I prepared for what I was hoping would be a sweet trip spent mostly in leisure with a little bit of blackjack playing. Maybe the traffic jams were a sign of things to come, but I soon found that the short sweet time playing blackjack that I had envisioned was to be anything but that.
I went to the candy shop and after studying the selection for a bit, took a seat and decided to partake in the sweet offerings they had. If I had known just what I was about to be getting into, I probably would have decided not to play BJ. For the longest time, I battled. At first everything was going well and I was smiling like how a little kid should be in the candy store. Only then, things didn't turn out so sweet. I saw my 10 unit gain start to evaporate in a hurry. I thought ok, no big deal, it'll come back up when I get a good shoe again.
I was almost in a trance, +3 -2 +4 -1 , the numbers just flying by in my head. The count before long started testing the ceiling. I was prepared and threw out the chips without blinking. Double Down, Split, Double Down, normally something to be very excited about in high counts. Instead, after watching my bankroll quickly diminish, I soon found myself wondering how is this possible for me to be continuing to get 14's 15's 16's. Especially with how good the penetration was. After reaching TC's of +5 and still not getting the 20's and BJ's that I expected I soon started to get a bit worried that something was amiss. After all 3 shoes had gone by in a row each with very high counts and I still couldn't get a good hand. I looked around the table and saw that my tablemates were also getting crushed. The dealer always seemed to have a low card waiting when they had 15 and 16. Things didn't get much better either as the shoes went by. Instead it felt like every gain was being matched by a loss or two.
Still, I persevered not worrying too much as I know all too well the power variance has over this game. After a while, I was down 60 units and seriously considered switching tables even if it wasn't going to be optimum for my betting ramp as most of the tables were full. Instead, the rational non-ploppy side of me convinced the emotional side to stay at the table. I bought in for some more and after what felt like forever, I found myself down now 100 units!! I was mad at myself, telling myself I should have made the switch to another table. Well I decided to take a long break and get some food. I thought about what I had just been through and decided that maybe I really would be better off changing tables just for the sake of getting a fresh start. It also kind of pissed me off that the dealer who couldn't speak English, was smiling the whole time despite my loss.
After finishing a nice peaceful meal, I decided that somehow I was going to go be a man on a mission as I really did not want to leave this trip down. Believe me, I was very ready to call it quits and just accept my fate as slaughtered prey especially since I was exhausted as I had played now for many hours. So on I went, back into the battle.
Since I was now very low on funds, I waited patiently for a high count and wonged into a different table. The count was at +4 and I decided ok this was going to be a make it or break it hand here. I had 18 units left for the trip and decided I'd put half of it down for this hand in case I got a split or dd. Imagine my reaction when I saw a jack followed by an ace for a natural. Yes a happy man indeed. I kept the same bet out since the count hadn't gotten any worse and what do you know... Another blackjack. Now I was starting to move. I was starting to really like this table! I started to build my bankroll up when then the count unfortunately went south. I wonged out and went back to the original table I was playing at hoping things would be better. I regretted it immediately. I soon was back down to my last 10 units. Well the ploppy side of me took over and I decided to go back to the table that gave me two BJ's in a row. That was probably the best decision I made all night.
I found myself enjoying the open table and really took advantage of it. Finally, all of those DD's and splits were turning into winners. I even cracked a smile as I now felt like I had something going on. I was on one of those great runs as I noticed I had just won 8 hands in a row. I was finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and thought to myself, only down 40 units now. I was thoroughly exhausted and was on autopilot now. I was tempted to leave but I knew that people wait many trips for runs like this. As long as I had an open table, this was going to be as good as BJ was ever going to get for me. It also helped that this dealer was a great dealer. Well I kept playing and the time seemed to fly by. Night had turned into day. I was now down only 20 units which felt like a minor miracle to me. I decided to take an extended break, getting some delicious food that was eagerly comped to me. I then stepped out of the casino to get some fresh air and look around. I figured ok, I've had enough of BJ for a while, I'm going to try to see if poker will put me back into the black.
Back into the casino I went, finding a brand new NL game opening up. I swear, it was like dejavu all over again. Instead of high counts and losing max bets, I was now losing with good hands. I would have on the flop a pair of jacks with an ace kicker and someone else would have pocket queens. I could have two pair on the flop, bet a lot, and they'd call and hit the flush.
I was really getting discouraged now. All of that hard work trying to build my bankroll back up in BJ went to waste. I soon learned why you never ever play poker when you're tired as I made a huge as in quite possibly the biggest mistake I've ever made in poker. I'm just going to leave it at that as it is still quite painful to think about.
Even after this, I persevered. I said to myself, "They don't call you the comeback kid for nothing." I was down 4 buy-ins now and decided ok I'm going to have to play more aggressively if I'm going to get my money back. I did that and it started to work like a charm. It also helped that I had a player call my all-in bet with absolutely nothing but a straight draw. Well after many more hours of playing poker, I was actually back to even and after a short while longer, a little bit in the black. Talk about some major roller coaster rides!
At this point I decided to call it quits as I was only down 10 units. I got some more food and was passing the BJ tables and I said to myself, "Oh what the heck. I'll play until I lose 10 units or end up in the black for the trip." I must love pain or something because I decided to sit back at the table that had cost me so much money at what seemed like eons ago. I noticed that there were some players at that table whooping it up so that felt kind of reassuring. Well that turned out to be a great decision. I felt like I couldn't lose a hand! The count went north and swack BJ, swack 20, swack 20, swack 19 with a dealer showing a 10 and the dealer busts on a hard 16. It felt like everything was turning into gold now. Well I played exactly two shoes and when the count went south on the second shoe I called it quits for good, coloring up with a big smile on my face. I had this great feeling that I had survived the war and came out victorious. I was almost too tired though at this point to fully comprehend what I had just done and been through as the only thought on my mind was sleep! Looking back at it now though, even though I ended up for the trip, I wouldn't want to go through that again! :cool2:
I went to the candy shop and after studying the selection for a bit, took a seat and decided to partake in the sweet offerings they had. If I had known just what I was about to be getting into, I probably would have decided not to play BJ. For the longest time, I battled. At first everything was going well and I was smiling like how a little kid should be in the candy store. Only then, things didn't turn out so sweet. I saw my 10 unit gain start to evaporate in a hurry. I thought ok, no big deal, it'll come back up when I get a good shoe again.
I was almost in a trance, +3 -2 +4 -1 , the numbers just flying by in my head. The count before long started testing the ceiling. I was prepared and threw out the chips without blinking. Double Down, Split, Double Down, normally something to be very excited about in high counts. Instead, after watching my bankroll quickly diminish, I soon found myself wondering how is this possible for me to be continuing to get 14's 15's 16's. Especially with how good the penetration was. After reaching TC's of +5 and still not getting the 20's and BJ's that I expected I soon started to get a bit worried that something was amiss. After all 3 shoes had gone by in a row each with very high counts and I still couldn't get a good hand. I looked around the table and saw that my tablemates were also getting crushed. The dealer always seemed to have a low card waiting when they had 15 and 16. Things didn't get much better either as the shoes went by. Instead it felt like every gain was being matched by a loss or two.
Still, I persevered not worrying too much as I know all too well the power variance has over this game. After a while, I was down 60 units and seriously considered switching tables even if it wasn't going to be optimum for my betting ramp as most of the tables were full. Instead, the rational non-ploppy side of me convinced the emotional side to stay at the table. I bought in for some more and after what felt like forever, I found myself down now 100 units!! I was mad at myself, telling myself I should have made the switch to another table. Well I decided to take a long break and get some food. I thought about what I had just been through and decided that maybe I really would be better off changing tables just for the sake of getting a fresh start. It also kind of pissed me off that the dealer who couldn't speak English, was smiling the whole time despite my loss.
After finishing a nice peaceful meal, I decided that somehow I was going to go be a man on a mission as I really did not want to leave this trip down. Believe me, I was very ready to call it quits and just accept my fate as slaughtered prey especially since I was exhausted as I had played now for many hours. So on I went, back into the battle.
Since I was now very low on funds, I waited patiently for a high count and wonged into a different table. The count was at +4 and I decided ok this was going to be a make it or break it hand here. I had 18 units left for the trip and decided I'd put half of it down for this hand in case I got a split or dd. Imagine my reaction when I saw a jack followed by an ace for a natural. Yes a happy man indeed. I kept the same bet out since the count hadn't gotten any worse and what do you know... Another blackjack. Now I was starting to move. I was starting to really like this table! I started to build my bankroll up when then the count unfortunately went south. I wonged out and went back to the original table I was playing at hoping things would be better. I regretted it immediately. I soon was back down to my last 10 units. Well the ploppy side of me took over and I decided to go back to the table that gave me two BJ's in a row. That was probably the best decision I made all night.
I found myself enjoying the open table and really took advantage of it. Finally, all of those DD's and splits were turning into winners. I even cracked a smile as I now felt like I had something going on. I was on one of those great runs as I noticed I had just won 8 hands in a row. I was finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and thought to myself, only down 40 units now. I was thoroughly exhausted and was on autopilot now. I was tempted to leave but I knew that people wait many trips for runs like this. As long as I had an open table, this was going to be as good as BJ was ever going to get for me. It also helped that this dealer was a great dealer. Well I kept playing and the time seemed to fly by. Night had turned into day. I was now down only 20 units which felt like a minor miracle to me. I decided to take an extended break, getting some delicious food that was eagerly comped to me. I then stepped out of the casino to get some fresh air and look around. I figured ok, I've had enough of BJ for a while, I'm going to try to see if poker will put me back into the black.
Back into the casino I went, finding a brand new NL game opening up. I swear, it was like dejavu all over again. Instead of high counts and losing max bets, I was now losing with good hands. I would have on the flop a pair of jacks with an ace kicker and someone else would have pocket queens. I could have two pair on the flop, bet a lot, and they'd call and hit the flush.
I was really getting discouraged now. All of that hard work trying to build my bankroll back up in BJ went to waste. I soon learned why you never ever play poker when you're tired as I made a huge as in quite possibly the biggest mistake I've ever made in poker. I'm just going to leave it at that as it is still quite painful to think about.
Even after this, I persevered. I said to myself, "They don't call you the comeback kid for nothing." I was down 4 buy-ins now and decided ok I'm going to have to play more aggressively if I'm going to get my money back. I did that and it started to work like a charm. It also helped that I had a player call my all-in bet with absolutely nothing but a straight draw. Well after many more hours of playing poker, I was actually back to even and after a short while longer, a little bit in the black. Talk about some major roller coaster rides!
At this point I decided to call it quits as I was only down 10 units. I got some more food and was passing the BJ tables and I said to myself, "Oh what the heck. I'll play until I lose 10 units or end up in the black for the trip." I must love pain or something because I decided to sit back at the table that had cost me so much money at what seemed like eons ago. I noticed that there were some players at that table whooping it up so that felt kind of reassuring. Well that turned out to be a great decision. I felt like I couldn't lose a hand! The count went north and swack BJ, swack 20, swack 20, swack 19 with a dealer showing a 10 and the dealer busts on a hard 16. It felt like everything was turning into gold now. Well I played exactly two shoes and when the count went south on the second shoe I called it quits for good, coloring up with a big smile on my face. I had this great feeling that I had survived the war and came out victorious. I was almost too tired though at this point to fully comprehend what I had just done and been through as the only thought on my mind was sleep! Looking back at it now though, even though I ended up for the trip, I wouldn't want to go through that again! :cool2:
