Agree
I've had long threads disagreeing with TG about the online issue but it is his business if he does not want to go that way. Lets agree to disagree and not bring it up in and poison an interesting unrelated thread.
I've had long threads disagreeing with TG about the online issue but it is his business if he does not want to go that way. Lets agree to disagree and not bring it up in and poison an interesting unrelated thread.
If you are playing in a place that bars red chip counters, you are playing in a total dump. You can always find a better place to play, especially in Las Vegas. No cover needed for red chip play.
i dont count so i dont have to worry about 'heat', but i only win what i need....i go to star city (sydneys only casino) a few times a week, make my money there for expenses, savings, refresh bankroll etc....in other words, relatively modest...(even thought next friday im going for 10k)
if i want to play aggressive (to buy a car etc), ill take a trip to crown or conrad jupiters (both about 1000kms away)....
why push things when you dont need to....
never been to Sydney, but I've played a ton in the US. My comments were based solely on conditions I've seen here as far as aggressive play is concerned.
If you're receiving no heat, and are happy with overall bj conditions, consider yourself very fortunate.
Continued success.
Regards,
Wildcard
the rules could be made more attractive, but i cant get to vegas yet (age)so itll have to do...
i dont receive heat because i dont count ....i know a few of the pit bosses and a lot of the dealers recognize me, but i guess they dont really care, ive been playing for over 7 months....
havent heard of anyone getting barred at SC for winning/losing...
the conditions are so bad for counters at SC that i dont think they care about counters/winners at all....most of those winners will give the money back anyway...
i guess its good for me though....
anyway, if i was barred ive easily got enough to carry me through to 21yo very comfortably...(and theres always the other casinos in AUS)
looking foward to see what the scene is like in the states tho...
about aggression though, it depends on what you can afford to lose, whether it be the right to play or money...dont push it when you dont need to, and never get in a postion where you need to push it...
Bootlegger, would you consider using a little cover if you were spreading, say 20 to 240 and chipping up, as Ian Anderson suggests?
I'm speaking of a smaller market than Vegas, Tunica, Biloxi, Sherveport for instance.
that why vegas will be so great, double the winnings ;)
1AUD = $.5656USD
Perhaps things will change by the time you get to Vegas. :-)
at least my airfare/accom will be cheap....
ahhhh still 14 months before i hit vegas....
is not red-chip play. Your best cover will still be keeping your sessions short.
Backed-off at the pool hall down south. No place has changed their games for little old me. My action is pretty low, so they don't get too excited.
I don't see a $20 to $240 spread as being a red-chip spread. To me, red-chip spreads in shoe games would have a top bet of less than $100.
Keeping your sessions short is the best cover I can think of. Short is a relative thing. If you've been playing for an hour and haven't seen a count that let you put out your bigger bets, you can probably keep going until you hit that one big shoe, win or lose.
I can't speak for anyone else, but i bet what the count tells me to bet. I bet the True Count - 1 X 1 Unit, 1 unit being 10, 25, or 50 depending on my bankroll at the time. Most of the time I use a $10 unit. For example, playing at a $2 table I might use a unit of $10 when betting in True Counts greater than or equal to 2, and bet table minimum when the True Count is less than 2. I like playing at a $2 table because when the True Count is negative I'm betting far less than my average bet size during positive true counts.
What is my spread betting this way? Hell, I don't know. I routinely make $300 bets on $2 tables. So, I guess my spread in that case is 1-150. I've never seen the "heat" that people talk about here for bet spread, I have seen it for other reasons, but I don't play in las vegas, so maybe things are different there. I usually play in Biloxi. Perhaps it is just that they just don't watch $2 and $5 tables as close as the higher minimum bet size tables. Most of these tables have a $1,000 - $2,000 table maximum and I don't ever play at that high a level so a $2 or $5 table works just fine for me.
Steve
I don't agree with the advice that some blackjack books give to players that they not be memorable to the pit. I know most of the pit crew by name in the casinos I frequent. What i do if a pit boss approaches my table or makes eye contact with me several times is smile big, tip my ginger ale to the pit boss and say "I'm having a wonderful time at your lovely casino, and I really like this dealer", then I tell the pit boss if I am up or down for the day, if I am up I make a big deal out of it, "I'm UP $50 YEEEHAAAHHHH". If I think the pit boss is sizing me up as a counter I then briefly switch to the devil's staircase progression for a few hands. If the pit boss continues to "eye" me then I use the devil's staircase progression a few times a shoe in order to give the pit the impression that I am a progression bettor.
I have found that if you are very friendly with everyone and if you make your table a very fun place to be so that it stays full all the time the pit will consider your play good for business and won't much care what you are doing.
I have had two pit bosses tell me that they knew I was a counter, when I asked, "so why do you let me play"? they both said "because you are good for business, because you create so much laughter at your table your table is always full. You are good for business."
I mostly play small casinos in biloxi and the midwest. I've never been to vegas, so it might be different there.
Steve
"they will figure you out based more on how much you take out of the casino than just about anything else you do"...
I presume you'd agree that spreads are used much more by casinos to ID possible counters than how much money a player is winning... thus the term "just about", eh Boot?
Spok
...refreshing to find a post now and then that suggests dynamic thinking when playing this game.
Bottom line, there are many optimal styles to fit the circumstances. Longevity close to home (good for level 3 camo) vs aggressive further from home. Shorter sessions in flyer-prone LV, quick, huge spreads on 6d games you won't be seeing again very soon, more conservative on good rules, less so and fewer visits to tables with poorer rules. Different styles depending on heat or the lack thereof from venue to venue.
Dynamic thinking can allow one to practice many different styles of play... the edge of the envelope of optimal play takes many forms.
Spok
some excellent posts up there.
Spok
were Riviera DD and everybody's favorite geriatric experience, westward ho.
