Table Games What would you bet?

So I'm heading to Vegas in a few weeks with about a 3k (INTENDED) bankroll for the BJ Tables, spanning 4 nights (Thursday-Sunday).

I play "by the book" 99% of the time, sometimes I don't split 8's against a face, or hit a 2 against dealers two etc., otherwise I know what I'm doing)

As far as a betting strategy I usually start off betting 1 unit, if I win, double up, and if I win that double up again, the 4th hand starts back with the base unit again, and of course if I loose any hand, I start back with the base unit!

I'm looking for advice as to what my base unit and buy in should be, usually it's 2 or 3 reds, and I buy in for 1 or 2 hundred at a time. Do you think my bankroll can afford for the base unit to be green for the 4 days? If so, what do you think I should buy in at? I know this is all subjective and I could go there and get killed the first night and this thread is MOOT, but just curious as to others strategies/wagers/buy in are with my intended bankroll!!!

Thanks in advance for the comments/suggestions!

 

I think a lot of it has to do with how much time you want to spend gambling each day. Are you the type who is gambling every waking hour and would be miserable if your bankroll was shot by 2 pm one day? If so, then your bankroll isn’t sufficient to bet green AND press as aggressively as you say you do.

But, if you are the type that enjoys walking the strip, seeing the sights, going to shows etc. and will have plenty of other activities to keep you entertained should you blow your bankroll early, you might be just fine. (I also think that if you are used to betting $10-15/hand and then bump it up to $25/hand, you might not press quite as aggressively as you think you will…but I don’t know you, so I could be completely wrong on that.)

For the way I play (I don’t press as aggressively as you do), 40X my base bet per day is plenty. Certainly, I go over that amount some days. But over the course of a four day trip, an average of 40X my base bet per day has always lasted the entire trip (I’ve done about 40 trips). So I think that if you play a bit more conservatively and mix some red chip action in, your bankroll will be fine.

Buy in with whatever you want (within reason, of course…not $50 for green chip action). I usually buy in for 10X my base bet. I like to keep it smallish because I tend to do exactly what the casinos want me to do: treat chips as if they aren’t money. If I’m having fun, I never have any issue with re-buying. But the process of digging into my pocket and counting out the $100 bills reminds me of the fact that I’m blowing through actual money…so if I’m not having fun, there’s no sense in continuing to go through the motions and pissing away more money.

 

This is subjective and hard to assess.

If it were me, I'd be buying in with $300-$400 each session, betting $25. But I have a tendency to get wiped out quickly, so that may not be great advice.

A $15 bet would give you 200 units. I think it's unlikely you'd burn through that in your trip unless you start increasing your bets to chase, or hit a very bad run of luck.

You could start with a higher bet ($25), then if you get down $1,000, lower your bet to $15. It decreases your chances of getting your money back if you get stuck, but it increases your chances of winning upfront.

 

I do something similar except I start out at $10, bump to $15 with a win and cap at $20 unless the table is hot. Then I'll press my bets more. I like the 2nd bet to be half the first wager because then I'll at least take something back for the shoes where it's back and forth. I used to get killed quickly in shoes where it was win one-lose one when I was full on doubling my initial bet.

If you plan to stick with a strict 2 red starting bet or even 3, you're bankroll should be fine. $25 starting hands would be a too large if you're not prepared to dip into your bank account (especially with a progressive betting system). If you were flat betting $25 you might get away with 3K for 4 days.

 

I think the crucial bit of info missing is how long you want to play for or how many times a day.

If you only want to sit down once a day, and are prepared to be wiped out pretty quickly on ocassion then a $750 available buy in (your $3k divided by 4 nights) should give you a reasonable time at the table at $25 flat betting.

If you want to have 2 or 3 sessions a day and want to play for hours then you may need to start lower and see how it goes.

Your progression sounds a bit risky. If you do play by the book for splits and doubles and the worst case scenario strikes :
First hand: bet 25, win (+25 on buy in)
2nd hand: bet 50, win (+75 on buy in)
3rd hand: bet 100, split to 4 hands, all doubled, LOSE (-725 on buy in)

Fairly unlikely but something to consider. Doubling the bet like that means you are exposing your 'own' money fairly quickly if you haven't won quite a few hands first.

 

Thanks for the responses so far.....

I intend to spend no more than 2 hours a day at the tables, the rest of my time I will be playing VP or the machines (totally separate bankroll for that).

 

That being the case, I’d say you're fine.

 

I've used a positive progression that I got from a book by Donald Dahl titled "Progression Blackjack". I use this at tables where conditions do not warrant counting. It has been effective, and for the non-counter it does offer a unique approach to the game.

 

With only 2 hours, assuming it's a full table, you might be able to get away with a $25 min bet but you'd still be carrying a lot risk if you went cold. Personally, if you're in for a little risk, I'd start with $25 bets and be willing to move down if your luck was bad. That way, with a little good luck, you'll be able to play higher and possibly win more. You'll just have to accept that if you're cold, you'll be stepping down and you probably won't get back to even if you're settled with a $10 bet.

 

My typical trip is 3 days of gambling, approximately 10-12 hours a day actually at the tables.
My base bet is (and has been for years) $10.
When I play green, the bankroll goes to $300 and I initially buy in for $200...so only 12xbase when playing green.
But when I play green, my spread goes lower, from 1-5 when playing $10 down to 1-3. So, my max bet is $75.
My bankroll is budgeted at either $1700 or $1800 every trip (with an additional $500 if I stay for 4 nights, like this upcoming trip!).

So, roughly the same as you...except I play at least 5 times longer than you.
I don't bet a progression system. I keep a reasonably accurate simple +/- count and I only play two deck games (with the periodic foray onto a shoe-table...especially at Golden Gate!)
The most I can ever allow myself to lose in one day is $1000...and I haven't come anywhere close to that in years.
Just playing decent basic-strategy, flat-betting, you should lose very little even after hours of play.
My 'session' bankroll is typically $200 (20xbase), but I buy in for $100 at a time. I'll pay at least 5, $200 sessions a day, or 100 betting units.
You have $750/night in bankroll cash. In my opinion, you have plenty to play green - two one hour sessions would be 15 units each, or $375.
Just don't press aggressively. Perhaps limit your progressions to something like: 25-30-50.
Good luck!

 

Thanks, I appreciate the alternate pressing strategy...... Maybe I'll try that, 25,30, 50...... Open to other betting strategies also....

 

At Maryland Live, I once saw a guy progress like this....

25-win
50-win
100-win
200-win
400-..... dealt a pair of 8s... split... double down after split on one hand, and get 18 on the other. Dealer has 16, and receives a 5 for a 21. Player ends up losing $1200 on that one hand.

I know I've made the mistake of running out of money on a heavy progression run when presented an opportunity to double down or split.

 

Id make my first hand each day $500 bet, if you win then you are gonna have a fun day...if not, lower your bet

 

If you are on a heater, fire $100 to $500 (say you are betting $25) depending on how well you are doing from the initial buy-in. I noticed BJ is a really streaky game, at least for me.

 

If you're only playing eight hours of BJ over four days, you would be highly unlikely to burn through the whole bankroll betting $25 a hand. That's more than a hundred units. Although I don't employ the pressing strategy you do, I imagine it would be hard to run through that many units in so few hours