How much should i bet?

First i want to apologize if the information can be found on this webside or the wizzardofodds one! I really enjoy gamblling and being in the casino, but so far i have only played the european roulette. The roulette is fine and was quite fun for me, but i would like to start playing blackjack. (mainly because of the much lower house edge)So i looked through a lot of different websites and the one i found the most usefull one was the wizardofodds. I learned basic strategy and the Hi-Lo counting system but i am still not aware of how to actually bet? Ive read that if you keep betting the same amount of money on every deal you cant really win. So i want to ask you wheter that is true or not? Ive also read that you shouldnt bet more than 5% of your gambling money on 1 deal? What i wanna know is how should my bet change? lets say i start with 200 euro and i bet 5 or 10 euro each deal? When should the betting amount change? I also want to apologize if my english was a little confusing, it is not my native language.

Thanks ;)

Yeah, you need to vary your bets in order to come out ahead. There are many different opinions as to how you should vary them. I think the mathematically optimal strategy is betting about 0.5% of your total bankroll per each true count unit beyond +1 (if it is less than 2, you are better off not betting at all, or, at least, betting as low as possible).
For example, if you have $1000, bet $5 if true count is 2, $10 if it is 3, $15 if 4 etc.

Thanks a lot weaselman! That was very helpfu I'll surely give it a try. If anyone else has a different suggestion, please share it:)

The Kelly Criterion says that you should bet a percentage of your bankroll equal to your percentage edge. Playing against shoes with average rules, I would estimate that you need a +3 true count to have a 1% edge. Thus, if your bankroll was 1000 euro, you would have to be betting the table minimum (5 euro) whenever the true count was +2 or lower, and 10 euro when the true count was +3 or higher. You could bump this up to 15 euro when the count got to +5, and +20 when the count got to +7. This would equate to a 1-4 spread, which is an absolute minimum to be able to win anything.

Your suggested bets were MUCH too high for the bankroll size you proposed. It is VERY easy to go broke at blackjack, even with an edge, and you should be betting a very small portion of your bankroll on any one hand.

Hmm... Does that mean that i will need a bankroll of a thousand,assuming every casino has a table minimum of 5? I guess i am going to need to practice a lot on card counting since it plays such a big role in figuring out the amount i have to bet ^^

Is counting card an option at online casinos? Lets say BODOG for example? And if counting cards is not an option is there any other way to determine when to bet bigger or smaller?

Another thing i would like to ask is if the true count is positive for example +3 or more do you benefit from the insurance? Because on the wizardofodds website ive seen the wizard saying "never take insurance" Well i guess its a stupid question since his words are quite explicit :)

And thank you for the post mkl, now i have a much better understanding!

Quote: ChristianStefanov

Is counting card an option at online casinos? Lets say BODOG for example? And if counting cards is not an option is there any other way to determine when to bet bigger or smaller?

Online casinos shuffle the shoe after every hand, so no count is going to help you there.

Establish 1% of your bankroll as your base bet. Buy insurance at +3 and since you are learning Hi-Lo look up the Illustrious 18 and the Fab 4 surrender. The answer to your insurance question is there.

You will need this information for your card counting career.

Good luck to you.

Quote: ChristianStefanov

Hmm... Does that mean that i will need a bankroll of a thousand,assuming every casino has a table minimum of 5? I guess i am going to need to practice a lot on card counting since it plays such a big role in figuring out the amount i have to bet ^^

Is counting card an option at online casinos? Lets say BODOG for example? And if counting cards is not an option is there any other way to determine when to bet bigger or smaller?

Another thing i would like to ask is if the true count is positive for example +3 or more do you benefit from the insurance? Because on the wizardofodds website ive seen the wizard saying "never take insurance" Well i guess its a stupid question since his words are quite explicit :)

And thank you for the post mkl, now i have a much better understanding!

A bankroll of 1000 units would be absolute minimum, assuming your minimum bet is 5 units.

Counting involves two decision matrices: how much you bet, and how you play the hand. Proper strategies at plus counts (and minus counts) vary significantly from Basic Strategy. You absolutely must learn the strategy changes, especially for plus counts as your bets will be bigger then.

Don't bother playing online--they shuffle after every hand, and I would NEVER trust them to be honest in any case.

Insurance should be taken whenever the true count is +3 or higher (I am not certain about this one; Wiz may be able to help). Whatever the actual number is, there is definitely a point (at some relatively high count) where the insurance bet is +EV. "Never take insurance" is sound advice for the Basic Strategy player.

May you please reccomend a website or share a link where i could find the BS changes to Basic Strategy aas the count changes. Or maybe reccomend a book or two?

Another question that raises inside my head is should I even bet if the count is 0 or even negative? Should I wait around the table like the wonging and count the cards so i can join at the right time, and wouldnt that raise any suspicion?

Quote: benbakdoff

Establish 1% of your bankroll as your base bet. Buy insurance at +3 and since you are learning Hi-Lo look up the Illustrious 18 and the Fab 4 surrender. The answer to your insurance question is there.

You will need this information for your card counting career.

Good luck to you.

Remember that if in your region the casinos follow the ENHC rule the indexes for doubling/splitting when the dealer is showing a 10 or Ace will be different (indexes for dealer 2-9 as well as hit vs. stand decisions for any dealer up-card will not be affected).

Google Illustrious 18. You'll find many sites that should answer all your questions. The developer of Illustrious 18 and the name of his book are on there.

The wizard's site is on there as well and that is where you should go first. He will guide you through it with the greatest of ease. If you need to fine tune it to the rules of your particular game then try one of the other sites.
I know players who wong out at anything less than zero and others who wait until -2 at which time there is a disadvantage.

Heat varies from property to property so if you want to backcount (wong in) do some reconnaissance first to see what is tolerated.

Quote: ChristianStefanov

May you please reccomend a website or share a link where i could find the BS changes to Basic Strategy aas the count changes. Or maybe reccomend a book or two?

Another question that raises inside my head is should I even bet if the count is 0 or even negative? Should I wait around the table like the wonging and count the cards so i can join at the right time, and wouldnt that raise any suspicion?

Many casinos forbid mid-shoe entry. Even if they allow it, there's no quicker way to get yourself noticed, then kicked out. Instead, continue to bet (the minimum) when the count goes neutral or negative, and consider the resultant losses a part of the cost of doing business. You will only be fighting a small mathematical disadvantage even at large negative counts, and you can help yourself in this regard by learning some of the strategy changes needed in those situations (split 3s against an Ace? hit hard 17? woo hoo!).

Guys you have all been very helpfull i cant thank you enough. Im really glad for signing up for the website. I think its really nice of you helping new players like me even though the questions we might ask may sound quite stupid ^^

Cheers