First use of Hi-Opt in casino.

Just got back from short road trip. Long ride but fairly quick session. The plan was to try Hi-Opt out at a double deck game well north of here for the first time.

However upon getting into my car and rummaging through the small collection of chips I noticed about 230 bucks in nickels and greens. All mostly for another for casino I hadn't planned on visiting. This particular joint wasn't exactly along the way but what with all these chips it seemed worthwhile to detour. If only just to cash out. More than pay for the gas anyway.

Not a great casino as it only offers a six deck shoe with usually unacceptable pen and a single deck 6:5. However since I've done well at the later game heads up thought I should at least browse the tables. They've let me do some huge bet spreads there in the past so why not? Maybe I'll back count if the dealer changes the shoe game cut card to something decent like 75% (she didn't). If not will just cash out and go north.

Instead one of the dealers seems to faintly recognize me and asks that i join her. We play single deck, 6:5 heads up. She's put the cut card way back like maybe 80% or so. A fast dealer, nothing much happens the first two or three decks dealt. Regardless I'm varying my bets from 10 bucks to sixty inn neutral counts. Trying to resemble some kind of fool's martingale but never quite totally going overboard. Also am I starting the first of every three deals with a hundred dollar camouflage bet. Good fortune for me as two of the first three initial camo bets win and the third shows a push. I leave the hundred in on the second hand. Both because the count goes up and because i don't want to be seen pulling back and reducing my bet. Win that one too. Nice to have a little positive variance.

Then bingo! The deck gets charged with aces about 1/3 the way through. Then at the half point the T/C is running plus 8-ish. Still no ace. Place my max bet of 200 and get a pair of aces. Receive one natural and one twenty.

Count is STILL high (wish i could have played two spots but that's not allowed in mid shoe). Win two more two hundred dollar bets before the shuffle with no losses.

Next deck? Same thing. My lucky day as the first half of deck shows no aces and the count AGAIN climbs to something above +5. I place the two hundred, split the two aces she deals and get two naturals. Dealer holds a seventeen.

In response to my winnings I change my minimum bet size to a variance of $25 to $100 (instead of 10 to 60 bucks). Deck stays cold for a couple shuffles but then rises right straight back up. I win three of four games, lose one and push another.

Dealer leaves and a male one comes in. I ramp up to 50 to 200 average bets at neutral counts. Second deck goes to +9 with no aces played. Another split pair of aces on a $300.00 bet and dealer busts. A couple sits down at table and I would no longer be playing alone.

So is time to leave. I find the first (female dealer) dealer at shuffling a shoe game and drop her a couple nickels thanking her for my "luck". She smiles. Then i hit the trail. Decided not to go up to the other casino so that will have to wait until the next time.

Gotta eventually hit that casino with the double deck 3:2 pay out. The pen is good. Early hours allow the increased likelihood of being able to play heads up.

Conclusion: Clearly good fortune helped. But observing the great penetration and heads up condition was at least half my "luck". Maybe more than half. With the Hi-opt system I seemed to know when the aces were coming better than compared to counting my usual Hi-lo.

:whip::whip:I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and say that an ace side count is practically worthless in a 6:5 game. Maybe if you weren't side counting, you could focus on a half decent bet spread. I can't even laughing at your post, because to me it is plain insanity. You do know that at a neutral count, you are at ~ a 1.45% disadvantage. This disadvantage is probably larger than the positive advantage that you experience at high positive TC's.
I think you should SERIOUSLY re-evaluate your game, or quit. It would be a lot easier.:whip:

I think what everyone is saying, from myself who have read the mathematical theory behind blackjack is that your action is not the best one that you could have taken from a mathematical point of view. Hence in practice what occurred was simply a statistical variance. Or in common parlance, you got lucky.

1. he is no AP, rather an AC - Ass Clown

2. I know you get pissy when someone tells you you are playing stupid, but you see I don't care.

I think what everyone is saying, from myself who have read the mathematical theory behind blackjack is that your action is not the best one that you could have taken from a mathematical point of view. Hence in practice what occurred was simply a statistical variance. Or in common parlance, you got lucky.

But first lets take a look at the perfect azzholes:

oh, sorry, perhaps "a fool and his money are soon to part" was better suited.

to scare off other players ... allow me to ...invest in the fart spray!

The gallery please note: This is a legitimate reply. More on this later.
But first lets take a look at the perfect azzholes:
[/B]
A real help to the forum. Fine example of the kind of member who really encourages the addition of new members.

Great! Just what we're looking for. A concerned, well tempered, thoughtful person speaking only from the generosity of his heart.

In short a pair of F'ing jerks taking YOUR forum down the tubes with them.

Some here are improving their habits of decorum. They learned from the bad press they got after being the genuine prix that they can be. In order to keep a forum civil it is important to take these azzholes to task for their bad manners. Consider them tried, convicted, roped and hung for first degree azzholism.
But back to the pertinent reply. The best one we've seen so far on this thread:
I think somewhere in my post I mentioned that I was hoping that the decks would go positive soon after first sitting down. Perhaps this counts as "gambling" as opposed to advantage play. Now I could have waited around four hours back counting the 60 to 70% penetration six deck shoes. But again there wasn't much guarantee they would warm up at all during this time. Or that there would even be any seats at shoe game when the time came. By that time I could have made it to the other Indian casino and back again.
So maybe I should have driven north another 120 miles to the double deck pitched game that paid 3:2 for a natural. Probably the better choice. But there I was with 230 bucks of pretty much found money and a game before me that i have a track record of winning at in specific conditions: heads up play. I call it a scavenger play because its one of those positive moments happening infrequently but which if played carefully does work.
As for toking the lady? I felt like it. Small small percentage of the take (somewhere around 900 bucks).
So I think we should all congratulate Elias for his CIVIL post. Give credit where due.
But at the same time it is very important to kick those A-holes (and they know who they are) in the butt when they appear. Carrot and the stick.