stupidest play you've seen?

JulieCA

Well-Known Member
I was playing first base at a full table. Dealer had a 4 up. I had a pair of 3s and split them, got another 3, split again. Got a 7, doubled down. Got an 8, doubled down. Got another 3, split again.

The guy in the middle of the table had 12. This guy hadn't hit a stiff hand the entire time I'd been there, against ANY dealer up card - but when I have 4 hands on the table with 2 of them doubled down, the idiot decides to hit his 12 against the dealer 4. He gets a 9, nobody else takes a card - and the dealer turns up a 10 for 14, then a 3 for 17 total.

My total was a push on one double down, a loss on the other, a win and another push, for a total loss on the 4 hands. The %$#@! idiot won with his 21, of course. Don't they always?
 

johndoe

Well-Known Member
Hitting a 12v4 is a correct play quite often. Just under half the time, overall (assuming you don't wong).

And you do know that other players' decisions have no effect on you, right?
 

NightStalker

Well-Known Member
ohh really

the next card was 9, and second card was 3..
Irrespective of count,
prob of 1st card being face is same as prob of 2nd card being a face..

u may very well assume, that dealer wants to take the 2nd card.. I don't mind that..
 

JulieCA

Well-Known Member
johndoe said:
Hitting a 12v4 is a correct play quite often. Just under half the time, overall (assuming you don't wong).

And you do know that other players' decisions have no effect on you, right?
*I* know it was the correct play, but I guaranty you this guy didn't know it was the right play - he was a ploppy through and through. If anyone had asked him if he knew basic strategy, he would've said "what's that?"

I know over time other player's don't affect me, so I try and remain zenful about it. Still, I was annoyed that he changed up his playing habits, actually making a correct play for probably the first hand in the last 100! The woman next to me was actually more upset than I was - she kept asking me why I wasn't pissed off. What's to be pissed off about? If I'd had his hand, I would've hit it.
 

21gunsalute

Well-Known Member
A woman is playing 2 hands. Dealer has an 8 showing. Her first hand is a pair of 8's. She stands on 16. Second hand is hard 17. She hits and busts.
 

Jozsef

Member
doubling down on any card that was higher than the dealer up card... he must've went back n forth to the cage 3 times in 30 minutes...
 

65D

Active Member
this has been a VERY entertaining thread to read.................


Mine is not a stupid play, as much as it is a series of strange, and unusual plays.


I have this one that I recall from last night: strange then also semi frustrating, yet enlightening


I am playing middle seat at a 6 player (full) game. Speading out to 2 hands in pos counts (ie backlining off the player beside me, who plays solid BS), TC is +3, so i have a fairly nice bet out (200 x 2). I am dealt a hard 20 and a 9. But wait, what does the dealer have??? ---> HOLY *&^^ she forgot to deal HERSELF any cards!

....everyone looks around in confusion, the dealer (young female newbie, just outta training, doesn't even have the same uniform as the other girls yet) face bright red in embarrasment, one drunk guy at 3rd base, sitting w/ a natural starts banging his chips on the table yelling.....another older man, who has a stiff had, beside me laughing uncontrollably.

So The pit boss rushes over with a look of bewliderment, looks and analyzes the table, gets the explination from the dealer, then the explination from the yelling, screaming drunking guy w/the natural, and says "new game?, with a questionable accent as if to ask us as the players if that is ok. I say "no, dealer get's next 2 cards, we keep this game" and look at others if they support it. The guy on 3rd base yells YES, dealer gets 2 cards (this guy has a natural blackjack sitting in front of him). The older laugh-induced mr giggles to the right of me has a stiff hand, but he does not seem to mind or care. But the pit boss does not want the idea of the dealer getting the next 2 cards, as that may be understadable as that was not the "intended" order they were supposed to come out. So then the pit boss suggests that we shift everyone's card over 1, to them accomidate for the missed dealers card, therefore making it what it "should" have been. After everyone glancing down, the shift would of caused all 6 of us to have all stiffs with the dealer showing 10 up. 5 seconds later after looking down we all almost in unison yelled "NEW GAME". Next hand was dealt, now TC is +4 and I am betting 300 x 2, on my neighbors hand (of mine)...wala natural 21. Well this guy beside me played BS yes he did, but apparently he was not trained in manners or simple math. During this hand, multiple face cards came out, to the point that when I recieved my natural the TC was down to +1. When he was asked even money, he said yes.
((bear in mind, I have 300 on this hand, he has 10!!!!)).

I stop him and say no, I want NO even money. He says it's his hand to play and decide, and that he is making the correct play for us both. I offer him 20 and push 2 green chips over to him. He then pushes them back at me. (the same amount he would win) he says no, I offer him 30. He says "too confusing, i always take even money, always. you play on my hand, you take even money. You want even money, trust me, I been playing back jack many years". ................ Dealer peeks...of course "no blackjack". And 150 bucks missed out on from this "backling gone bad bet"

The "odd" concept to me is that this guy did not do it to spite me. He did it b/c in my belief he truly thought that the "even money" decision he made was actually PROVEN to be the most beneficial and that he was helping me out and saving me by making this call.
 

mrbill

Well-Known Member
Idiot counting Ace as 1 instead of 11

Over the weekend I was playing Double Deck pitch at a local casino.

First hand out of the shoe I have 11 so I double down. The double card is tucked under my chips. The dealer has a 5 up. The guy at third base hits and gets a 5, then hits again and gets a 10 and tucks his cards. Dealer turns over a 10 and draws a 2 for 17. Dealer pulls the cards out from under 3rd base's chips and turns up an A-4 and paid him on his 20. Notice he had 20 before he hit and got the 10. I got an Ace on my double and lost. That was a $60 swing for me.

Second hand I get a 19, dealer has an 8 up. 3rd base hits, gets a 6, hits again gets a 2 and hits again and gets a 10. Turns over his cards because he busted and shows an A-4 again. This time he had 21 before he hit and got the 2:flame:. The dealer turns over his down card and shows a 2. Then draws an Ace for 21. $30 swing for me.

I don't know what he did after that because I left the table.
 

Sucker

Well-Known Member
65D said:
when I recieved my natural the TC was down to +1. When he was asked even money, he said yes.
((bear in mind, I have 300 on this hand, he has 10!!!!)).

I stop him and say no, I want NO even money. He says it's his hand to play and decide, and that he is making the correct play for us both. I offer him 20 and push 2 green chips over to him. He then pushes them back at me. (the same amount he would win) he says no, I offer him 30. He says "too confusing, i always take even money, always. you play on my hand, you take even money. You want even money, trust me, I been playing back jack many years". ................ Dealer peeks...of course "no blackjack". And 150 bucks missed out on from this "backling gone bad bet"

The "odd" concept to me is that this guy did not do it to spite me. He did it b/c in my belief he truly thought that the "even money" decision he made was actually PROVEN to be the most beneficial and that he was helping me out and saving me by making this call.
At a count of +1, by taking even money he only cost you about six dollars in EV. By offering him $20 and then upping it to $30 you made a HORRIBLE offer. Equity-wise, he actually did you a big favor by refusing.

I will admit that it was rather presumptive and thoughtless of him to not just take your 20 bucks, and it was STUPID of him not to take the thirty!

But when battle is over and the smoke clears, you really can't go by the actual result; you have to measure the action by the EQUITY. This is the ONLY correct way that the TRUE professional looks at it. You lost six bucks.
 

Sucker

Well-Known Member
Sucker said:
By offering him $20 and then upping it to $30 you made a HORRIBLE offer. Equity-wise, he actually did you a big favor by refusing.
Oops, this is a misstatement on my part. The equity- neutral amount of your offer would be about $26. If he takes the $20 (no skin off of his back) you earn about $6. If he takes the $30 you lose $4 in equity. Either way, I DO understand your frustration. Although the ACTUAL result SHOULD be ignored, that's sometimes much easier SAID than DONE!
 

Ferretnparrot

Well-Known Member
For real, last week, when i was playing at FW, the player in seat 1 decided not to split his 4s, and to stand instead, everybody reminded him of the option to hit, but he stood...on 8 , though it wasnt followed by the words "I too like to live....dangerously...." it was the dumbest play I have seen to date.
 

southAP

Well-Known Member
I saw a guy in Sands Pa do the same thing with a 5 vs dealer 2. I guess some people just dont care about their money.
 

65D

Active Member
Sucker said:
At a count of +1, by taking even money he only cost you about six dollars in EV. By offering him $20 and then upping it to $30 you made a HORRIBLE offer. Equity-wise, he actually did you a big favor by refusing.

I will admit that it was rather presumptive and thoughtless of him to not just take your 20 bucks, and it was STUPID of him not to take the thirty!

But when battle is over and the smoke clears, you really can't go by the actual result; you have to measure the action by the EQUITY. This is the ONLY correct way that the TRUE professional looks at it. You lost six bucks.

Thank you for pointing it out that way. that makes me feel alot better about it.
 

65D

Active Member
Sucker

to clarify, my original offer was 20.

The guy has 10 riding on the bet, and his "insurance" would of been 5, making it a total of 15 up their at stake.

My offer was to give him 20, and then the entire thing is mine. As in even if their WAS a dealer bj, he would of got his 15 back. So i offered 5 more. (then yes I upped it to 30 total, which is 5 more than he would of received)

but this meant that he would NOT also get what he originally had in there also.

So i was reducing $5 from the end result, then upped it to $10 less as the offer

Q1) was your stat based on that, or based on thinking in addition to me paying him, i was ALSO going to let him collect his 3:2 pay?

My thought process was: If you are risking 10, and want "even money", well then here....here is your 20 bucks, now give me the hand. Then yep, I upped it to 30, which is even MORE than 3:2 pay in regards to his wager size.

Q2) how where you able to calculate that EV?
What resource diid you obtain that with?

not that i doubt the accuracy, it's b.c I want to do that and become proficient at it myself, so i am aware of scavenger play odds and EV's and don't just "shoot from the hip" like I did in this instance.

TIA
 

PierceNation

Well-Known Member
Mental double decisions

Yo I'm new to the site so just wanna say hi :grin:

Worst play I ever saw, happened not so long ago with my bro on holiday. He thought it would be a fantastic idea to double down on 13 vs 10.

I dont know what bothered me more, the fact that my bro was potentially risking losing all his money, or the fact that he pulled an 8 and walked out the joint with more money than me.

Unbelievable.
 

pooptarts92

Well-Known Member
mrbill said:
Over the weekend I was playing Double Deck pitch at a local casino.

First hand out of the shoe I have 11 so I double down. The double card is tucked under my chips. The dealer has a 5 up. The guy at third base hits and gets a 5, then hits again and gets a 10 and tucks his cards. Dealer turns over a 10 and draws a 2 for 17. Dealer pulls the cards out from under 3rd base's chips and turns up an A-4 and paid him on his 20. Notice he had 20 before he hit and got the 10. I got an Ace on my double and lost. That was a $60 swing for me.

Second hand I get a 19, dealer has an 8 up. 3rd base hits, gets a 6, hits again gets a 2 and hits again and gets a 10. Turns over his cards because he busted and shows an A-4 again. This time he had 21 before he hit and got the 2:flame:. The dealer turns over his down card and shows a 2. Then draws an Ace for 21. $30 swing for me.

I don't know what he did after that because I left the table.
You do realize that what other people do with their hands has no effect on you right? Don't worry about how others play, if you always play properly based on the count then what they do will both hurt and help you equally in the long run, cancelling any "real" big changes out. Sometimes when they play stupid it also changes nothing, IE the dealer still busts/makes the exact same hand. Just play your cards, it's the same EV no matter what anyone else at the table does.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
pooptarts92 said:
You do realize that what other people do with their hands has no effect on you right? Don't worry about how others play, if you always play properly based on the count then what they do will both hurt and help you equally in the long run, cancelling any "real" big changes out. Sometimes when they play stupid it also changes nothing, IE the dealer still busts/makes the exact same hand. Just play your cards, it's the same EV no matter what anyone else at the table does.
OTOH, in BJ every play is related. You have a 9/2 vs. a dealer 2. The count is +2. The two players before you each have 10/10. The first one says, "This looks like a good double down!" and splits his tens getting a jack and a queen. The count goes to 0. The next player says, "Well, if it worked for you, it might work for me!" and he too doubles down and catches a king and a queen. Now the count is -2. With my 9/2 I have no alternative but to double down. The odds have now shifted against either me or the dealer getting a ten. I hit and draw a 5 for 16. The dealer turns his hole-card, a king, then hits his king/2 with a 9 for 21. Now tell me that what others do does not effect the odds.

I still would do the same thing, no matter what, but it seemed pretty sure after the initial deal that the odds favored me hitting a ten for 21, and likewise the dealer hitting a ten and busting, that is, until Larry and Moe made their stupendous moves, which by the way, cost them both. :flame: Larry:whip:Moe:whip:

The moral of the story: Don't count your chicktens before they're hatched.
 

Sharky

Well-Known Member
yes, it does suck when players before you draw "your" big cards, but remember other times they draw "your" small cards.

Point was/is:

pooptarts92 said:
...what they do will both hurt and help you equally in the long run, canceling any "real" big changes out...
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
Sharky said:
yes, it does suck when players before you draw "your" big cards, but remember other times they draw "your" small cards.

Point was/is:
Your point was never missed, in case you think I missed it. I was merely pointing out the fact that ploppies have a penchant for grabbing defeat out of the hands of victory...and not only their own! The odds do not change; they just aren't what they could have been. I am not talking about the cards themselves either, as you did, but the odds. They didn't "take" my cards; they altered the odds of me getting the cards I wanted. Had they drawn a five and a three, they would have increased my odds, but the odds were that they wouldn't, because in the one case the odds favored then drawing tens and in the other, it favored them drawing at least one ten. So, in the case I described, they did not have just as much chance of favoring me as they did of harming me. Capisce?
 
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