1 and 2 Deck Spreads, Bet Levels in Las Vegas?

Headed to Las Vegas this week for 3 days...it's been 2 years since last visit. I am meeting my brother, and he has never been there.

I have Stanford Wong's CBJN in hand, and some Anthony Curtis LVA info.....It looks like 2 deck is probably the best bet, with some good penetration to be had and a little table hopping.

For single and double deck only, which LV casinos tolerate (nearly) instant spreading below max of 1x$50 or 2x$35, i.e. $5 to $50, or $5 to 2x$35 with little/no camoflague?

I have read that the El Cortez is heat city and quick to toss counters at single deck. Are their bet spreads, with maximum bets of $50, that are well tolerated anywhere in town at the 1 deck games? What betting levels get you thrown out? What about the same info for 2 deck games?

Thanks is advance.

The El Cortez will give you heat for simply flat betting $50. The unit size is too high, any bet over $25 gets a 'checks play' call.

The casinos don't spot people by a mathematical calculation of bet spread. They spot people by their mannerisms and appearance. Do you look nervous? Does it look like you know what you are doing?

If you look and act the fool and have convinced the pit you are a loser, you can spread $1 to $500 at single deck.

If the pit thinks you are counting they probably won't like you flat betting $1.

If the eye and pit are busy watching some big action at the table next to you, you can spread 1:20 safely. If the pit is empty, they will be on you the first time you jump your bet.

It is all relative. Who else is in the casino, what has happened recently, who exactly is behind the eye and the pit on that particular shift, is the dealer alerting the pit to your action, how good is your act, etc., etc.

Watch and be observant, and Good Luck!

I agree with you SOTSOG and thanks for the advice.

Several things I do to not stand out as an Advantage Player.....

1) I ask the dealers or pit critters, (sometimes even other players that "think they know what they are doing") for advice on each and every marginal play, i.e., when I am right at the hi-lo index and I would go either way with the play....then I use their advice. This seems to happen one to three times per 50 hands.

2) I don't play anywhere near as fast as I am able to.

3) I go out of my way to talk with the dealers and the pit. Most counters that I see at the tables don't do this. They look like they are sneeking around.

4) I try to say good things about the casino, or their food or motel, to the pit critters. I complement them on their dealers if appropriate. I never complain about a thing in the place. If they work there, they want to hear that you like the place. (The only exception is a dealer mistake or procedure issue....or any issue involving improper play.....this has to be corrected.)

5) The above 4 things are almost always good enough. I think I have been figured out a few times, especially on very long sessions, and the pit critters admire me for those traits and have let me play anyway.

6) Before I figured out the above, I was made out and shuffled up on far more often. Being shuffled on or backed off is an indicator of when to modify your act. Too much play and bet camoflague is too costly in my book, especially when you are not going into black chips. They aren't going to share your name with other casinos at sub $100 levels anyway. I suppose jumping to bigger bets down the road could be a problem though.

Sounds like you are firmly in the Ian Anderson camp when it comes to cover. If you haven't read his book (Burning the Tables) I think you would love it.

I don't know if this was true two years ago, but the quality of DD is really variable and hard to predict from CBJN alone--stay on your toes. The Nugget is an exception to that rule, with a generally decent game, but watch your conditions, these tables can get crowded.

Watch out for two tricks, which I think have come up since your last trip:
1. "Fake" handheld games (Main Street Station) where they have four to six decks in a machine that only spits out two decks at a time.
2. Double cuts, ie where they cut the pack twice, resulting in pen of less than 50%, even though when you first walk up to the table, looks like they are dealing deep. Some (but not all) of the dealers at Fitzgerald's do this. Watch the cut carefully.

Have fun!

is where are you going to find worthwhile low limit dd and sd games in LV. When I was there in Dec. I couldn't believe the decline in these games. The red chip vistor will make more money in LV with a LV Advisor POV and Casino Player funbook than fighting their lousy games.

When I was in Vegas in Jan, I found downtown to be the only place to play. It was much more player & counter friendly. The Strip, with all its opulence, seemed totally paranoid about counters.