Those Heartless Monsters

Just about everybody here hates the evil bastards in suits that sweat our action, but there have been a few times where these guys and gals have done me a good turn. My favorite was when at a full DD game, no one took a hit against the dealer's 10. i had a max bet out and doubled down on my 11. The dealer busted! But there was one small problem: she forgot to give me a card for my double. There was a moment of realization, followed by a heavy silence. The floorman was called and he strided towards us like Darth Vader. He stared at my naked 11, and concentrated for an agonizing 30 seconds before saying, "Let's just say he doubled and didn't want a card". The bust stood, everybody got paid!

What's the best thing the pit ever did for you?

Sentry

At the old horseshoe a couple of years ago I was out with the boys and certainly not playing my "A" game. I was just there having fun. We were playing, drinking and joking with the dealers and the pit. I accidentally hit a hard seventeen and busted, a moment later the dealer also busted. I cursed under my breath and called myself an idiot. The dealer asked if I wanted the boss called over, I declined stating that it was my own stupidity. Well, the dealer called him over anyway and as soon as he heard the explanation he ordered the dealer to pay me as if I had stood. This same boss did this on several occasions for others over the weekend. My friends thought he was the best guy in town and would always play in his pit when he was around. He was quick to hand out food comps and to hurry up the drink orders ;-). So rather than hording that small win this guy recouped the casino's loss many times over with his good will and excellent customer service. A year later I was in his pit with my wife and he remembered me, asked about my friend and proceeded to tell a minor embarrassing story about the boys from the previous year. The bean counters could learn a thing or two from this guy.

Hip Hop

Most casinos have a policy to not "back up the cards". Rather, in your case the policy would have been to give you the next card from the deck/shoe as your double down card. Obviously, the impact would have been the same as what happened with this PC's decision.

My favorite didn't even happen to me. I was playing at a table with a ploppy who wasflat betting $5 a hand. He had just colored up some green and black chips and was playing one final hand before leaving. He threw a green chip on the side bet which he hadn't played all night. He lost the side bet and then protested that he had meant to bet a red chip, not a green one. Amazingly, the PC gave him the entire $25 back. I'm pretty sure that the ploppy wouldn't have complained if he had won.

I was relaxing from dice/bj by playing some $10 3 card poker, always making the pairs plus bet - got my cards and lo and behold the straight flush appears before I make my wager - but, lo and behold my chips had slid off the pair plus circle so that it looked liked I hadn't made the wager - pit called and, after chastising me good naturedly, told the dealer to pay me the $400 for the hand - I showed my gratitude next hand by wagering $5 on the pairs plus for the dealer and lo and behold a straight appeared, so she was pleased as well

actually the weirdest thing that ever happened in my favor was about a year ago. It was me and another guy and i had about $150 on the hand and the he had $100. The dealer drew to a hard 17 then proceeded to draw a 5. The dealer started paying and then realized the mistake and called over the PC. The PC just looked at it and either didn't want to go through correcting it or didn't give a damn cause he said to pay us!!! Me and the guy at the table looked at each other in disbelief. I mean damn, these bastards want to toss me at half the places i play at for winning $250 and this guy just hands it to us when we both should have lost the hand had the dealer stood on 17! CRAZY STUFF!!!!!!

table

Most casinos have a policy to not "back up the cards".

Casino policies must be one of the great mystery of the ages. One PC will tell you that rule X is standard casino practice and mandated by the State Gaming Commission, and the guy on the next shift will handle the same matter in another way entirely.

The thing that burns me the most is whether a mis-deal results in a dead hand. I prefer being given the option to get out of the hand. This seems to be an arbitrary decision by the Pit, and I've seen all kinds of ways to resolve it. One guy decided to let the action proceed, but when the dealer drew out to 21, he declared it a push and even returned the chips to the one player that had busted.

As best I can tell, standard casino policy is determined by whether or not the PC guy's feet are hurting.

Sentry

The "no backing up the cards" thing is pretty universal, at least where I have played, but I have had a state gaming agent tell me that it is not in the official gaming regulations. Not sure why casinos have a problem with backing the cards up, but presumably it is because they do not want the player to know with certainty what the next card is before making a final decision on hitting/standing/splitting/doubling, or whatever.

I agree with you that the ultimate decision is based on how the PC is feeling that day, regardless of gaming regulations or the casino's official policy.