Side bets?

Another player wanted to bet with me, and handed me the table minimum which I placed on my stack. Floor sais NO, we do not permit side bets. What is the rationale from the casino point of view?

Floorman was a brain-dead, lobotomized cretin.

But, that's somewhat redundant isn't it? I mean the part about "floorman" and what follows! :-)

Don

The rationale is the casino makes the rules, and whatever they say is what ya has ta do. Doesn't have to make sense. Usually doesn't.

Actually, what they're disallowing is not a side bet; it's called back betting. I think most casinos in Europe allow it; most casinos in the U.S. don't. Many U.S. casinos require a player to actually sit at the table. Your guess is (almost) as good as mine...

A complication can arise if the seated player decides to split or double down and the back bettor doesn't have the extra money. Maybe that makes it too complicated for U.S. dealers. Europeans are much more sophisticated.

ETF

...interestingly, the player was seated next to me and playing up to the time of the back bet. Also, the same crew had allowed it earlier with other players, and when I asked about the earlier exception, they said the prior recipient was out of money and couldn't double without the loan. Again, makes NO sense but I did not want to create further controversy because I play at this casino often. Funny that I also told the frustrated back bettor that it is their casino, and they can do what they want (especially since it was a tribal casino).

Backbetting in Europe is not only allowed, it's even encouraged (more action). But you have to place your bet not on top of the caller's bet but behind it.Most casinos don't force you to follow the caller's splits or doubles and this can actually be a source of additional advantage. You will not follow any defensive split (example 8/8 v 9). That way you cut your negative ev in half. It's probably for that reason that some casinos force the rider to follow.But as ET Fan said, this can create problems if the rider is out of money. A player can refuse a backbet but this is rather unusual. I do it in case the casino forces the rider to follow in order to avoid trouble.Backbettors can be a nuisance because they slow down the game.

Francis Salmon

...they were trying to figure out the amount he was betting on every round and wouln't want to be distracted by another bettor on the same stack. That would explain why the allowed it to other players at the table but not to our poster.

Couldn't this essentially allow somebody to Wong in by handing a big bet to a cohort and get around the No Mid-Shoe Entry rule?

Especially when they decide your spot is "lucky'. Slows down the game,and they often will try to advise you on the play of the hand. I refuse on the rare occasions that it happens.

I think this is a possible explanation, as it was a double deck no mid shoe entry table.