Vegas Report

[Jdesey]

Okay I am back home and extremely tired. I played alot of hours.

Yes I came out a winner by $500.. playing anywhere from $15 to $25 hands at blackjack.

some observations:

1. Yes, progression does not work. I had said that I would both flat bet and progress on some wins. Flat betting worked and progression did not. Just never got any real long streaks of wins.

2. I have got to learn to stop playing when I have lost 4 hands in a row at the same table. I did this finally on Saturday and it helped alot. Just took a break, waited for the next shoe.

3. Other players CAN really mess up the game!! Several times a player would not make the right move, like hitting a 12 to a 2 , or hitting a 15 .. and the dealer would win, when they would have busted. Not sure what to do about this one.

Anyway, I am back in Vegas again in Mid December. I will take very careful notice of what I learned this last time. Overall, it was my second trip in a row to come out a winner, not too bad

[shadroch]

Sadly,you seem to have learned more bad stuff than good.

Point 1) Yes,you learned a valuable lesson here.

Point 2) When you lose four hands in a row because the dealer is drawing to make a good hand,think about what is happening.
Small cards are coming into play,which means big cards aren't.Walking away now may result in you leaving a postive deck.
There is no reason to walk away after four straight losses.You are better off walking after three straight blackjacks,but you'd never think of doing that.

Point 3) Again,you've learned the wrong lesson.Players have zero effect on the game in the long run.Our memory is very selective and we recall the times a player misplays and it hurts,but somehow forget when the opposite happens.There is a ton of information out there,please read it.

[RJT]

I do sometimes wonder why players using systems that no card counter would ever validate come onto card counting boards to talk about them? Seem to me that most of the time they know what the responce is going to be before they get it (point in hand - "CAN" - he obviously knows that everyone's going to disagree, hence the emphasis).
If you've come to genuinely ask advice or for help fair play, but if it's all about finding someone who disagrees with you to argue with, what's the point?

RJT.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Jdesey

Flat betting worked and progression did not.

I’m glad to hear that you had another lucky trip. Just remember that flat betting is still playing a losing game. You’ll get lucky very often, but you will lose money overall.

Originally Posted by Jdesey

I have got to learn to stop playing when I have lost 4 hands in a row at the same table.

Why? Does it prevent you from losing the first 4 hands at the next table? If you are going to leave the table at random times it really doesn’t matter when you do it. It has no effect on your game, other than the fact that it keeps you off the tables for a while. Don't sweat it.

Originally Posted by Jdesey

Other players CAN really mess up the game!!… Not sure what to do about this one.

Easy, just remember that any winning hands you have for the rest of your time at that table are due to them. As Shadroch said, people always remember the bad hand but not the good ones. The losses due to bad plays that other people make will be offset by the wins from those same “bad” plays. Just relax and know that it doesn’t hurt your overall results.

-Sonny-

[ihate17]

Over the years, some of the best shoes I have ever had began with several other players at the table and the dealer winning the first batch of hands by making 4-6 card hands that killed the table. Most times all the superstitious (the vast majority) of players flee and the only fool left at the table is me along with a shoe that has gone positive because of all those little cards hitting the felt.
This just happened to me Sunday, and after a little more than a deck is dealt it is heads up with a nice running count. The count kept increasing for a while and it was win one, lose one till we were a little more than half way thru the shoe, TC +6 and the big cards start coming out in combinations that were helping me and not the dealer. I win several max bets in a row, even get a couple of little cards, 6,5 and win a double and here comes one of the players who left after the first couple of hands. I ask him to wait since the shoe is almost over and I do not want the change the "magical" Flow of the cards, (language understood and followed by all nice ploppies).
Finish up the shoe winning a little more and on the shuffle suddenly my "hot" table has filled up with others who want to share my good fortune.

Of course if you do not count, you are not always aware that the rest of the shoe will favor you, but just because the dealer has won 4 in a row does not mean that you will not win or lose the next 4. It is just superstition.

Finally, it is funny that I shortly left that table because it filled up and the relief dealer gave lousy pen. As I sit down at a different table in a nearby pit, I am instantly joined by two players who followed me there. I guess they thought I was lucky and wanted to follow me even though they both made a comment when I split 9's vs the dealer's 9. I shortly took a break and lost my fan club.

ihate17

[Mr. T]

You are on a roll.
A 2 sessions winning streak or variance as Sonny would call it. Enjoy it while it last although you said you will be back as early as December.
Watch out for the losing sessions. It will come.
In the long run try to keep your overall losses as low as posssible by flat betting.