My 2 Cents

Sorry this message got posted as response to another post a few minutes ago which it was not. So I am reposting as a new message. Sorry for the confusion.

I don't post much, but I do read a lot of the posts. I live in Northern Nevada and exclusively play single-deck in the following areas - Reno/Sparks, Carson City, Minden, Jackpot, Wendover, Mesquite, and Laughlin. Now to my point. I've read quite a few posts about guys who worry about how much to spread and worry about being barred or backed off. Things like "I was getting funny looks from the pit, and "I get nervous when splitting tens", and "Should I avoid that place because I won a few times in a row?" and "I think they are getting suspicious" etc. etc.

Here is my two cents for what its worth.

1.) take the time to seek out the best games like I do. Drive if you must, even if it means getting on a plane and flying, and then renting a car and traveling another two hours. Hell, Wendover and Jackpot are 6 hours drive for me and I make the drive at least once a month.

2.) Stop worrying about being backed off or barred, period. If it is going to happen it is going to happen. No big deal. When I get backed off in a club, I just wait a couple of months, change my appearance and go right back in (usually on a different shift) and start pounding that club again. Stop fretting and have a thick skin. They don't like winners at the blackjack tables and will often treat you poorly, get use to it. Until they read me the trespass act and tell me I will be arrested if I come back, I just keep on going back and pounding away.

3.) Stop fretting about spreading. If you can't grow some balls to get the money out there when the counts are good, than you can't make any real money. My bank roll is about 200k, so I can comfortable play up to the table max in just about any of the single deck games in the towns listed above. Most have table limits of 300 max bet or 500 max bet, some have a max bet as low as 100 or 200. I'll start at 75 or 100 and back down to 25 or 50 if the count goes negative, and bump up to 150/200 at +1 or +2 and table max at +3 or more. (Obviously, I adjust these numbers accordingly if the table max is 100 or 200). I use high/low with about 68 indices. Do I get shuffled up sometimes, absolutely, but not as often as you'd think. So grap your sack, hold on, and throw your money out there when you are suppose to. I also throw in a bathroom break and a maybe a seperate trip to the cigerette machine on bad counts (better to thow away 5 to 7 dollars on a pack of cigerettes even if I chuck them out after I leave the casino than to lose 100 or 150 on a bad deck).

4.) Practice, practice, practice. Then go practice some more. Practice at home is free. Save your money. Build a sizeable bankroll, before ever playing in a casino. In my opinion, I've bumped into far too many counters that have too small a bankroll to make there winnings very substantial. Who wants to work for only 10 or 20 dollars an hour? I don't. Besides, who wants to get backed off from a singledeck game betting 5 to 25 or 10 to 50? At least if you get backed off playing up to the table max, you'll have something to show for it other than a few measly dollars. Trust me, it's a hell of a lot more satisfying to be up 3 or 4 grand in a night AND THEN get the tap on the shoulder.

5.) You've got to be hungry. You've got to want it, and put in the time and practice to get it. The casinos are not just going to hand that money over willingly. You are going to have to pry it out of them. The casinos can and will try anything to keep you from being a winning player - the chatty dealer, the chatty pit boss, the evil eye pit boss with the glaring stare, the disturbing cocktail waitress who always appears when you have a big bet out and the count is strong, the shuffle ups, the lightning fast rude dealer, the over serving of free cocktails ( I've had drinks brought to me that I didn't even ask for!!), and when all these things fail, they throw you out. It doesn't seem fair and it doesn't seem right. So, the hell with the casinos and everybody who works for them. Take their money, and take as much as you can and as fast as you can. I will make over 100k this year playing backjack. You can too. Good Luck!

Hey man,

You put in more than your two cents' worth. It was about ten grand! Well said. All those Nervous Nellies and BJ Scardeycats out there should reread your post just before entering any casino. It might make them get more balls, so to speak. They can also tattoo this SAS (UK) motto on their palm, so they can constantly use it:

"WHO DARES WINS"

OK, if U want info out here. Is 8-dk beatable?

Wow!!
Love this info.
I'm a beginner, taking my first casino trip at the end of this month. From all my book reading, I had been nervous about getting heat, so was planning on taking it easy on my first time out. Now, after reading your post, I won't feel a need to do that. I'll follow the stategy rules and indices and what happens, happens. I plan to have a good time no matter what. I won't be stupidly obvious, but I won't deviate from stategy for the count.

So, if I get backed off, must mean I was making them nervous, so I must be on the right track, right?

Thank you for taking that fear away!!

Are free page posts eligible for POM? If so, my vote goes for this one.

Neko

...exclusively play single-deck in the following areas - Reno/Sparks, Carson City, Minden, Jackpot, Wendover, Mesquite, and Laughlin.

My games of choice, primary territory and bankroll are similar to yours. But I no longer am interested in grinding away at the $100 or $200 max games. Therefore, I dropped Minden and Jackpot from my territory. I also wrote off Mesquite. Does Mesquite offer something else to interest you other than the one often pref-shuffled single-deck game left in the town? Mesquite double deck is mediocre. You mentioned that you exclusively play single-deck, so I wonder about the viability of Mesquite.

(better to throw away 5 to 7 dollars on a pack of cigarettes even if I chuck them out after I leave the casino than to lose 100 or 150 on a bad deck)

The expected loss on a negative single deck is not much, because there are so few hands. Even at a 3% disadvantage, playing six hands of $25 results in an expected loss of only $4.50, and you save time by staying at the table -- more good rounds to play before ploppies infest the table and run you off. I use many negative index numbers, and assume you do, too. I respectfully disagree that wasting five to seven dollars on cigarettes is preferable. If you really hate to play through those negative decks, the rest room is free, cell phone calls are free. If near the end of a session, a negative deck is a good time to terminate the session.

...the lightning fast rude dealer ...

My favorite kind of dealer. No pointless conversation, no nosy questions, no tip hustling, just shut up and deal. :>)

Congratulations on playing the game well, and dispensing solid, practical advice. I'm sure our paths have crossed over the years without us knowing it.

Thanks for your response LVBear (and everyone else too). FYI - the one place to play in Minden does still have a $300 table max last time I was there, so I don't know if I would be too quick to drop this one from your list (that is if a $300 max bet still interests you). I do understand where you are coming from in regards to your comments regarding $100 and $200 table max bets. Those ones can be a bit of a grind,, but hey, I got the time. In regards to Mesquite, I only play the one singledeck game you mentioned, and yes it is not great, but in my opinion, still beats any shoe game or double deck game in that town. Everthing else in that town is pretty much worthless as far as I am concerned. I drive to Arizona once a month for other business, so I make Mesquite a pit stop for a night while on the way. Sometimes I get in a round of golf too. (sshhh!! Bonus! Don't tell the wife!) If I wasn't already going to Arizona, it probably wouldn't be worth my time to make the trip to Mesquite just to play that one game. In regards to my trip to the cigerette machine, what you say makes sense, so I may drop this from my bag of tricks to avoid negative counts and save those few dollars. I'll use the cell phone call tactic as well, that's as good as a bathroom break. I do use many negative indices up to -4, so I do alright when the count is negative, but for me breaks are important. I like to take those short breaks on negative counts for two reasons. First, its a negative count and if you are going to take breaks anyway might as well do it then. And Second, I like little mini breaks like that because it helps me stay fresh and focused so I'll make fewer mistakes. It what has always worked for me. I too usually end my sessions on negative counts - can't think of a better time to cash out! Thanks again for the response.

Good luck on your first trip. Hit 'em hard, Take no prisoners!! Never take it easy on the casinos for fear of heat! The hell with heat! Take their money NOW and worry about the heat when and if it comes.

Good info and advice. How long do you play at a table or venue?

Session length? And are you playing on a card or anon?

You ought to join Green Chip. We can always use another good poster there.

Here is my answers to some of the questions posed. My session lengths varies depending on the place, never longer than an hour and half at most, and sometimes they are as short as 20 to 30 minutes. I'd say I average about 45 minutes to one hour per session most of the time. I don't like to get backed off but it does happen from time to time, so keeping sessions shorter rather than longer, will help minimize this from happening.

Sometimes I use a card at a few clubs that don't seem to sweat my play too much, but most clubs I just choose to remain anonimous (But I will tell you the pit crews will constantly press you to get a card, even multiple times in a session when you are betting nothing but green and black chips and maxing out at the table - they just really, really, really want to know who the hell you are. Be careful not to cave in).

Yes, Bootlegger, you are probable right, I out to join the greenchip membership. I guess I've been a little lazy about doing that. I do get the monthly Current Blackjack News and that has proven very helpful in determining where to play and more importantly where NOT to play.

Number of decks is irrelevent, its the rules and penetration that make the game.