2nd Base: Wimbledon Head Movements, Cat Clock Eyes, & More.

Finn Dog

Well-Known Member
#1
Greetings,

One of the arguments against sitting at 2nd base is the Wimbledon effect with respect to head movements.

To which some players have responded by freezing their heads and moving their eyes only--the only problem being the creation of an effect mimicking the eye movement of the infamous Kit Cat clock.

Which of these two is more of a red flag to the pit (I gotta think it's the Cat clock eyes)?

All of which is why other players have responded by learning to not move either their head or their eyes--but instead, to count with peripheral vision (seeming unconcerned with the other players' cards).

What do you when sitting at 2nd?

Finally, is it a good trade off to ignore all the other players' first and second cards and instead, just cancel their whole hand (when each player gets cards 3 and higher; only looking at their hand at that time)? Sure, you'll give up some information this way, but I'm thinking this is quite a Ploppie-like technique?

Best regards,

FD
 
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tripsix

Well-Known Member
#2
Whose cards are most important!

Most of the time, I ignore the first card coming out except my own, not doing so is not natural.

Sometimes I'll tell the dealer give me a (whatever card I need) and watch as 1st base and others get their cards.

If I think the PB is watching, I'll sometimes be entranced by my first card until the second appears, then either shake my head (good chance to glance at other players cards,) or nod with a big smile and check out what my neighbors got.

The most important card is the dealer's, mentally note whatever hand you last counted and watch the flip, if it's a ten/Ace get the hands from third base back to where you left off. If it turns out a dealer BJ, you won't miss a thing!

Don't freeze your head and just shift your eyes, this is not natural at all and easily picked up. Peripheral vision can be a blessing, especially in the heat of the night ;)

Except for not following the first card of every player coming out, don't sweat it. Next time you go to a casino, stop a table or two away from the bj table and watch the players as the deal comes out. You'll soon realize you don't have a neon flashing 'C' imprinted on your forehead denoting your a counter.

Finally, with practice a glance will do to cancel/count hands. This is important to practice just keeping it ONE glance. Looking back over or recounting is the quickest way to losing your count.

Keep Practicing!
 

bjcounter

Well-Known Member
#3
I sometimes play the game of wanting everyone on the table to win. You can get a quick glance of the other people's cards and if you have an upbeat table, celebrate and give the dealer hell:)
 

Randyk47

Well-Known Member
#4
I've always thought it was pretty natural to watch all the cards come out so I don't worry too much about it. Of course, my seat of preference is third base and it's not an issue to watch the card flow.
 

hawkeye

Well-Known Member
#5
1st or 3rd base seems to solve these problems for me. I like 1st base because I don't like to hear nonsense from ploppies about my 3rd base play, especially the 12 v 2, which always draws sighs.

I also don't think it's weird to watch everyone's cards. I think it's great cover to watch people's first cards and if someone gets an Ace I hit the table and say "Good luck Ace" or something like that, a little tactic I've picked up from ploppies. If I get a 4 I look at the other players cards, then when someone gets a 7 I say "You got my double down card" or something like that. I think there's a lot of ways to act like you're interested in the whole table without looking obvious.

This is one of those posts where I hope casino personnel would be reading, so everytime they see someone wish someone luck on an Ace they can get paranoid that there's a counter at the table!
 

Finn Dog

Well-Known Member
#6
hawkeye said:
This is one of those posts where I hope casino personnel would be reading, so everytime they see someone wish someone luck on an Ace they can get paranoid that there's a counter at the table!
:laugh:
 
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