Finally!

[Mikeaber]

I've been having a horrible run of Blackjack sessions here lately. Seems like forever since I've come out on the positive side. In fact, it's been so bad that I decided to take a "vacation" from BJ and spend a weekend playing VP. However, when I got to the casino, I found that the dog-gone paytables sucked at the casino (AmeriStar) so I degraded my play to nickel VP. After something on the order of 13 hours of VP over two days, I was down $100. That's a LOT when you are betting only $.25 a hand! Quads just weren't falling and forget Royals!

It was only an hour before time to leave to drive home. I was already ready to hit the road, but my Wife was still playing so I found a seat at a cheap $3 BJ table with the intention of just flat betting the minimum to kill the hour. But I guess I'm corrupted. I find that it's just automatic to keep up with the cards as they are dealt. The first two shoes were pretty much neutral and I never got away from the table minimum, but the third shoe wasn't "normal!"

After the first hand at the 6-d table (DAS, H17, RSA, deep 80% pen), the count was -15 (using KO). After the second hand, it continued to climb to -9. I doubled the table minimum and bet two spots. Unbelievable! I got faces and yet, mostly small numbers were falling to the rest of the table (two other players.) It went on that way pretty much the entire shoe. Most of the time, I was betting $18 (6 units) on two spots when normally my max bet is 10 units. I ended up 40 units ahead on that one shoe! That made the 3-hour drive back home a little better!

Note that at AmeriStar on the $3 tables, two spots is 2x table minimum and 3 spots is 5x the $3 minimum. I probably should have spread to three spots at $15 on this table during that shoe, but I didn't think about it until later!

[ortango]

Originally Posted by Mikeaber

I've been having a horrible run of Blackjack sessions here lately. Seems like forever since I've come out on the positive side. In fact, it's been so bad that I decided to take a "vacation" from BJ and spend a weekend playing VP.

I feel you Mike. I've won 1240 units in 8 weeks only to lose 400 of them in the last 10 days. It feels like those winning days are a long gone faded memory and now if feels like I am playing a losing game. Especially since those are $50 units. Ah, but I know I am playing a winning game and at least my run so far isn't close to the one that Ian Anderson wrote about in "Burning.." that was over 1400 units in 12 days, and I can bet that he was playing a lot higher than $50 units.

[EasyRhino]

Originally Posted by Mikeaber

But I guess I'm corrupted. I find that it's just automatic to keep up with the cards as they are dealt.

I think you've got me beat. I can still play cards without counting at all, but it does take some effort to switch it off, and I usually end up foggy and confused for a little bit.

Was that the Ameristar in Kansas City? I whiled away a day once at their $3 tables a couple years ago, when I was learning basic strategy. It was great. The Ameristar St Louis only has $5 min tables, though.

[Mikeaber]

Originally Posted by EasyRhino

I think you've got me beat. I can still play cards without counting at all, but it does take some effort to switch it off, and I usually end up foggy and confused for a little bit.

Was that the Ameristar in Kansas City? I whiled away a day once at their $3 tables a couple years ago, when I was learning basic strategy. It was great. The Ameristar St Louis only has $5 min tables, though.

Yeah, Kansas City, Missouri. They have three $3 tables upstairs and about a million $5 tables.

I don't know. Even without the intent of counting and joking around with everyone and slurping Scotch, I still find myself counting even if I miss several hands. I guess I figured that if I was going to do that, I might as well start at the beginning of the shoe so I ended up keeping up with it.

They do have a $3 table at Isle of Capri in KC and the rules are the same but the pen sucks there.

Argosy in KC has no $3 tables. They have $10 double deck with Lucky Ladies side bet but I didn't pay any attention to their conditions. We stopped there on our way to AmeriStar where we were staying and I had only in mind to spend the weekend at VP.

I didn't even go to Harrah's this trip.