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The Counting Edge blackjack system requires you to have a precise bankroll before you can play the system in a casino. Our playing experience has taught us that there is a specific amount of starting money you need to give you the best chance of blackjack success.
Before we get into the size of your wagering capital, let’s talk briefly about what a bankroll is and how it should be used. Your bankroll is the money you use to bet on blackjack. This money is set aside only for playing blackjack. It is not used for any other purpose.
The bankroll should never contain:
If you do not have an amount of disposable money that you can set aside for playing blackjack, don’t play. It is that simple. Gambling is not an entitlement. It is a privilege for those who can afford to do it. NEVER take the money you need for your life expenses and play blackjack with it.
There is an old rule that smart gamblers live by: SCARED MONEY NEVER WINS .
If you sit down to play blackjack with money you are afraid to lose, lose you will. The reason why is that you cannot think properly and make the correct basic strategy decisions when you are afraid to lose. You will be overcautious and too conservative.
One of the best quotes we have ever heard came from an old blackjack player named Bud who was asked about what it took to make a living at blackjack. With a twinkle in his eye, Bud replied, “You have to hate money.”
We didn’t understand Bud’s comment at first. Hate money? Making money is the reason people play blackjack! Bud was a professional blackjack player, however, so we knew he had a point. He explained his words to us.
“When I was living in Vegas with a bunch of other guys, all of us making a living playing blackjack, we all went to the casino with the goal of making our $100 each day. You see, the reason a lot of guys don’t make it in professional blackjack is greed. They can’t be happy with $100. They need to win $200. When they win $200, they want to win $400. They love money too much to be a professional gambler.”
Bud’s words made sense, and that is why we are sharing them with you in the Counting Edge blackjack system. If you are too greedy you will never succeed at blackjack.
The Starting Bankroll
To begin playing the Counting Edge system you need to have 50 times the minimum bet at the blackjack table where you are playing. We suggest that you begin by playing the lowest table minimum offered at your casino. In most casinos this will be $5. Therefore, you must have a total bankroll of $250 ($5 X 50) before you begin to play blackjack with our system.
The reason for this is very simple. Blackjack is a game of swings. The deck will alternate many times during the course of a blackjack session. You must have enough funds to play blackjack until the count becomes favorable. When it does, you will have a chance to make a healthy profit. If you sit down at the blackjack table with inadequate betting capital, you could easily go broke before the chance comes to make a profit.
Of all the mistakes made by beginning blackjack players, not having enough bankroll is one of the most serious. They sit down to play with $50, lose ten hands in a row, and walk away thinking that they must be very unlucky. Losing ten hands in a row is rare, but it does happen. You can also win ten hands in a row, but the player who only sat down with $50 won’t know that because he is out of the game.
This is an important rule to remember: as long as you have a bankroll you are still in the game. Protect your bankroll at all costs. Keep it separate from your other money and add to it after every winning blackjack session. One of the goals of the Counting Edge blackjack system is to teach you how to build your bankroll over time with your profits. When you are able to do that you are in a very good position. You will then be playing each session of blackjack with the house’s money. Your original bankroll can then be withdrawn and used for other purposes.
Every successful blackjack player understands the importance of having a healthy bankroll and managing it like an investment fund. Think of your bankroll in the exact same way.
Might be of interest: Going on Tilt & what it means in Blackjack
Questions about bankroll and how it affects small-ballers; The system wants a player to have a bankroll of 250 to start playing at most tables. The article also criticizes the common player who sits down with 50 for not being able to capitalize on a good count to reap the benefits. Does this mean that one should bring the entire bankroll with them to the table, knowing they only intend to win/lose 20% on the session? Wouldn’t an alternative be to bring the 20% you are putting up, plus a little bit extra (50 or 100, or whatever is appropriate to one’s bankroll) to have as necessary capital for splits or doubling?
Also, there have been a couple sessions where I have made my win target and have a couple units extra (10 USD or so) and have used the extra units to play a couple of hands for funsies. Maybe I make extra on this, maybe I lose it. I find myself not vested in these extra units like I am with the main fund. Is this a weakness of mine? Should I just take the extra profits?
Hey, Zuko! Thanks for being a Counting Edge reader and for asking some great questions. We’ll try to answer as best we can.
Your question about bankroll requirements goes right to the heart of a problem about money management. When we state that you should have 50X the table minimum to play, we’re mainly speaking to the recreational blackjack player that makes a few visits now and then to a live or online casino. A professional player would never take their entire bankroll to a single session. The idea scenario would be to only put 25% of your total bankroll in play during a single session. So, in that case, you’d want a total bankroll of $1,000 before you started trying to make serious money on a session-by-session basis.The inherent problem with just having the 50X minimum is revealed in your question. If you sit down at a $5 table with $250 and lose ten hands right away, you now have $200. In theory, that means you shouldn’t switch to another table until you replenish the bankroll.
As for playing a little loose with winnings, that’s something referred to as an action bet. There’s nothing wrong with allocating a little money to action bets simply because you enjoy playing the game. Famous horse handicapper Andrew Beyer has said that he always brings along extra money to the racetrack because he doesn’t like sitting around waiting for a good race to bet. He loves betting so he doesn’t punish himself by being overly strict. You can do the same with blackjack. Just remember that those action bets should come from your winnings or other money you have set aside for action bets and not from your primary bankroll.
We hope this helped to answer your question and good luck at the tables!