Hi Plugga,

In short, my method is to back horses that are available at a price i think is greater than their winning chance, nothing new there. It's not always about backing the horse you think has the best chance of winning, but the horses that have the biggest gap between their market price and chance of winning.

The devil though is in the detail of how you work that out. My own approach is characterised by detailed form study and a in depth knowledge of the capabilitieis on individual horses in different race conditions. I gain that winning edge through combination of tools and resources I have developed myself to give me information not available in form guides or to the general public. Much of this centres around pace and the preferrences individual horses have for varying pace conditions.

I wouldn't waste my time.
If your casino are not using shuffling machines now, I bet they will be in the next 12 months.
For your info, a shuffling machine has nearly all the cards in it, most of the time, so you would have a clue what is coming out next!

Listen to this advice, it's pretty thorough.

With the Gamemaster Online tutorials, it's good and gives you the info you need to attack the casino's.

However, you should also read the better books on card counting, and visit a few websites. One I frequent, BJ21.com, hosted by Stanford Wong, is execllent, and there are many very knowledgable players there.

As for conditions, it depends. With decent camo, it will be quite a while before anyone notices your a counter, IF your playing low stakes.

However, high stakes are risky, and you will be asking for it in Australia (again, too many hours/casino=eventual ban). Camo will only last for so long...

If you really want to make an income of counting (very stressful, and emotionally strenuous), I suggest you count part-time, work and build up a BR. Try to also expand your horizons into other gambling such as sports betting.

About the glamorous comment, thats for sure. It's long hard work. But then again, so are most jobs. It does have its perks (women everywhere, can be entertaining, beating them at their own game etc), but don't be fooled, their are many cons (large BR necessary to make decent $$$ with low risk, long hours, very challenging emotionally etc).

The fact is, most people who try to make a living off BJ will fail. Most people aren't the right sort of person. You have to be fairly unemotional, or at least be able to seperate emotion from 'business'. If not, a long losing trend will drive you insane, literally. Losing trends WILL happen, FREQUENTLY. It's a rollercoaster ride, not a steady income. You should have quite a lot of money away ready to cover expenses far ahead. You need that BR :wink:, it also helps if you have little expense (no morgage, wife or kids etc).

There's a good chance you'll lose all of your money, However most counters who fail, fail for one of two reasons, often both
1)not disciplined

2)inappropriatly bankrolled

Learning to count to perfection isn't the key...learning to seize the right opportunites is, and even more-so, getting away with it all.

The pit is stupid, but smart enough to catch on...

Vary the casino's you play at, change the shift you play on, observe shift changes, who works when etc. There's alot more to it than just remembering the count.

Don't pick too complex a count. Most counts give roughly the same edge. Start with something simple like the KO (Knockout) or Hi-Lo count. Find out if you prefer balanced or unbalanced systems.

When your ready for the casino's, play for min bet, counting and observing in your head. Don't change the bet acording to the count, just get a feel for counting in the casino. Don't start playing for profit until you find counting and everything that goes with it second nature.

There is much more that I didn't go into here, but you will learn from experience.

Don't pay anyone to teach you, all the info you need is accessible in books and off the web.

Stick with it, and you will make your money.
Just don't ever assume it will be an easy road.