Is it just me, or is BlackJack incredibly boring.

[Nemesis]

I just watched the million dollar blackjack tournament... wow talk about boring [censored]. No wonder poker exploded... it's so action packed compared to BJ.

[whiskeytown]

any game where using your head is considered against the house (card counting) - is not a game worth playing IMHO

RB

[bernie]

Boring? Evidently you haven't folded for 2+ hours straight yet. The travel channel and ESPN edit this wonderful part of the game out. It's not exactly 'action packed.' In BJ your directly involved in every hand.

b

[ResidentParanoid]

Personally, watching almost any live card game puts me to sleep. Playing blackjack started boring me, which is why I switched to poker games a few years back. I can't imagine watching it.

Now, that "celebrity poker showdown" is ok: I can watch it with friends and family and they better understand why I play. They're willing to watch celebrities they like compete against one's they don't like. And I can talk about poker when that is going on. But that is really for their benefit, not mine.

[ResidentParanoid]

But bernie, after you've learned all the correct plays, there's nothing intellectually interesting about blackjack. It's just playing the cards like the book says. A snoozer to play, a funeral to watch. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

And yes, that whole folding thing is why I can't play live anymore. Oh, the whole marriage thing contributed to no more playing live for me too... /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[SinCityGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
No wonder poker exploded... it's so action packed compared to BJ.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess you've never experienced the "excitement" of being 86'd from the premises for being an advantage player.

[daryn]

you're right that the bj on the travel channel was incredibly boring. my dad was watching it and i walked by and commented on how exciting it was as a joke. i think he nodded /images/graemlins/grin.gif

now playing blackjack is another story! it's very fun, much like craps. damn casino! why do they have to make the -EV games so fun!

[Nemesis]

playing it may be fun. Watching it... wow.

[andyfox]

I do indeed find playing blackjack boring. I can sit about 10-15 minutes tops, win, lose or draw.

[charlie_t_jr]

[ QUOTE ]
damn casino! why do they have to make the -EV games so fun!

[/ QUOTE ]

-EV....your playing BJ wrong. Counting cards really doesn't take that much effort, especially considering the time someone puts in trying to perfect his poker game.

[cardcounter0]

Golf.

Tennis (non-female tennis that is).

Golf.

Bowling.

Golf.

Just about any reality-based "dating" show.

And this one is just me -- Baseball. The few times I have gone and watched live MLB I've taken a little nap by the 7th inning. On afternoon Sunday games, I've fallen asleep watching it on TV, woken up hours later, only to be right back in the middle of the "action".

The Weather Channel.

Oh, yeah. Did I mention Golf?

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]

Oh, yeah. Did I mention Golf?

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe you mentioned it, but never came out and said what you really thought of it.

Playing golf is boring. The only thing that makes it bearable for most people is drinking beer while playing. Even the beer doesn't do it for me. If you have to drink to trick yourself into believing you have playing an interesting game, the beer consumption needed to watch someone else do it on TV is exponentially greater. This is why beer companies sponsor golf and bowling and such on TV. Those guys really know their market. There are only two things you can do when golf is on TV:
1. drink beer while you are watching it; or
2. turn it off and drink beer instead of watching it.

It is a well known fact that the Scottish distillaries invented golf as a way of marketing their product. Obviously, no sober person would play golf in Scotland. American breweries took it to the next level by inventing televised golf. Marketing geniuses.

[daryn]

and your grammar is bad.

but that's neither here nor their /images/graemlins/wink.gif

anyways, i don't count cards. can you even count cards at a place that uses 8 decks? i'm not sure. anyways, blackjack is not a game i play to make money, and it's not even a game i play frequently.

i'm sorry if i'm playing wrong /images/graemlins/confused.gif /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[scalf]

/images/graemlins/smile.gif hey

if ya wanta gamble in a casino...play basic..count +/-..

but it is gambling with a high s.d.

and fun


grinding it out long term ain't fun..

seriously..

more fun to mow lawns...and less aggravating..

jmho

gl

/images/graemlins/mad.gif /images/graemlins/wink.gif /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

[Homer]

anyways, i don't count cards. can you even count cards at a place that uses 8 decks? i'm not sure. anyways, blackjack is not a game i play to make money, and it's not even a game i play frequently.

Yeah, but you need to spread your bets quite a bit, so you need a huge bankroll.

Don't even think about learning to count cards to play at Fox and Mohegan, btw. Their penetration (how many cards they deal before shuffling -- very important to card counters) sucks and their tables are packed (so you won't get many hands in per hour).

-- Homer

[daryn]

thanks for the info but i have never entertained the notion of counting cards /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[offTopic]

[ QUOTE ]


It is a well known fact that the Scottish distillaries invented golf as a way of marketing their product. Obviously, no sober person would play golf in Scotland. American breweries took it to the next level by inventing televised golf. Marketing geniuses.

[/ QUOTE ]

You've got your cause and effect mixed up there. The Scots invented golf and salmon fishing. It was only natural that they would invent scotch.

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


It is a well known fact that the Scottish distillaries invented golf as a way of marketing their product. Obviously, no sober person would play golf in Scotland. American breweries took it to the next level by inventing televised golf. Marketing geniuses.

[/ QUOTE ]

You've got your cause and effect mixed up there. The Scots invented golf and salmon fishing. It was only natural that they would invent scotch.

[/ QUOTE ]

Fishing is clearly something that could drive one to drink. Fishing is certainly as boring as golf, exceeded only by watching fishing on TV. (Scots, however, do not fish on TV. Only Bubba-Americans have TV fishing shows.)

Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he has an excuse to sit in a boat and drink all day.

[J.A.Sucker]

You should play with Coileen, El Diablo, Noted Poker Authority Ed Miller, and lots of booze. It's quite entertaining; win, lose or draw.

[eastbay]

[ QUOTE ]

And I can talk about poker when that is going on. But that is really for their benefit, not mine.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I'm sure they really appreciate it, too.

eastbay

[bernie]

[ QUOTE ]
But bernie, after you've learned all the correct plays, there's nothing intellectually interesting about blackjack. It's just playing the cards like the book says. A snoozer to play, a funeral to watch.

[/ QUOTE ]

The toughest part, and funnest too, is not getting caught. The cat-n-mouse of it. Playing and counting are the easy part.

b

[ZeeJustin]

[ QUOTE ]
and your grammar is bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is quite the understatement. I got not one, but two headaches while reading that post.

-Justin Bonomo

[SinCityGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
The toughest part, and funnest too, is not getting caught. The cat-n-mouse of it. Playing and counting are the easy part.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bernie, you hit the nail on the head. In order to fool the pit crew, you have to act like you don't know what you're doing. Things like handling your chips in a clumsy manner, asking the dealer stupid questions, etc. The hardest part for me was mastering the count while carrying on a conversation. I got to where I could scan the table and pick up the count in two or three seconds.

[byronkincaid]

[ QUOTE ]
Playing blackjack started boring me, which is why I switched to poker games a few years back

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you Paranoid Android on BJ21.com? Just wondering cos your names are similar.

[ResidentParanoid]

Yes, right on the money. That's the main challenge. Cat'n mouse game is fun at first, and then kind of hopeless. Getting caught and being harassed by the house was a blast the first few times it happened. Those are some of my best casino stories. But then, I started thinking, these guys are pros and have built billion $ casinos off of guys like me. I bought a copy of S&M and retired from blackjack after that.

[ResidentParanoid]

Well, I meant the watching of the celebrities. Yes, talking about the poker is mostly for my benefit. But my wife likes to guess whether a hand should be folded, bet or raised. So part of it is for her. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[ResidentParanoid]

Nope not me. Don't play blackjack any more.

[bernie]

The other major drawback was that you couldn't ever really be friends with the casino personel. They are the enemy in BJ.

b

[magithighs]

I'm glad you brought up this topic. Apart from a personal preference Blackjack is not boring compared to poker. In fact, it's the Casino type players which make poker extremely profitable.

Playing Black Jack requires at minimum two decisions EVERY hand, regardless of of how boring, or mundane it may be. And, every hand presents an opportunity to win money, no matter how much of a long shot.

You may think this is wacky, but it's true. These decisions get the dopamine firing in the brain, which has an intoxicating effect. People like that feeling.

Now those players come to poker. A correct strategy requires that you do NOT play most hands. Most decisions are NOT to play and DON'T present an opportunity to win money. This is incredibly boring to those casino players.

So, they play way more hands than they should and chase way more hands than they should. Understanding and spotting this can be very profitable.

Cheers
Magi

[ResidentParanoid]

Agreed, hadn't thought about that in a while. At least in poker, the house likes having me around. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Rooster71]

Yea, BJ is boring...that's for sure. I watched a BJ tourney a while back where the so-called "expert" attempted to "read the dealer", basically he just stared at the dealer for several minutes, then lost the hand. Real exciting stuff!

What's next on TV? Roulette tournaments?

[eastbay]

[ QUOTE ]
Yea, BJ is boring...that's for sure. I watched a BJ tourney a while back where the so-called "expert" attempted to "read the dealer", basically he just stared at the dealer for several minutes, then lost the hand. Real exciting stuff!

What's next on TV? Roulette tournaments?

[/ QUOTE ]

Slot tournaments. Imagine the thrill...

eastbay

[MCS]

Unlike slot tournaments, blackjack tournaments actually do involve skill. Most of the skill is knowing how much to bet at various times.

Michael Konik's "reading the dealer" thing was nonsense.

[charlie_t_jr]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
and your grammar is bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is quite the understatement. I got not one, but two headaches while reading that post.

-Justin Bonomo

[/ QUOTE ]

I's writ this on the fly at work. So's I apologize for any pain it may of caused. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[jwvdcw]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
damn casino! why do they have to make the -EV games so fun!

[/ QUOTE ]

-EV....your playing BJ wrong. Counting cards really doesn't take that much effort, especially considering the time someone puts in trying to perfect his poker game.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. I don't even see how people can enjoy to play it...its so mechanical(even if you aren't a card counter). There are certain things to do in every situation. What makes poker interesting is that there is no 'right play' in any given situation.