I'll vouch...
I have heard of El Burro through the counter grape vine (meaning outside of GC)... his talents are legendary. He is very careful, however, about giving away any information, which is a good thing when you are as devoted to the game as he is.
If the Burro only knew as much about me...
--Mayor
Dealer with a wink as I push a max bet out at the end of a deck: "So I guess you'll be wanting me to shuffle now?"
PC, after I lost a big bet: "Where'd your count go on that one?"
no would an unskilled player know that ?
i guess folks that have'nt been here long can't tell when i am jokin or serious.
Jack at the Golden Gate?
I took it as a hint that I would be tolerated as long as the bet size and spread didn't get too outrageous.
There's no doubt from advice given me by Burro that he knows how to play. I have to admit I read all of his posts - probably a little more for the laughs than straight advice.
Too bad I dont have any backoffs to speak of other then self-backoffs. I think as long as I look 19 I have the best cover possible, although pulling out hundred dollar bills doesnt seem to help much, espcially if they ask me what I do for a living and I tell them the truth. Also lately I've been playing lots at the Palms and PC's there think counting means adding your cards up. But eventually I know the smart comments will come and I'm waiting for them, but in the meantime I'll get my kick out of comments that you guys have been given.
Shotkaller
I also have gotten much good advide from EB and have been lucky enough to get a live demo.
Shotkaller
In M$BJ, St. Uston talks about his favorite backoff line:
"Kenny, instead of playing blackjack, why don't you and your lady friend have dinner on the house?"
Don't forget, this was right in the middle of him and his team being backroomed on a regular basis :)
M.
"Oh, you're back to even? You should leave before you give it all back."
Translation: "This table is barely ahead. Keep playing and we snap."
M.
I'd been playing all afternoon at the Turning Stone Casino, with a great game and good penetration, but I was still down about $1200...Without me realizing it, a new Pit boss who had centered me out before, had come on shift...The supervisor who was watching our table and not particulary bright, was called over and the Pit boss told him something.
When he came back to our table, he whispered in the dealer's ear...I asked him what the Pit Boss had said to him..."Oh he just told me to tell the dealer to cut 3 decks out of play."
PC: "Are you staying here?" Me: "No, I'm staying at _____." PC: "Do they let you play BJ there?"
And, when I was a little younger (for those of you who remember the juicy single deck game at the Castaways in the early '80s)....
"Hey kid, we're gambling here. Why don't you go practice somewhere else?"
I will admit that in the past I used to be guilty of being a garden variety counter, playing three to five hour sessions at a time, sometimes play-most at one table. On one occassion, I had already been playing for a good two and a half hours and was down about 60 units. At about this point, I was playing, for the most part, heads with about an hour and a half before the casino was to close for the night. I said to the friendly and competent dealer, who was giving pretty decent pen, "so do you think I have any chance of getting my money back before the night is over"? He said, "only if you start making bigger bets". I proceeded to begin each remaining shoe with 2 to 4 units off the top, and fortunately, I had a nice succession of consecutive shoes with soaring true counts.
Within about 45 minutes, I was nearly all the way back to even, and outwardly breathing a sigh of relief and praising my lucky good fortune during the shuffle between shoes. The dealer then said, in a somewhat serious tone, but out of the corner of his mouth as if to hide what he was saying, "I don't know, but if I was you, I'd call it a night". I quickly answered, "no way, I'm having a pretty nice run and have to get back to even". In the meantime, I was moderately concerned that, although the pit was nowhere to be seen, that maybe the eye was observing my play.
I continued to play another 20 minutes and finished up 20 units. In hindsight, I think that the dealer suspected that I counted, and that his "warning" was really just a ploy to get me off of his table so that he could have his table shut down for the night to get off work a little early.
So just remember, if a dealer hints at a backoff when a shift change or the closure of the casino is nearing and the casino isn't very busy, keep in mind that the dealer might just want to get the heck out of there to begin his own festivities.
Maybe this wouldn't happen in Vegas,
Telescopic
Now they'll surely be on the lookout for your big shoes and round red nose. Better lay low until the clown convention comes to town and you can fit in.
The dealer was merely saying he didn't want to see you lose anymore and that "even" would be a nice place to end for the night. Most dealers get tired of seeing people lose continually and with your comeback it just made sense to him that you should quit while you're ahead, or even, as it were. In short, dealers are so often silent witnesses to sheer stupidity that when someone shows a little common sense they have to feel a bit relieved. I seriously doubt he had any idea you were counting.
