Worries about heat for first time KOer

[masterdeviance]

Hi everyone, first time poster here. I've been a total BS player for the past three years, but I've been reading up/learning the KO system lately. Planning a Vegas trip sometime this summer and hoping to start putting into practice what I've been learning. My question has to do with heat. I'm a low-roller for now (24 years old and been working for only a year), so my max bet would be $100. At shoe games at places on the Strip like MGM or Mirage, do I need to worry about heat much at all if I'm spreading between say $10-$100? Should I plan on wonging alot (should be easy on the Strip right)? I was originally hoping to try and play downtown at somewhere likethe El Cortez due to their low mins and good rules, but now I'm reading about how easy it is to get caught there (not to mention what a pain in the ass it is to get from the Strip, where I always stay, to DT). I guess I'm basically just looking for some positive encouragement!

[EasyRhino]

Most important: Keep your sessions < 1 hour

Wong the shoe games.

At a place with a decent double deck game, keep your spread below 1-8, or under 1-6 if you want to be "polite".

Go for around 1-4 on single deck.

But other than that, ignore all other considerations of cover, and just go for it. Keeping the session length down is what will help the most. And your bets will be under the radar of the bigger joints entirely, anyway.

[callipygian]

Welcome!

Originally Posted by masterdeviance

I've been a total BS player for the past three years

First of all, this is good. This means you're already familiar with gambling and (hopefully) variance and don't have this notion that card counting will make you a millionaire in a weekend.

Originally Posted by masterdeviance

At shoe games at places on the Strip like MGM or Mirage, do I need to worry about heat much at all if I'm spreading between say $10-$100?

Not enough so that you need to engage in cover play. Keep your sessions short and always act friendly, and you'll appear to be like any one of the thousands of tourists that float through every day.

Originally Posted by masterdeviance

Should I plan on wonging alot (should be easy on the Strip right)?

In my opinion, the Strip is the best place in the world for Wonging, and Wonging the shoe games is the best way to play on the Strip.

The key to Wonging effectively is that you need to look like an average Joe. Note how many people in a casino just stand around staring at tables for an hour - very few, right? So don't be like them - you'll stick out like a sore thumb. Be creative: one time I found a row of slot machines that faced the blackjack table; a machine on the other side was taken out for service, giving me a clear view of the table while sitting behind a row of slots.

With so many tables within eyesight, don't waste your time backcounting unpromising tables. Once you've determined that you're probably not interested, move on to one of the other 20 tables in the casino playing the exact same game. Or the other 40 tables in the next casino over. It'll be hard on your legs, but you'll quickly overcome the main disadvantage of Wonging: playing very few hands per hour.

If this were a bar, the goal isn't to lurk around, look week after week to find the perfect woman, persistently court her, marry her, and then have the best sex of your life. The goal is to hit on anything that moves, grab the first girl that meets a minimum standard, marry her at a drive-thru chapel, nail her in the parking lot, and then annul that marriage the second something goes wrong.

[mathman]

Originally Posted by callipygian

Welcome!


If this were a bar, the goal isn't to lurk around, look week after week to find the perfect woman, persistently court her, marry her, and then have the best sex of your life. The goal is to hit on anything that moves, grab the first girl that meets a minimum standard, marry her at a drive-thru chapel, nail her in the parking lot, and then annul that marriage the second something goes wrong.

That's an awesome way to look at things!

[masterdeviance]

Thanks for the sound advice guys.

And callipygian, I don't think I'll be forgetting an analogy like that one anytime soon!

[sabre]

Spreading $10-$100 at the shoe games at the MGM or Mirage, you could probably camp out for 24 hours straight without anyone batting an eye. I see no reason to limit sessions to < 1 hour at these games for that spread. Play as long as you want.

[shadroch]

Roundtrip from the strip to the EC by cab is about half a max bet.

[masterdeviance]

So I'm glad to know heat will not be an issue, but how would I best calculate an EV number for back counting and wonging in to, let's say, a 6 deck show with fair-to-good penetration (75-85%) and fairly good rules but where the wonger ONLY ever plays the last deck or so?

I realize my hourly earnings will be low as a result, so will I have a decent chance of making a profit? Profit for now is not my main concern, practice is, nonetheless I am curious.

[InPlay]

I know for a fact heat will not be an issue as long as you don't sit under a heating vents where it will blow down your back. Choose your seat carefully.