Is the gig up?

I had a real bad loosing streak this weekend for the first time since I last played three months ago and hadn't yet mastered basic strategy and my index play. I lost about 400 bucks over 20 hours of play this weekend and didn't start making my comeback until a five hour session this morning. I've had heat before but I made mistakes and they never took me seriously; this weekend the heat was different. They brought in three dealers during one shoe and this morning playing heads up and finally making a comeback on a totally different shift after loosing 275 early the dealer made a comment when I pulled my bet back after the shoe as to why it made a difference if I was planing to bet the money anyways. Another dealer hit the button that alerts cash being deposited when I called for insurance and surrendered in a high count despite no cash being deposited. Earlier that day the yellow card used to denote the cash in the tray was placed directly in front of me and the dealer didn't call out double hard 12 or cheques play when I spread heavily which lead me to believe I was being watched. Am I being paranoid or they really care about a 22 year old college student spreading red to green? I don't care about the loosing streak but the other casino in town with a shoe game actively reports to griffin and I don't want to risk getting caught over there? The worst thing I noticed is that before my BS was mastered, I spend hours on the simulator a day I got comped about 3000 in points for much shorter winning sessions. I lost a lot this weekend and played longer and only got 300 royalty points. Is the gig up?

You sound really new and overly paranoid. It sounds like you played a lot of hours and any number of things will happen during a session. Nothing you described seemed very unusual. You didn't explicitly describe your stakes but I interpreted them as red on a shoe game.

Some casinos will rate you for comps based on your skill level. I have seen this in the tracking software programs. They may have decided you are at least a BS player meaning they cannot expect to make any profit from you. This is why I discourage none AP newbies from bringing a BS card to the table. That tells the casino this patron is unprofitable and they may be comped accordingly.

then I guarantee you are not getting heat. I know of no count that would ever make that a correct play. It generally is a sign of a very poor, inexperienced player. Review your BS and indices. Something is wrong.

"This is why I discourage none AP newbies from bringing a BS card to the table".

I wish I had thought of that.

Cobbson

Quit gambling now before you lose everything.

I know doubling hard 12's could hurt in the long run but towards the end of an awful shoe with the minimum bet on the table I like to double these down. I logged another 5 hours last night (things went much better) and doubled these twice without busting. Part of why I was getting paranoid is that I am essentially the only one playing shoe after shoe at this table during the graveyard and there are only a couple of people at the quarter tables. Heads up with the dealer for hours with a 10 to 50 spread just seems to risky so I think I am going to take some time off or play on the other shifts. I want to transition to an unbalanced count anyways so it is not a bad time to take some time to refine things.

You must be the worst blackjack player ever.

is irrelevant. You either play it the right way or the wrong way. Doubling a hard 12 is always the wrong play. Hitting 12 against 4-6 is correct in negative counts.You must learn perfect BS before trying to learn a counting system. And you have to trust the math.

The reason the floor calls out "Doubling hard 12" is not because they think you are some kind of rainman savant master counter and shuffle tracker. It's because that play is so boneheaded that they want to be sure you can't argue that you thought you had 11. "After all, who would double a hard 12?"

at a minimum of 5 or 10 dollars if you are going to hit it why not double? I only do this when I feel like I have exhausted my bathroom trips and random phone calls for the night. I have a decent bankroll for an accounting major heading to law school but I can't buy in at a grand and I have never nor would ever do that a quarter table. The times I lose it usually isn't because I bust its because the dealer pulls four or five cards? why is that the wrong play; trying to get something out of a shitty shoe?

Let's assume a neutral count and believe me, neither negative nor positive counts would make the case for doubling any better.
12 versus 6 is a bad situation for the player:-15% if he chooses the best strategy which is to stand. In case of hitting he loses 17% of the initial bet and logically 34% if he decides to double. This is 19% worse than standing. In other words,this crazyness costs you an additional $1.90 in case of a 10$-bet.

Francis Salmon

when the dealer pulls four or five cards to make 21 when you double hard 12 is because you didn't bust, but you didn't make a hand either. By doubling down you give up the right to hit again. The dealer drew four or five cards I'm sure most of them were small and if you'd been able to hit again you would have gotten the small card instead of the dealer and probably made a pat hand and the dealer would still have to hit again and probably bust out.

Unless you're doing end play and know the rest of the shoe is all 7-8-9 value cards or somehow know the next card is a 7-8-9, the count cannot be negative enough for make doubling hard 12 vs anything worthwhile...and the more negative it is the less likely you are to make a decent hand and the more likely the dealer is to bust you out.

I know doubling hard 12's could hurt in the long run but towards the end of an awful shoe with the minimum bet on the table I like to double these down.

By awful shoe, I assume you mean the count is very negative. With a 12, you want to see a 7, 8, or 9 hit the felt. You have no knowledge about these cards so why double. What you know is there are excess 2 - 6. They will not help

Part of why I was getting paranoid is that I am essentially the only one playing shoe after shoe at this table during the graveyard and there are only a couple of people at the quarter tables. Heads up with the dealer for hours with a 10 to 50 spread just seems to risky so I think I am going to take some time off or play on the other shifts.

A 1 - 5 spread at multi deck is not going to get any attention. With this very weak spread, and not playing basic strategy, you are playing a negative game. Quit now. Get to law school and make some real money.

you better brush up on your mathematical skills.

I don't know what it is but I am OBSESSES with this game. When I'm not on the floor I am running simulator hands all day..Logged 12 hours last night went down big early playing BS by the book only deviating for insurance, surrenders and stiff hand hits/stays. One time I split 10s only because someone else did it twice earlier and the shoe was favorable enough it wasn't a 5 but it was close..hopped to another shop not much luck..came back to my regular spot and when those two consecutive shoes blossomed it was like Christmas morning..walked out with 400 and bought in with 120; as for the heat I did hear a craps dealer VERY CLEARLY with an empty table, who was actually very friendly, tell the floor jokingly you need to watch him because after I kept coloring up and winning and he said we are watching him. I'm friendly with him all the time and he actually seemed like he didn't care. Table game supervisor seemed a little perturbed and wouldn't get me a pack of cigarettes so I asked the aforementioned floor manger and he did. I really think they realize I don't have to bankroll to kill them, I'm friendly with everyone, toke bet and I guess those hard 12 doubles gave them the implication I was not much of a threat.

When i split the tens I drew to aces; dealer pushed with a four card 21...WTF are the odds of that