1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

Table Games BJ bet size/buy in/bank roll formula?

Discussion in 'Table Games' started by AceRothstein80, Jun 17, 2012.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. AceRothstein80

    AceRothstein80 Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2012
    Messages:
    401
    Location:
    Wichita Kansas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    19
    I was just curious, what most black jack players like to have as a rule of thumb.

    Say, no matter if you bet $25 a hand,$2000 a hand or $2 per hand...how many "bets" do you like to have per session, and beyond that, budgeted for your trip?

    I feel I like to play at a higher limit per hand than I should, based on what I care you buy in for(lose in a session) and have budgeted for BJ on my trip...which cripples me quick if I run bad
     
  2. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2010
    Messages:
    10,096
    Location:
    At the tables
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    i don't play BJ primarily so when i play, i play with less money and at lower stakes than normal. but i usually buy in for $5k and start with 2 hands at $300 each. i will press after i win 1 or 2 and have gotten up to $2k in 2 spots before when i was running really good. if things aren't going well i often reduce to just 1 hand to see if that turns things around. if i lose my buy-in, i generally don't play anymore BJ that trip. if i do pretty well or at least breakeven, i will try again later in the trip.
     
  3. JillyFromPhilly

    JillyFromPhilly Tourist

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2011
    Messages:
    1,073
    Location:
    Gwynedd Valley, PA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    28
    I used to go with a 20 to 1 ratio bankroll to my starting bet level - but I've found that lately anymore I mostly play 2 hands at a time, yet I still usually buy in for the same amount & bet the same amount on each hand - I guess it's still technically a 20 to 1 ratio, although really it could also be looked at as a 10 to 1 ratio I guess.
     
  4. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2010
    Messages:
    10,096
    Location:
    At the tables
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    but that's not 20 to 1 on your bankroll for your entire trip, that's just your buy-in.
     
  5. may24

    may24 Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2010
    Messages:
    447
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    1
    Read that you should start with 40 units. I am comfortable buying in with 20 units.
    I am a $25 a hand player so I buy in for $500.
     
  6. JillyFromPhilly

    JillyFromPhilly Tourist

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2011
    Messages:
    1,073
    Location:
    Gwynedd Valley, PA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    28
    Oh yeah, sorry for not clarifying - that's per session, not per trip. Ideally per trip I usually like to have a large enough LOC to [worst case scenario] have enough to bankroll at least one to two sessions at that buy-in level per day of the trip. If the trip goes well, though [i.e. I break even or win] the amount of my buy-ins & bets will gradually increase as the trip goes on - so if I don't lose right off the bat, I will play bigger as the week goes on.
     
  7. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2009
    Messages:
    5,820
    Location:
    Burnaby, BC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    17
    Blackjack isn't my main game so I never have a "per trip" bankroll.

    But when playing I almost always go with 20x my initial betting amount - gives me enough play to ride some ups and downs and not lose it all, or go back to my wallet, if I hit a couple of bad hands.
     
    • Informative Informative x 1
  8. agentq

    agentq Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2011
    Messages:
    121
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    This set of tables will give you a precise # of units to count as your bankroll, depending on how tolerant you are of the likelihood of getting completely wiped out:
    http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/appendix/12/

    I usually end up keeping my bankroll at 50-100 units for a 'trip,' which I loosely define as 12 hours (or 720 hands).
     
  9. numeno

    numeno VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    1,729
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    I buy in for ~6-8X minimum bet. I'm fine with leaving a table in 15 minutes if it is going bad. I don't feel a need to get more money out just because it might turn.

    In general I have ~6 of those buyins per day. I expect some of them will have money left over or end up so that I can sit at more than 6 tables. On rare occasions that doesn't happen and I'm done at 10pm.
     
  10. MangoPort

    MangoPort High-Roller

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2011
    Messages:
    764
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    12
    Just mentioned it on a separate thread addressing this, but I'll usually go with about 30 small bets for a trip. If it's a longer trip (like the one I have coming up - 8 days), I'll go with 50 bets, playing at two spots.

    I generally buy-in for about 10-15 bets but I will up these bets drastically if good fortune comes my way.
     
  11. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2009
    Messages:
    6,341
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    75
    I’m primarily a BJ player. I’d guess 70-90% of my time gambling is spent on the BJ tables.

    Usually, my trip bankroll is 40 betting units X number of days in the trip (though I do not set a strict daily budget for myself). My buy-ins are usually 10X a betting unit, though I’m usually willing to buy in for another 10-20X if I’m enjoying myself and not losing too quickly. I only buy-in for such a smallish amount because if I lose it all very quickly, the act of reaching into my pocket or asking for another marker gives me a chance to think about whether I really want to keep playing at that table.

    I’d imagine that the experts might say that I’m over betting my bankroll slightly. But in thirty-odd trips, I’ve only once dug deeper into my line of credit than I told myself I would at the beginning of the trip and only by about 10 units. And I probably play a good 6-8 hours a day on average.

    (When I say “betting unit”, I’m talking about my typical minimum bet. I will certainly press if things are going well and I will also raise my minimum bets as the ratio of my bankroll to time left in the trip increases.)
     
  12. WrongWayWade

    WrongWayWade VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2010
    Messages:
    1,151
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    27
    I bet from $25 to $150/hand with the average something around $50/hand, so I will buy-in for $500 at the table (10 average bets). This usually lets me play for 30min-1hour without having to buy more chips. But if the shoe is hot and I've lost the $500, I'm always ready to buy in more. For a 5-day trip to Vegas I like to have about $8000 for the total bankroll (160 average bets). I've never had this amount busted; my worse 1-trip loss was around $3000 and best win around $4000. I also will spend maybe 20% of my time playing PaiGow ($40+$5/hand usually), and slots.
     
  13. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2010
    Messages:
    10,096
    Location:
    At the tables
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    how do you lose your buy-in on a hot shoe?
     
  14. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2009
    Messages:
    6,341
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    75
    It is rare, but certainly possible. I lost $4000 at the same table my father won $8000 at once.

    Even more infuriating was the fact that, at the time, he didn’t have a clue about basic strategy and I was essentially playing his hands for him. :grrr: Yeah, you can bet I never once reached for my wallet when a bill came that trip!
     
  15. WrongWayWade

    WrongWayWade VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2010
    Messages:
    1,151
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    27
    By not winning hands! (A hot shoe isn't defined by past results, but by future composition.)
     
  16. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2010
    Messages:
    10,096
    Location:
    At the tables
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    huh? how do you know its future composition?
     
  17. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2009
    Messages:
    6,341
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    75
    LOL. And how do you lose $500 on future hands? Damn CET BJ rules!
     
  18. WrongWayWade

    WrongWayWade VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2010
    Messages:
    1,151
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    27
    Google 'card counting...'
     
  19. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2010
    Messages:
    10,096
    Location:
    At the tables
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    lol, even if the count is extremely high, you still don't know if it's going to be hot. you can still lose every hand even with a high count if the dealer is getting all the pat 20s and you're hitting 14s and busting. you can only look back on shoes and say that was a hot shoe or that was a cold shoe.
     
  20. WrongWayWade

    WrongWayWade VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2010
    Messages:
    1,151
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    27
    OK, YOUR definition of a 'hot shoe' was not at all what I was trying to say (Hot-cold to you is about results, to me I was referring to the count). Let me be more specific. If the count is high and I've lost my buy-in, I'll buy more chips. Is that any better?
     
Tags:
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.