Does heat really exsist?

I am new to serious blackjack (about 8 months), I have been training on many computer games, Indian Casinos and in Laughlin. I played in Las Vegas this past week for 5 days. I started out being worried about the pit boss watching my play, but they paid no attention to me at all. I was doing all the things counters are not supposed to do. 40 year old male playing by myself, not drinking alcohol, not tipping the dealer, not talking to other players, no insurance, using surrender and varying my bet from $5 to $100. All this at a very large mid strip casino. Was I just lucky or just naive to think I was'nt being watched. By the way I was ahead $1,350 with only 3 losing sessions out of 10.

If you were playing a five-dollar game at a "large mid-strip casino," you were playing either a six-or-eight decker, a CSM, or possibly one of the carnival games, like 6:5 blackjack or Super Fun 21. A $5 to $100 spread isn't going to attract heat on any of those games at a large mid-strip casino. Congratulations on your win, but if you were playing one of those games, you can chalk it up to a very positive fluctuation, or what some people call luck.

That said, there are a lot of folks who imagine heat when playing. Every time the pit boss looks their way, they think it's heat. Every time the phone rings, they think it's about them. Pit bosses are paid to watch every player, and the phones in the pit never stop ringing for long.

If you were playing a beatable game using black chips, you might not experience any visible signs of heat either. The casinos that are the best at detecting counters do it without any forewarning from the pit. Sometimes, the tap on the shoulder comes out of the clear blue sky.

I never said heat and barrings do not exist. Revereman has continuously been making up little phrases about my opnion on the heat and barring issue. I(and several other card counters) disagreed with bighead about how he interpets heat and barrings. What one gambler recognizes as heat may be absolutely nothing in reality. After reading many stories on the internet about heat and barrings, I understand why you wonder "Why not heat?"... But how about the newbies who post about the big heat they get when they bet a green chip after a nickel? I would say the odds are several could very well be creating their own heat.

There is nothing worst than a nervous looking newbie at the tables creating their own heat. That in itself may raise an eye to the pit asking the question of why in the hell is this guy so paranoid looking,is he trying to cheat? If I were you, I'd just relax and enjoy your game. Things are not always as terrible as the stories you hear on the internet.

Good luck,
Rocky

I played some time ago at a local casino. Used some camo plays initially, but was just getting HAMMERED by a bad run of cards. I was down 30 units in about 15 minutes, so I decided to forgo any futher camo.

I started flat betting one unit on the next shoe until the count jumped-up in a hurry. The next hand I bet three units and the pit phone immediately rang. While the bets were being collected/paid (I lost again) the pit critter picked up about 3/4 deck out of the discard tray and started going through them. This was followed by an icy glare from the PC.

I don't know about you, but I consider this to be heat. I stuck around and laid down some more camo for another 1/2 and then bailed.

for the 2nd or 3rd time is when you will find out whether the heat is on. Most larger Strip casinos and many large Indian casinos these days have fairly efficient surveillance. If you were betting with the count and won (or even lost), chances are you will be watched closely when you return, especially if you stayed several hours the first time there. I disagree with many of the posters here who say a $100 bet will attract no attention, if repeated over several hours at mostly positive counts. Of course, they have to recognize you! An unrecognized counter is an unhassled counter, at least for awhile. I guess that's pretty obvious, but I had to say it.

AB

You went from a 1 unit bet to a 3 unit bet and you think you got heat from it? He probably thought you were chasing a loss. Jeez, I think most people create their own heat and this is yet another example. If you think jumping from a 1 to a 3 unit bet was worthwhile of heat, then you are going to have a difficult time counting cards. Jumping 3 units is something done often. You have to be willing to say screw the PC sometimes and go all out. Start playing cards at places your willing to get tossed out of. Once you get tossed, then you can start to assess what it was that they picked up on and correct it.

I don't consider that to be heat. Anyplace that would give you heat for a 1-3 jump on a shoe game is nuts. The possible exceptiona are if you jumped from $100 - $300 and everyone else in the casino was betting $5 a hand, or if you were doing something else that obviously gave you away (like moving your lips).

Interesting handle by the way, even though I personally find it offensive. You wouldn't happen to be a Fuskie, would you?

Cover adds a poker-like element to blackjack. As with poker, at low levels of play its primarily mathematics which determine who gets the money-that is, if you follow your system you should win small amounts on average. At higher stakes, it becomes neccessary to play fast and loose to keep the pit guessing.
Enjoy your win while it lasts. As Boot says make sure you actually have an edge in the game you are playing before betting another dime.

Maybe you shouldnt worry, or pretend to worry so much about getting caught. Just play the game the way you know and take their money. Uneducated gamblers will make bigger swings than you did.

would you call it?! Coincidence? The pit phone rang, the PC hung up and immed. went and grabbed the cards out of the discard tray, THEN followed it up with a ice-melting glare??

All this happens the second I move from 1 to three units after flat betting the one for about 20 hands. Felt hot to me.

Regular players don't get heat from surveillance, card counters do. If you are an AP ;you will understand why I'm about to make this argument. If all you are doing is flat-betting 20 hands, the camera is not going to finger you as a card counter. The biggest lead-on to a card counter is bet variation and timing of the variation. An AP with no bet spread is no worse a threat to the casino than a ploppie. One increase in wagering that coincides with a rise in TC is not sufficient to finger a guy as an AP.

It is possible that he went through the discards because the camera called him on a possible mispay by the dealer and he had to back up the cards to find out. As for the icy glare, maybe you reminded him of his ex-wife's lover. Who the hell knows. It wasn't heat, though.

that an important part of surveillance is watching for dealer mistakes. It is also known that many casinos have poor quality images when reviewing the tape and may have to call the pit to verify the number of pips on a card or hand that sv is reviewing. There was somewhat the same ocurrence at a table I was gambling at when the pit boss nonchalantly looked through the cards after a round was dealt and said something to the dealer. I dont recall hearing the phone ring. Not freaking out, I simply ask the dealer what that was about. She said he thought a push was paid.

If you are certain this was big heat coming down on you for merely adding 2 units after flat betting,then I would have to say this is one of the most sweaty pits casino I've ever heard of.

If I always left a casino after only betting a few more units and the pit phone happens to ring,I surely would not be playing much blackjack. Next time the phone rings and the the pit boss happens to walk by your table and looks at you,tell him you're not home.

And have only had to deal with minor nuisances or a few counter measures here and there. What's a black chip at a 1% edge cost a casino? Well,about $1 dollar and that's only in the long run. My girlfriend loses 10 times that much on those damn slot machines.