Recent content by Jon.

I know what you mean I was walking through an AC casino a few years ago and saw a $5 game and thought what the heck. Half way through the shoe the running count went over 30. Then I realized what I had done to myself playing at a $5 table. Small waiting bet but then you couldn't really...

More math I still disagree. I use Stanford Wong’s bet sizing calculations from Professional Blackjack. He uses the variance and covariance of his benchmark game to derive an optimal bet of – Optimal bet = 0.78 * % advantage * bankroll At a true count of plus 6 my advantage is...

I dissagree I disagree on this one. I played through 3 decks, heads up against the dealer, putting out max bets for my bankroll. I must have played between 25 and 30 hands in this situation. I won 2, pushed one and lost the rest. I know 20% in 10 minutes is an amazing amount of variance...

It Happens Despite some concerns of others, I will assume you are playing a good game and that your betting is reasonable. I have been playing for years and built a small bankroll into a pretty nice one. The fact is, bad things happen. Here's a story that sounds like I must really be...

The following is a very beatable promotion. http://www.tropicana.net/events-and-promotions/?id=121 Remember the key is to limit how many times you play through your money. Fewer pulls with bigger bets is better. I didn't check the small print on this promotion. Make sure you don't...

Wonging is the answer If you have a small bankroll that can't afford to play through negative counts in shoe then backcounting is your best bet. Sounds like you won't be betting big either so you can do it pretty aggressivley and no one will care. You can watch half the shoe before...

Six deck games in front of high limit room have been switched back to S17. So now the six deck games on the main floor are S17 and the eight deck games are H17. This place got destroyed in January. Casino revenue was down 30%. Not sure if this played any role in their decision.

Penetration The dealers I saw were cutting off about 1.5 decks for 75% pen. However, my experience is that Tropicana dealers are the most variable cutters in AC. One table at the Trop might cut of 1.25 decks while the next table is cutting off 2.5 to 3 decks. So I really give no promises on...

Tropicana has converted 4 tables outside the high roller room to 6 deck S17 games. Hmmm ... perhaps I should encode that so that they don't know that I'm talking about them. So forget my opening sentence. Here's the encoded message instead. The alone casino on the b**rdw*lk has converted...

Trump Plaza has converted both their 6 deck games and 8 deck games on the main floor to H17.

No difference Many places allow you to insure for less. This is nothing new. The amount of insurance does not change the house edge. If the count justifies taking insurance and it is profitable then you should take the maximum insurance bet. If you don't count or the count does not...

Taking a hit LOL AM. Great idea with seeing if they tackle you. I hope everytime that I play that some pitt boss figures out what I'm doing and calls in an over agressive security guard and I get roughed up. The good news is they never figure anything out, but then I don't get my lawsuit...

Very true Agreed AM.

Trump $1 BJ Yes, there is a 25 cent fee for bets of $1 to $5. Link below. (Dead link: http://trumpmarina-px.trvlclick.com/casino/promotions.cfm?eventId=EV_20100722104041593505)

We do we lose so much Three words: You go first. or Three words: Dealer goes second. In reality, with perfect play, the dealers wins 48% of the hands, we win 44% of the hands and we push 8% of the time. Why does the dealer seem to make more hands? Because the dealer does make...