I took the dealer's "bust card"

I had Ace-8, dealer showed a 6, TC was +6 so I had a max bet of $75 out. I doubled my soft 19 and got a king. Everyone else had stiffs except one who had a blackjack. The dealer's hole card was a queen, and the next card he drew was a deuce. 2 of the ploppies were berating me for doubling down on a 19, a "winning hand". One player wanted to punch me (he was flat betting 2 hands, $100 each and doubled down on both his hands and lost). The dealer was left speechless.

Jeez, I get more heat from the ploppies than from the pit. I wish I had a chance to split tens at a high count against a 5 or 6.

Another stupid cover play I did at a low count was surrender a 16 against a dealer 2, saying that it was the "dealer's ace" while the pit boss was watching. The dealer drew to a 6 card 21. The lady sitting next to me said that I don't know how to play blackjack and I need to "read the book". Perfect cover to convince the pit boss that I'm a bad player who would give the house a greater advantage instead of a really good player who gives the house a negative advantage.

nothing new

My horror stories::
1) Occurred twice
I had soft 19 Vs 5 on 2xtable max in an indian reservation..
I double to get an ace, everyone else stay..
Dealer flipped a '6' in the hole and hit a face.. *happy world*

2) Occurred thrice:
I got 9-9 and 19 Vs A on hi-lo +5 with my 2xtable max bets..
I buy insurance and lost..
I splitted 9's to make two 19's and dealer flip another 9 in the hole..
Gosh 4xmax bet swings..

Everytime plops have gone mad, who cares

Hopefully the fact that I surrendered a hard 16 against a deuce in front of the pit boss would convince him I'm a stupid player. He also saw me double on a soft 19 and the ensuing commotion after I took the bust card.

Ploppy heat is a real phenomenon, not to be ignored. If the way you play pisses people off, they'll complain to the pit and attract attention, or loudly whine which also attracts attention. It's important to learn how to keep them in line.

Or that you're a very SMART player. Why didn't you just HIT your 16?

What kind of count would it take to be anywhere near a surrender index for 16v2? Does it even exist?

Probably, if you count 2,3,4,5 as low and 6,7,8,9 as high. For every play there is probably some count that will eventually give you a valid index, but it might not be a count you'd ever use.

Judging from the post, I'm doubting that he's "smart" in the sense that you might be thinking of. Surrendering 16 v 2 as a "cover play" when your max bet isn't even enough to make 90% of casinos blink is questionable, to say the least. Then again, maybe I'm assuming too much about OP's playing style here.

I know it's very hard to do, but sometimes it's best to ignore any ploppie who gives you heat. By you saying anything back, it can just add fuel to the fire and that makes it more likely that the pit critter will come over. Something to try might be saying "I'm going to double this, if anyone has a problem with me doing this, you can buy my hand plus 50%." I know I'm certainly guilty of putting ploppies in their rightful place, but I'm trying to work on that aspect of my game :whip::flame::whip:

Yes, I agree with this. The point I was trying to make is that you not only have to worry about them figuring out what you're doing, you also have to worry about them THINKING they've got it figured out.

For example; six or seven years ago, I was reading Gladys in the T.I. for a BP, on a CSM. She retired 3 years ago, so I guess it's OK to talk about it now. Anyway; the shift boss shows up & bars my BP. For counting! Flat betting! On a CSM! He spends the next 20 minutes or so scolding the PB for not being able to figure out something so "obvious". It was all I could do to keep from falling off my chair with laughter!

Brilliant, ha ha!

I find it best to just ignore them.

I've taken countless bust cards, frequently improving my hand to a winning one while leaving them in the dust. If the dealer's good, the next hand is already out and they have something else to think about. But, on the other hand I have also taken the card that would have made the dealer's hand and busted out (eg: hitting 12 vs 2 or 3 and getting a face) only to have the dealer then bust out. That makes the ploppies very happy.

Either way, I usually just shrug and keep playing. I've been accused of not knowing how to play more than once. I'm okay with that!


paddy

I never question anyone about the way they play. I guess I have been around long enough to know that in the long run,it make no difference how others play. I did have an incident that bothered me though . I went to Dover & will not mention the casino I played in ,but will say the dealers & staff were very friendly. I sat down at a $15 table & played 2 hands & was doing good . There was an elderly couple playing that never smiled & questioned ever play I made ,saying I was taking their cards although it was a new deal?? I hit several soft 17s & 18s & sometimes would take the dealers bust card. The deck turned 12 negative real fast & I cut back to 1 hand. The couple starting raising hell ,saying I can't do that because it messes up the flow of cards . I said sir ,you can play 2 hands . He said no ,since I had already messed the flow up. They lost & blamed me. His last remark to me was ,he had been playing BJ for 40 yrs & never seen anyone hit A6 or A7 . I went off !!! . How do you cope with that?? I forgot to mention > They deal out of a shoe with 6 decks POGO

Let's hear it for the plops!:joker:

If you'd sing some Willie Nelson songs when making such plays it would be more effective. :joker:

:laugh::laugh::laugh: I have never heard that one before... ill have to try it.

Surrendering 16 v 2 is a pretty high-cost cover play. At a neutral count standing 16 v 2 returns -0.29, so on a $5 bet you are giving up $1 by surrendering, which returns -0.5. I'm not sure exactly how these figures scale in negative true counts, where presumably the value of standing decreases but even still I think you would be better off not using cover plays like this. In fact, I am a staunch advocate of not using cover at all. Anyway, as to the issue of ploppy heat, the best thing you can do is play heads up which is far more profitable anyway. Of course this isn't always possible unfortunately. One of the nice things about travelling internationally to play blackjack is that most of the time you can't understand what they are bitching and moaning about at least. Next time you want get cute, try to buy insurance against the deuce. At least this expression of whimsy won't cost you any money.

As a 1-off move, I like it.

Where is the "dislike" button? Al Rogers....we need a dislike button.