Leaving a "Cold Table"

Many blackjack books tell players to get up and leave a blackjack table if too many hands in a row are lost, and/or if the dealer just can't seem to lose. Since how the cards fall is a random event, I don't get the reasoning on this concept. What difference can it make to get up and go to a different table?

Other than for reasons like frustration, you don't like the dealer, rude fellow players, or elimination of your bankroll.....is there ever a reason to leave one table and go to another one?

Many blackjack books tell players to get up and leave a blackjack table if too many hands in a row are lost, and/or if the dealer just can't seem to lose. Since how the cards fall is a random event, I don't get the reasoning on this concept. What difference can it make to get up and go to a different table?

Your intuition is right. These books are junk; throw them away.

Other than for reasons like frustration, you don't like the dealer, rude fellow players, or elimination of your bankroll.....is there ever a reason to leave one table and go to another one?

If you are not counting, you would leave when:
- there are too few people at the table (you want more people to slow your loss rate).
- you suspect cheating (rare).

If you are counting, you would leave when:
- the count goes negative.
- the cut card is too shallow.
- you see better penetration at another table.
- there are too many people at the table.
- you hear the security staff, Guido and Vinny, cracking their knuckles behind you.

If you forgot to bring your jacket or a good coat, you might want to leave a cold table so you don't get sick.

The superstition that you can catch a cold from being in the cold is a superstition that is pervasion in cultures throughout the world. Medical science has long shown that colds are spread by contagion and not by temperature. You are more likely to catch a cold inside a warm room full of people than alone outside in the cold and wet.

For those of who that know this, but insist that you might catch cold as a result from a lowered immune system due to cold weather:
- while some viruses can be latent, cold viruses are not.
- despite the outside temperature, your body maintains a more or less constant temperature inside.

In any case, if your internal temperature were to fall or if your immune system were truly compromised, the last thing you need to worry about is a cold.

Sorry for the rant, but this has been a life-long peeve of mine, every since I read a medical encyclopedia when I was 10. I would then defiantly walk out in the freezing cold rain with no more than shorts and a T-shirt, much to the horror of my parents and grandparents.

Leave if you're playing with your girlfriend and you see your wife coming. Could be much worse than dealing with w/ Guido and Vinny. ;)

This fallacy has always irritated me as well. I thought it was a private mania.

That is why I always wear rubber gloves at the table.

Ever stop to think about how those pourous clay chips, which are handled and re-handled by every sub-human to hit the table, are almost ideal germ carriers?

is a full table counting wise?
I want to get some exp. counting with a $2 table but they are *always* full.. should I not even try it?

When you have a very strong urge to rip your cards in half you may not be playing at an optimal mental level and it may be time to leave. Maybe, one day I'll get the balls to actually rip a stiff hand in pieces. On a side note, I was passing through Seattle and playing for fun at one of the mini-casinos near the airport. I got so frustrated at losing my 20 double down to a 4 card 21 I slammed a nickel chip into the felt and it actually broke into 2 pieces. With a straight face the pit boss told me I couldn't cash that chip. After some pleading I was given a warning and was able to exchange the chip.

how bad is a full table counting wise?

In general, the more players there are, the more dilute your advantage is when the count goes up. There is nothing more annoying than to finally get a high count, and then watch all the tens and aces fall on everyone else's hands.

I want to get some exp. counting with a $2 table but they are *always* full.. should I not even try it?

If you view this as a learning experience, go ahead. It will be good practice.

to get your feet wet counting cards at reasonable prices. Crowded tables will slow the game down but this is good. It lets you slowly learn the counting process under live conditions in the casino.

This can be valuable experience that will serve you well in the future. Practicing at home at the kitchen table or on the computer is one thing, but cant beat the real thing for perfecting your new found interest.

Good cards: Frenchman

"With a straight face the pit boss told me I couldn't cash that chip. After some pleading I was given a warning and was able to exchange the chip."

The chip cost the casino a few cents. To try to steal $5.00 from you is typical despicable casino attitude.

When a large ploppy with plummer crack, has not showered in several days, sits next to you, spits a greenie in your 1/2 drunken soda, reaches for his wallet, with the snot laden fingers pulls a 5 spot out, looks at you and smiles his with brown teeth showing and says "Is it hot?", then follows his question with a resounding fart that registers 1 on the Rhicter scale, and you determine wheather or not the stench came from his mouth, his body or his bottom, then it may be time to leave a table. Because then it is no longer useful to wait and see if the ploppy will take the house for a ride.

especially when I was playing at a table with a sick dealer who sneezed into his hands and then paid off the winners. gross!! i kind of handled the chips by the sides after that and was careful not to bring my hands to my face or anything.
of course, the pen was simply too good to leave.

If you have a casino that has many tables of comparable games, it is to your advantage to move around. You establish a profile as a superstitious gambler and can sit out hands where you have no advantage. Playing only 70-80% of observed hands will definitely improve your EV. Having a cold table with a negative count is plenty of reason to leave...or your mentioned frustration, which will influence the quality of your play. Frustration commonly leads to rounding up or worse. Getting your nose opened is a poor excuse to start moving chips, but if you have limited opportunity to play a lot of hands per hour in a golden game, you definitely should stay at a cold table.

As the pressure of losing builds, you should think about your personal thresholds. Taking some time away from the table will sometimes give you perspective.

It sounds like you are talking about a casino with only one table that suits your selection. This can happen frequently in native casinos and for the better games on the strip and in AC. I was playing the best shoe game I could find on the boardwalk last week and unfortunately, it was the only table with the conditions I require. I played for three hours and then left. It was a very cold table. I still had some money left. The reason I left was my brother was waiting for me for two hours now, and the check-out time at the hotel was fifteen minutes ago. I had a positive count, so I couldn't leave earlier. Gamblers think about money management for negative EV games, but advantage players hope for better time management instead. If you are going to keep playing a cold table, you should think about kelly betting and not exceed your projected risk parameters.

Leaving a hot table is a little different. You have to step away from the heat earlier.

scobee

... sudden, significant changes in the weather can weaken your immune system, which makes colds and the flu more prevalent. Also, with sudden changes in weather, the whole microbiological landscape changes, presenting new challenges for your immune system.

So if you want a cold, the best way to get one is go outside in freezing weather without dressing properly, than come back in and shake hands with a dozen kids with runny noses. Rinse, repeat.

ETF

is betting black and purple and your 1-20 spread is getting no scrutiny, then strike up a conversation about Harley's or farm implements and fire away. If you are lucky, the casino might comp you a suite. You can count your benji's by the jacuzzi.

I don't know much about the crowds of civilians at the Mistake. They may be unintentionally wonging-in on your positive shoe that you have been waiting on for an hour. With a nickel bet. Around the Great Lakes, any cover helps as long as you can stand the stench. It seems the largest concentration of jackasses congregate in the Harrah's properties...they deserve each other.

Art, I do not want to mislead you or give you a bad impression. I normally set parameters when I play. I set a stop win and a stop loss.
Many times people give answers on this page that make you think you will never have a losing session but you will sometimes. The good news is if you manage your money properly, and have your system down and your bet to bank ratios set properly, Over the long run you will have more winning sessions then losing ones. The reason I set parameters is so I do not end up having to dig out of a deep hole when a bad session comes along.