Downtown comments
I think there's a better level of basic strategy downtown than there is with the ploppies on the Strip.
Why would you care about this?
And with loads of SD and DD, advantage was easy. I kept a tight range (1-3 spread, 4 tops)...
With such weak spreads, you're leaving money on the table, and playing about a break-even game, unless you possess some other skills besides counting.
Not very crowded, either ... and good minimums! I know I've changed when ten-buck minimums at the Nugget on SATURDAY irritate me to the point where I won't play.
If you are playing at a level where a minimum bet of only $10 is too high, you can spread much better than 1-3 or 1-4 and no one will care, with the exception of the worst sweatshops (El Cortez, Lady Luck).
Didn't catch much heat downtown, either...in fact, I hardly saw ANY PB's look my way...
As stated above, no one will care. Forget about the pit. Spread blatantly. You can't afford a weak spread playing red chips.
Am I alone in this? Any serious advantage players like Fremont St.?
Downtown has some playable games. The problem is that it is difficult to get any reasonable-sized bets down. Every store except Golden Nugget will sweat even a couple of green chips. And the Nugget has some sweaty pit personnel on their $25 single deck games, which have deteriorated lately.
It sounds like you are early in your playing career, playing for very low stakes, in which case downtown is a good place for you to get some hours in. Good luck, and keep us posted as to how it goes.