Team Play

White Guy

Well-Known Member
#1
Have bankroll. Want to get some big bets out this winter and fall when I have some time. I know this discussion has been beat to death but anyone here having any luck with spotters? Took a bit of a hiatus due to the heat I was getting locally. Been back twice in 4 months only to receive mucho heat. Trying to do something different. Thanks.
 

AR Nick

Active Member
#2
White Guy said:
anyone here having any luck with spotters?
Not that this helps you at all, but every one of my friends I've talked to about spotting for me have declined on the basis of fear that the casinos will dispatch robot ninja assassins to kill us in our sleep when we get caught. Thank the gods for pitch games.
 

moo321

Well-Known Member
#3
I've had a hard time training non-APs. Not enough devotion to it. On the other hand, hiring people from the site MIGHT work. Could be dicey, though.
 

Daggers

Well-Known Member
#4
I think there might be too high of a chance of accidentally recruiting a casino spy and when you get into actual play, you will be busted every time before you even go inside the casino IMO.
 

White Guy

Well-Known Member
#5
Those are all exactly the struggles I have been going through. What do you guys think about approaching someone I know has been counting? This way I know he is not affiliated with a casino.

Seriously though, would a Billion dollar industry really spy around that hard to catch a small time card counter who is pretty much a flea on the balls of a large casino??
 
#6
White Guy said:
Seriously though, would a Billion dollar industry really spy around that hard to catch a small time card counter who is pretty much a flea on the balls of a large casino??
No, but many small salaried surveillance staff do. zg
 

Sonny

Well-Known Member
#7
White Guy said:
What do you guys think about approaching someone I know has been counting? This way I know he is not affiliated with a casino.
You might be surprised by how many casino employees are APs at other casinos.

White Guy said:
Seriously though, would a Billion dollar industry really spy around that hard to catch a small time card counter who is pretty much a flea on the balls of a large casino??
They are trying so hard to catch the cheats and big time players. It's just that the small time card counters are usually so easy to spot that they feel obligated to bust them. In most cases they don't even care, they just don't want to be caught with a card counter playing during their shift.

-Sonny-
 
#8
White Guy said:
Those are all exactly the struggles I have been going through. What do you guys think about approaching someone I know has been counting? This way I know he is not affiliated with a casino.

Seriously though, would a Billion dollar industry really spy around that hard to catch a small time card counter who is pretty much a flea on the balls of a large casino??
If I had a flea on my balls I would try to get rid of it. I know one thing for sure I wouldn't smack it. That situation calls for a more delicate approach.:eek::whip:
 

Southpaw

Well-Known Member
#9
White Guy said:
Have bankroll. Want to get some big bets out this winter and fall when I have some time. I know this discussion has been beat to death but anyone here having any luck with spotters? Took a bit of a hiatus due to the heat I was getting locally. Been back twice in 4 months only to receive mucho heat. Trying to do something different. Thanks.
When you were getting heat the last few times, was this during team-play or were you playing solo? Either way, what were your max-bets looking like?

Spaw
 

bigplayer

Well-Known Member
#10
White Guy said:
Have bankroll. Want to get some big bets out this winter and fall when I have some time. I know this discussion has been beat to death but anyone here having any luck with spotters? Took a bit of a hiatus due to the heat I was getting locally. Been back twice in 4 months only to receive mucho heat. Trying to do something different. Thanks.
Generally the spotter/bp routine is obsolete. Most casinos with higher limit games are no-mid shoe entry. The casinos that allow mid shoe on high limit games often snap to the play rather quickly now.
 
#11
bigplayer said:
Generally the spotter/bp routine is obsolete. Most casinos with higher limit games are no-mid shoe entry. The casinos that allow mid shoe on high limit games often snap to the play rather quickly now.
I am in the process of patnering with a professional player. He has also told me that the spotter/big player approach is no longer doable having been over-exposed. We are just going the route of combining bankrolls and playing at seperate tables, which will allow me to play at higher stakes. The second benefit is that the up and down swings are suppossed to be less, although I don't really understand the math behind that. What if we both go on losing streaks at the same time? Any thoughts on this type of patnership?
 

johndoe

Well-Known Member
#12
desertwolf said:
I am in the process of patnering with a professional player. He has also told me that the spotter/big player approach is no longer doable having been over-exposed. We are just going the route of combining bankrolls and playing at seperate tables, which will allow me to play at higher stakes. The second benefit is that the up and down swings are suppossed to be less, although I don't really understand the math behind that. What if we both go on losing streaks at the same time? Any thoughts on this type of patnership?
This is pretty common, and he's correct about the "swings". More players playing independently on a shared BR means less variance overall. Sure, you can (and will) hit bad streaks at the same time, but it's a little less likely.

The usual warnings/caveats about team play still apply, of course.
 
#13
desertwolf said:
I am in the process of patnering with a professional player. He has also told me that the spotter/big player approach is no longer doable having been over-exposed. We are just going the route of combining bankrolls and playing at seperate tables, which will allow me to play at higher stakes. The second benefit is that the up and down swings are suppossed to be less, although I don't really understand the math behind that. What if we both go on losing streaks at the same time? Any thoughts on this type of patnership?
You will go on losing streaks at the same time about half as often as you would go on a losing streak yourself. In those cases, you will have a losing streak twice as big but you will also have twice the bankroll, and it will only happen half as often. Ditto for winning streaks.

The biggest issue with unbalanced or unorthodox styles of team play is making sure everyone gets paid more than they would get working on their own. That's harder than you might think.
 

moo321

Well-Known Member
#14
bigplayer said:
Generally the spotter/bp routine is obsolete. Most casinos with higher limit games are no-mid shoe entry. The casinos that allow mid shoe on high limit games often snap to the play rather quickly now.
I don't agree with this. High limit is often no mid-shoe, but there's plenty of money to be made on the main floor.
 

White Guy

Well-Known Member
#15
moo321 said:
I don't agree with this. High limit is often no mid-shoe, but there's plenty of money to be made on the main floor.
Exactly. Most of the main floor games limits are high enough. It's not like I want to wander into a high roller pit and Wong in for 10k hahaha..

I did see a team of brothers playing on two different tables apparently as a team with a shared roll. With family or a really good friend this would be an awesome idea but with business partners not so much because there is not an easily defined roll and each player is handling a good chunk of money.

I like spotters because they can work for me in a defined roll, and make min bets. There seems to be less of a chance for money disagreements. Imagine if your partner goes on a crazy win streak and has 10k in his pocket after you had a 12k lose streak? I am sure he wouldn't be thrilled about the BR being down 2k despite his efforts.

Just my 2 cents on the matter.
 
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