small town casino

I think the heat for Harrah Cherokee is heat 2 and horseshoe in southern Indiana is a heat 7

I'm not sure what heat means but I'm learning

This site is a great help along with a lot of wisdom from everyone

You are better off saving your money than trying to play HS Indy if your hopes are to make money. At least 2/6 decks cut off most tables, and more likely to find dealers shading the other way dealing out 3-3.5 than finding a 4.5.

I don't think Qfit's chart is for heat levels, I think it's for number of s17 games,3 to 2 games 6to5 games etc..,not a casinos tolerance.

Quote: Hunterhill

I don't think Qfit's chart is for heat levels, I think it's for number of s17 games,3 to 2 games 6to5 games etc..,not a casinos tolerance.

Thanks for the clarification!

Quote: aceK

I'm not sure what heat means but I'm learning.

Heat is the (unwanted) amount of attention the Pit Boss or eye in the sky puts on your play. Based on what I've read (not experienced), if your play is in any fashion "too good" (your spread, your ramping, your winning, etc,) you'll be approached and could be asked to either flatbet (table minimum only) or asked to play another game. Maybe those who have had the experience can further enlighten us.

Heat is fairly volatile and individualized. Anything that makes a player look out of the ordinary brings attention. If its both out of the ordinary and the player is winning it tends to be of even increased concern to the casino. Every moment that a player engages in some ploy to conceal his skills, it costs him money in less-than-optimal play.

I'd recommend just finding a good set of rules and dealing style and go with it. Don't waste your time or energy or skills on avoiding heat, just play the game and enjoy the results.

Heat can vary by shift, personnel quirks, management memos, etc.

Quote: aceK

thank you

I guess you will bet the min until +2 then up bet 5 if you are doing 1 - 5 correct

With KISS, in eight decks, you start the count at 16. It's been years since I played eight decks so I honestly don't remember the numbers to ramp up. I do remember the spread is 1-12. I play double deck. The spread is 2-6, dropping to one when the count goes bad.

Quote: aceK

thank you

I guess you will bet the min until +2 then up bet 5 if you are doing 1 - 5 correct

With KISS, in eight decks, you start the count at 16. It's been years since I played eight decks so I honestly don't remember the numbers to ramp up. I do remember the spread is 1-12. I play double deck. The spread is 2-6, dropping to one when the count goes bad.
You aren't going to beat eight decks spreading 1-4 or 1-5.
As far as splitting your bankroll up, the idea is while on vacation, you don't drop your entire bankroll to your first session and end up watching tv the rest of the weekend. If you plan on playing an hour in the morning and another in the afternoon each day for three days, it's practical to split the bankroll in six.
Just for the record, while I'm an experienced player, I am not an expert. Simply a student of the game.

Hey aceK, and welcome to the forums.

If your bankroll is $1k, that would be about enough to play at the $5 tables with a $5-$40 spread. You should take at least 10 max bets with you to the casino each session (and that's on the low end - 20 is more ideal), so about $400.

Is your bankroll replenishable? Meaning, say you lose your $1,000... which CAN HAPPEN with the natural variance of the game, are you willing to commit more money to blackjack? If so, then you can theoretically count this money as part of your bankroll too. That means if you're willing to invest another $1k if you lose the first $1k then you have a theoretical bankroll of $2k, and you can base your bets/Risk of Ruin (RoR) from that.

As LW shared, I have 3 articles on this site that I think you could really benefit A LOT from by reading, and re-reading them. They go "from A to Z" in everything you'll need to know to have a winning game. In my experienced opinion, you do not have a wininng game until you can provide the following information before a session:

1) House Edge
2) Bet Spread
3) Risk of Ruin (RoR)
4) Expected Hourly Value (EV)
5) Standard Deviations (to understand the possible swings you could see)

All of this is ASIDE from learning to actually count using Hi/Low, or whatever system of your choice you're most comfortable with. I only push Hi/Low because quite often you might have questions about your count, and questions about other less popular systems will be more difficult to get exact answers on. Also, in just my opinion, I feel it's the best bang for your buck in terms of simplicity and effectiveness. You should evaluate as many systems as you like and whichever one (that's main stream - so no Ace/5 count, etc) seems simplest to you that's the one for you (since you'll make the least amount of costly mistakes with it).

I hope you do re-visit LW first response to this thread on page 1 and take a look through the 3 articles. There's A LOT of useful information in there you should know before diving in to blackjack and the world of card counting =). Good luck, and feel free to post any followup questions or send me a PM.

Quote: Romes

As LW shared, I have 3 articles on this site that I think you could really benefit A LOT from by reading, and re-reading them.

aceK, FYI, if you're hesitant about reading, let me share:

1. I've re-read all 3 articles 5 times, and the lights still go in in my brain with "aha" moments like "So THAT'S what they mean by 'heat' (or back counting, or short buy- in). . .

2. I already added comments to each article - the first one is the most challenging.

3. Don't stop asking questions, especially the ones you think are 'stupid'. There's always someone with an answer. Having said that, you'll gradually distinguish between whose answers you can do without, and the ones you'll always look forward to reading. Share as much as you're comfortable sharing about yourself and your play - states or casino names you visit (there WILL be someone else who's been there), your gambling woes (someone else has already experienced that), and more.

I rather enjoy Romes's posts, and I usually read and re-read all of them.

If the heat does visit you, tell 'em you were counting CARBS, not CARDS.