Worries:
I jump into a $5 table and strike up a conversation with a nice older lady. She bets $5 or $10 per hand, as I do for awhile. Soon the deck composition demands me to up my bets. I mostly lose as the count climbs. Each time my bet increases the lady becomes more concerned. As my bet reaches my $200 max, she is quite shaken and even grabs my arm as we wait to see if the dealers busts. Unfortunately he doesn't. She cringes as I buy in for another $400 after seeing my first $600 go so fast. "Why is this nice young man risking so much money?" she must think, while hoping I win the next one and wishing I wasn't betting so much. She was worried for me.
As this was happening she got a little caught up in the excitement as well and upped her bet to $15. One hand she caught an 11 VS a dealer 6, and threw a fiver out there saying "double for less." Another time she caught 3 - 3 against a dealer 5 and attempted to split for less (unsuccessfully of course.) $30 out there on one hand was too much so she hit. I worry about her. She is on a fixed income and is not taking full advantage of her spits and doubles, giving up more money for her entertainment than need be.
Everyone is an idiot except me:
A conversation I get into nearly every time I play UTHE or 3CP goes something like this:
Other player (or dealer: ) Why aren't you playing the trips/pair plus?
Me: I never win when I play that
(or) Naw thats a house bet/sucker bet
(or) I am a poker purist, just me against the dealer one on one is how I roll
(or) I hate diamonds, but love circles (UTHE)
(or) I hate circles, but love diamonds (3CP)
(or) The casino doesn't give as many good hands to people who play that bet because they don't want to pay out as much
(or) whatever else I can think of to say depending on my mood
Other player (or dealer: ) What are you going to say when you hit a a straight flush? You will be sorry. That is where you make all of your money in this game.
I respond. The conversation usually continues. The dealer or player thinks I am an idiot for not playing that bet. I think the dealer or player is an idiot for thinking what they think. It is a beautiful symmetry.
But recently I have thought about it from a different angle. Maybe everyone is correct. Most of the dealers tips must come from pair plus/trips. Dealers must know this either conciously or sub-conciously and correctly encourage the bet. Other players think they win more on the side bets. I believe they do. The the house edge is higher on the side bets, the players can't mess it up by playing wrong. Most players probably make more money off of the pair plus, and the trips? Nearly certainly. UTHE players are sooooo bad. And then there is me playing just the bottom bets. I am almost certainly better off that way with my knowledge of basic strategy and bonus info. So everyone thinks everyone else is an idiot, but as it turns out everyone is playing correctly. It's a beautiful thing.
"Im not bitter" and "Id rather be lucky than good"
I was crushing UTHE the other day, betting $50 ante where everyone else plays $5 ante and trips. Up a little over $2,000 I was getting ready to leave when an interesting hand occured. I have a feeling my J - 2 offsuit is nearly a 3-1 favorite and bet 4X preflop. A man in first base checks down and bets 1X on the river. As the cards are revealed it turns out I caught a jack on the river, the dealer has a poket pair of deuces, and the man on first base had flopped 2 pair and failed to bet 2X. He says to me "You must have a damn horseshoe up your ass. How can you be winning so much betting with a hand like that?" I respond "hey what can I say it is my favorite hand. I love two jack off!" "Id guess it's better to be lucky than good" he says. The joke goes over his head but the dealer laughs. As I am coloring up I ask him " What didn't you like about your two pair on the flop (rainbow board)?" "You never know with this game" He says. Then he says " You know im not bitter about your win" in a way that only someone who is somewhat bitter about losing while an idiot is winning would say.
I think about this person, who somehow plays a 2.2% HE game at probably around a 20% disadvantage, suggesting that I am a lucky idiot and smile. Then I put myself in his shoes and remember the times I am way down and some lucky idiot is winning wheelbarrels full of money. In those times I am often thinking the same thing he is. Another beautiful symmetry between very different casino patrons.
I jump into a $5 table and strike up a conversation with a nice older lady. She bets $5 or $10 per hand, as I do for awhile. Soon the deck composition demands me to up my bets. I mostly lose as the count climbs. Each time my bet increases the lady becomes more concerned. As my bet reaches my $200 max, she is quite shaken and even grabs my arm as we wait to see if the dealers busts. Unfortunately he doesn't. She cringes as I buy in for another $400 after seeing my first $600 go so fast. "Why is this nice young man risking so much money?" she must think, while hoping I win the next one and wishing I wasn't betting so much. She was worried for me.
As this was happening she got a little caught up in the excitement as well and upped her bet to $15. One hand she caught an 11 VS a dealer 6, and threw a fiver out there saying "double for less." Another time she caught 3 - 3 against a dealer 5 and attempted to split for less (unsuccessfully of course.) $30 out there on one hand was too much so she hit. I worry about her. She is on a fixed income and is not taking full advantage of her spits and doubles, giving up more money for her entertainment than need be.
Everyone is an idiot except me:
A conversation I get into nearly every time I play UTHE or 3CP goes something like this:
Other player (or dealer: ) Why aren't you playing the trips/pair plus?
Me: I never win when I play that
(or) Naw thats a house bet/sucker bet
(or) I am a poker purist, just me against the dealer one on one is how I roll
(or) I hate diamonds, but love circles (UTHE)
(or) I hate circles, but love diamonds (3CP)
(or) The casino doesn't give as many good hands to people who play that bet because they don't want to pay out as much
(or) whatever else I can think of to say depending on my mood
Other player (or dealer: ) What are you going to say when you hit a a straight flush? You will be sorry. That is where you make all of your money in this game.
I respond. The conversation usually continues. The dealer or player thinks I am an idiot for not playing that bet. I think the dealer or player is an idiot for thinking what they think. It is a beautiful symmetry.
But recently I have thought about it from a different angle. Maybe everyone is correct. Most of the dealers tips must come from pair plus/trips. Dealers must know this either conciously or sub-conciously and correctly encourage the bet. Other players think they win more on the side bets. I believe they do. The the house edge is higher on the side bets, the players can't mess it up by playing wrong. Most players probably make more money off of the pair plus, and the trips? Nearly certainly. UTHE players are sooooo bad. And then there is me playing just the bottom bets. I am almost certainly better off that way with my knowledge of basic strategy and bonus info. So everyone thinks everyone else is an idiot, but as it turns out everyone is playing correctly. It's a beautiful thing.
"Im not bitter" and "Id rather be lucky than good"
I was crushing UTHE the other day, betting $50 ante where everyone else plays $5 ante and trips. Up a little over $2,000 I was getting ready to leave when an interesting hand occured. I have a feeling my J - 2 offsuit is nearly a 3-1 favorite and bet 4X preflop. A man in first base checks down and bets 1X on the river. As the cards are revealed it turns out I caught a jack on the river, the dealer has a poket pair of deuces, and the man on first base had flopped 2 pair and failed to bet 2X. He says to me "You must have a damn horseshoe up your ass. How can you be winning so much betting with a hand like that?" I respond "hey what can I say it is my favorite hand. I love two jack off!" "Id guess it's better to be lucky than good" he says. The joke goes over his head but the dealer laughs. As I am coloring up I ask him " What didn't you like about your two pair on the flop (rainbow board)?" "You never know with this game" He says. Then he says " You know im not bitter about your win" in a way that only someone who is somewhat bitter about losing while an idiot is winning would say.
I think about this person, who somehow plays a 2.2% HE game at probably around a 20% disadvantage, suggesting that I am a lucky idiot and smile. Then I put myself in his shoes and remember the times I am way down and some lucky idiot is winning wheelbarrels full of money. In those times I am often thinking the same thing he is. Another beautiful symmetry between very different casino patrons.
