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Sep

29

2015

Is Your Bankroll Disappearing Playing Blackjack?

 Is Your Bankroll Disappearing Playing Blackjack?

A while back, I was collecting stories from readers on what games they like to play when they’re taking time off from their main games. What do blackjack players do when the dealer’s hot and their bankrolls are disappearing? What do craps players do when too many point-7 sequences eat into their stack of chips?

One regular reader, Clara, often answers my call for such stories. She’s primarily a blackjack player, and a A couple of years ago, she told of a nice run with a betting progression in which her $100 buy-in became $1,800.

 “I probably spend 75 percent of my time at blackjack,” she wrote in her most recent email. “When I do something else, it’s usually another card game, with just a little dabble on the slots. In my parents’ house, we were always playing cards of some kind. Pinochle, spades, hearts, rummy, crazy 8s, Uno – you name it, we played it.

“We didn’t really play poker as a family, though I watched my mom and dad play with their friends sometimes. I learned to rank poker hands just by watching.”

That has come in handy, given that so many casino games are based on poker, even though you’re playing against the house instead of against other players. Carla ticked off some of the games she’s tried.

“I’ve played Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud, Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker. The one I really like is Three Card Poker. I like the Pair Plus, because you can get a nice 40-1 on the straight flush.

“It’s easy and relaxed, and I don’t have to concentrate very hard, so I’m ready when I go back to blackjack.”

Of course, not every game is for every player, not even as a break from the main game of choice. Take Jeremy, a craps player who occasionally dabbles in roulette. There’s one place you’ll never find him, and that’s at Clara’s favorite.

“You know what I really don’t like?” he said. “Blackjack. It just seems soooooo slow to me. People really aren’t rooting for each other, they’re mostly just looking at their own hands, until somebody makes a mistake. Then there’s always someone who wants to jump all over the poor guy who maybe made a bad play. Who needs that?”

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