseen cards are unseen cards; it doesn't matter if they are burned off the top or below the cut card.

ace-five is what i learned since i only play once in a while as well.. i prefer craps but since we only have e-craps here ill sit down for a shoe if the etable is full..

definately is better than nothing... any suggested exceptions to basic strat at certain plus counts?

The first thing I HAVE to do is ask why you won't consider hi-lo, or another level one count? And also recommend that you do.

Answers to questions: 1. Of course a 1-16 spread draws more attention than a 1-8. How much attention depends on the place.

2. I have no ide of wong out point with such a count. ??

3. Every card you see helps. The more info you have to work with...the better. Unseen cards, whether burn cards or behind the cut card are just that....unseen cards. Unseen burn cards basically means less penetration. One card don't make much difference, but sometimes, the change dealer 3 times during a shoe (relief dealer, shift ends ect). Now they have burnt 3 cards. Lol. There is a low limit place on Boulder highway in Vegas, that turns over the first card and what ever that card is, they burn that number of cards. If it's an 8 they burn 8 cards. Yuk!

Quote: bahdbwoy

ace-five is what i learned since i only play once in a while as well.. i prefer craps but since we only have e-craps here ill sit down for a shoe if the etable is full..

definately is better than nothing... any suggested exceptions to basic strat at certain plus counts?

Most basic strategy variations are due to the probability of getting a high card vs a low card. Since you are not counting high cards vs low cards, you are not going to get many useful strategy variations. A and 5 are rarely key cards in decisions.

Aoc, you are correct that I am over betting may bankroll. However, I don't play often and it is replenish able so I don't worry about that. Although it would make me said if I didn't last an hour with 400 which is very possible. You are also right that I have selective memory. I am sure there were plenty of times that the count was high and all the cards were small. Thanks for reminding me of that.

KJ, I would love to use a better counting method but I just don't have the time to practice it. In the past I tried hi/lo but I struggled with true counts. Again, I just don't play enough to feel comfortable with it.
At least I am not using SC, hahaha j/K ace.

You are sitting down with $400 and a max bet of $80? That could last you a lot less than an hour. Like, 5 or 10 minutes. Sitting down and just losing as the count goes higher and higher does happen. You could lose $80 as the count is on its way up and then 4 max bets in a row. Hell, you can lose 4 max bets in one hand! The worst part is, you run out of money and have to leave when the count is good!

I always make sure that I have enough money to at least get through the shoe (I never, never, never leave on a + count) Maybe if the casino is on fire or something -- anything less severe than that, and I'm staying.