The single dumbest play I have ever seen

[callipygian]

that's a little racist flash haha. racial profiling haha

Actually, it's prejudicial, but not necessarily racist.

To be racist requires a value judgment on the person. Prejudice (believing something about someone before evidence is gathered) is often a sign of racism, but they're not the same thing, so people can be prejudicial without being racist and racist without being prejudicial. I think a lot of racial prejudices (racist or not) in the casino are true, as well as a lot of age-related prejudices, sex-related prejudices, and appearance-related prejudices.

For card counters who are ethnic minorities, those prejudices can be used to advantage. The MIT teams of BDTH/21 fame (which were all-Asian) were able to get away with what they did for much longer than a white team would have been able to, because of the perception that Asians were irrational gamblers.

 

[gordon5432]

Other than absurd but legal plays, the worst play likely to be seen other than standing on a Soft 17 vs. a dealer 7 would likely be a failure to split EIGHTS vs. a dealer SEVEN in a DAS game or surrendering any 12 against anything or doubling down on a hard 12 vs. anything. The latter is popular among some Chinese players.

The worst player ever even though I've never actually seen him play would have to be John Patrick, author of "Advanced" Blackjack. He warns people to never play blackjack unless they're experts and basic strategy and card counting, then goes on to give these pearls of wisdom:

- Always splitting aces and eights is pure garbage. Aces should only be split against a 3-7 because there's a 50-50 chance that you'll wind up with a stiff on both hands.

- A deuce is too strong of a dealer upcard to double on 11 against.

- Fives should be split against a 4-6 so you can "get even more money on the table when the dealer is in big trouble."

- Doubling A2 against a 5 and getting a 2 is a situation he'd take any day of the week.

And this is just the stuff I saw from skimming over the free internet preview for 5 minutes.

 

[Katweezel]

John Patrick

The worst player ever even though I've never actually seen him play would have to be John Patrick, author of "Advanced" Blackjack. He warns people to never play blackjack unless they're experts and basic strategy and card counting, then goes on to give these pearls of wisdom:

- Always splitting aces and eights is pure garbage. Aces should only be split against a 3-7 because there's a 50-50 chance that you'll wind up with a stiff on both hands.

- A deuce is too strong of a dealer upcard to double on 11 against.

- Fives should be split against a 4-6 so you can "get even more money on the table when the dealer is in big trouble."

- Doubling A2 against a 5 and getting a 2 is a situation he'd take any day of the week.

And this is just the stuff I saw from skimming over the free internet preview for 5 minutes.

Was this the same guy that made a card counting video that was filmed INSIDE a casino, using casino staff a few years back? :cat:

 

[FLASH1296]

It is completely obvious to me that the author obviously published his
books with the express purpose of radically increasing the House Edge.

May he suffer a slow torturous death, and rot in hell, for all eternity.

 

[Katweezel]

Casino mole?

It is completely obvious to me that the author obviously published his
books with the express purpose of radically increasing the House Edge.
May he suffer a slow torturous death, and rot in hell, for all eternity.

Settle down, Flash. What goes around for Patrick, comes around too. There is a school of thought that says so few people actually ever truly master card counting that casinos secretly like the cc idea. Since the movie '21', have BJ returns increased significantly for casinos, despite the downturn?

Patrick apparently filmed a card counting routine (for his cc video-for-sale) inside a casino, using casino staff. His book is very suspicious in certain areas, as Flash has pointed out. Suspicion mounts on suspicion. There is a stink in the air. Was John Patrick a casino mole? One guy who could clear the air is Patrick himself. Does anyone know where he is hiding out these days?

 

[21forme]

Yesterday I saw the dumbest play ever. Dealer had a 9 showing. Player had a soft 16. He signals stand.
Dealer: "you have a 6"
Player: "it's also a 16, right?"
Dealer: "yes"
Player: "I'll stay"

 

[1357111317]

Doubling down on 12's has to be the dumbest play I have ever seen. How can doubling down ever seem like a good idea when you have a 31% chance of busting and a 38% chance of making a hand. I have seen this way too often lately too.

 

[ihate17]

He stays on all 16's...Daaa

Yesterday I saw the dumbest play ever. Dealer had a 9 showing. Player had a soft 16. He signals stand.
Dealer: "you have a 6"
Player: "it's also a 16, right?"
Dealer: "yes"
Player: "I'll stay"

There is no requirement to pass an IQ test before sitting at the blackjack table. In fact, it is the desire of the casinos that you fail an IQ test before playing.

I guess I have seen it all. Guys doubling blackjack on black chip tables, people splitting 6,6 vs Ace, guy staying on 4,2, people who bet in the thousands who refuse to double 10 or 11 vs a dealer 7.

The way I now look at this is based upon card addition or subtraction to the stack. Take your guy with soft 16: If we have a positive count I am happy he did not hit as each card saved might help create another round but if the count is negative I want him to hit to quicken the end of the shoe. This is the only way that I can figure if these guys are actually helping or hurting me.
This worked out very well recently in a DD game where the other player doubled his 4,4 vs dealer 5 instead of splitting (DAS game) and got himself a little 2. Had he split he would have taken several additional cards and if he had just hit he would have taken 1 additional card. The stack ended profitably and I got a win on the last hand which begun with just 1 card before the cut card.

ihate17

 

[Cardcounter]

He made the right play!

I've been an AP for 22 years and while the actions of other players don't normally affect me, I have to share the dumbest play I've ever seen. I was in Vegas pouncing on the Flamingo's fantastic single deck games and there was this crazy 20-something guy sitting at third base. I stood on 20 and was prepared to win the hand when this guy, I don't know whether he was drunk, high, or had just been administered a full frontal lobotomy... but this joker decides to hit on 18. I repeat, HE HIT ON 18. What did he think he was trying to accomplish? He wound up getting a face card and had to stand, and this is the worst part... the dealer flipped up a 7 in the hole under her 9 then caught a 5 to make a miracle 21! Not only did his idiotic play cause everyone at the table to lose, it sent the FoC index which had previously been terrific plummeting into the ground. I badly wanted to curse him out but I knew that I would accidentally mention the index which would've gotten me 86'ed. To bring the index back up to respectability, I stood on 7 against the dealer's 5 a couple of hands later to avoid taking her bust card, which naturally worked. Still, I was so flummoxed by this idiot's play that I was distracted for the rest of the night and wound up dropping $2700. Oh well, when you're an AP you learn to live with those kind of fluctuations.

The player had a soft 18 vs a 9. Most players in this situation stay however most blackjack players are losers this player actually made the correct mathimatical play. So this player actually new what he was doing on that hand. The math says that you are 9% better off hitting soft 18 vs a 9 despite the fact that he lost that particular hand so I can't blame that player for hitting I would have too.

 

[EasyRhino]

Yesterday I saw the dumbest play ever. Dealer had a 9 showing. Player had a soft 16. He signals stand.
Dealer: "you have a 6"
Player: "it's also a 16, right?"
Dealer: "yes"
Player: "I'll stay"

I saw the same play on like my 3rd card counting trip ever. Another player started arguing with the lady to do the right thing. She got all angry and responded "But I was born on the 16th!". Then the other guy got even angier, nearly started a riot among the five people at the table.

 

[gordon5432]

I saw the same play on like my 3rd card counting trip ever. Another player started arguing with the lady to do the right thing. She got all angry and responded "But I was born on the 16th!". Then the other guy got even angier, nearly started a riot among the five people at the table.

My otherwise intelligent best friend did the same thing on my first trip to AC right after my 21st birthday, except the dealer was showing 4. Even with the dealer saying "Sir are you sure? You can't go over." and me begging him to double or at least hit, he said "What's the difference? He's just gonna bust anyway" and stood. The dealer busts and he says "See, I knew what I was talking about." I was honestly embarrassed to have walked into the casino with him at that moment. The worst part was that he finished up over $200 and I finished down almost $300. Needless to say, I visit casinos alone now.

 

[Frankie]

The not hitting on Soft 16 or less, or 3-11 I have seen so many times now I am numb to it (but I've never seen it in Vegas at a high limit table).

I did recently however witness the dumbest play ever. Playing a ENHC game where the dealer takes all bets (including splits and doubles) if he makes BJ.

Foreign country, by far the worst Blackjack players I've ever seen (I've played on 5 continents).

Guy at 3rd base has 7-7. Dealer has an Ace. He splits. I couldn't help any of these people, or reason with them, because I didn't speak their language. I almost never try to help people but they were all trying to talk to me since I was betting 100x what they were. The whole scene was crazy.

I just can't figure out what that guy was thinking. Even if he makes 21 on both his 7's he still loses 31% of the time! What an unbelievably stupid play.

 

[Thunder]

Next time, just say I'll bet you $100 you don't win the hand if you do that.
That might be an AP move with some really dumb macho players

 

[Katweezel]

Could have been in the smug '21' crew

I saw a guy wave off the dealer on A4 V 3. The dealer gave him a hint: "You sure? That's 15 OR 5." He waved him off again and stood on his soft 15. The dealer busts. The player's smug look got even smugger. His innate wisdom, knowledge and math-understanding of the game was deeply reinforced by that dealer bust... :cat:

 

[Tarzan]

Dumb?

Hitting a soft 18 (A,7) against a dealer 9 makes all the sense in the world to me. Staying on a 7 against the dealer anything just does not compute. Am I missing something here?

I think we need to all dress up like "ninjas" and rappel down around Flash in a circle around him and start chanting "Ching cha kawasaki STAY 16 dealer 10! Ho Chi Min Fortune cookie Stay 14 with dealer 10!", just to freak him out a bit.

Seriously though, stupid plays happen all the time by all walks of life. Listen to the words of wisdom of Stanford Wong and say nothing, smile (while trying not to crack up laughing at them while at the table), allow them to do their thing and make the dumbest moves imaginable, don't try to help, don't critique because these people are the ones keeping the casino in business and afloat so YOU can play!

 

[Sucker]

Hitting a soft 18 (A,7) against a dealer 9 makes all the sense in the world to me. Staying on a 7 against the dealer anything just does not compute. Am I missing something here?

I think we need to all dress up like "ninjas" and rappel down around Flash in a circle around him and start chanting "Ching cha kawasaki STAY 16 dealer 10! Ho Chi Min Fortune cookie Stay 14 with dealer 10!", just to freak him out a bit.

Seriously though, stupid plays happen all the time by all walks of life. Listen to the words of wisdom of Stanford Wong and say nothing, smile (while trying not to crack up laughing at them while at the table), allow them to do their thing and make the dumbest moves imaginable, don't try to help, don't critique because these people are the ones keeping the casino in business and afloat so YOU can play!

Tarzan, if you read this whole thread, including his subsequent posts; you'll realize that the whole thing is a level. He's not really that stupid, he's just trying to jerk our chains. For a first time poster, it looks like HE'S the jerk!

 

[Mimosine]

I'll join you too. Does the Flamingo SD game still pay a whopping 6:5? :laugh:

-Sonny-

yup, along with their 6D!

 

[Katweezel]

Bolt out the door

I think this story qualifies for this thread, even though I did not witness it actually happening. It happened to an Iranian guy (Jaffa) I had met a few times as he was connected with a friend of my sister. (He has since met a sad end, when his friend shot him after an argument.)

The event happened maybe six years ago in Sydney's Star casino. (I followed his case as it was reported.)

Jaffa had lost most of his stash at Blackjack this night and so he decided to get his losses back by reaching over and helping himself to the dealer's tray, scooping 21 white $1,000 chips and promptly bolting, pursued by a hot posse of security and suits. He made it outside and ran across the road, dived off a pier into the bay, and disappeared in the dark, with suits and security peering futilely into the dark seawater.

An hour later, with the coast apparently clear, a cop cruiser spotted him walking nearby, dripping wet, and arrested him. No trace of any chips could be found, then or later.

In court he said he was severely psycho at having lost lost lost his cash for hours and in a moment of madness, his brain exploded with the crazy act, for which he was profoundly sorry. (The chips?) He said he dropped them in the sea when he dived off the pier. Amazingly, and much to the distress of the casino, the judge sympathised with him and gave him a rap over the knuckles suspended sentence and did not even make an order for restitution. The casino appealed the sentence, and lost again.

Did he go skindiving and collect, later? Yep, I believe he did. :cat:

 

[Katweezel]

Dealer bust card

In the early 90s, I thought I could win at BJ playing just BS. One night I am seated at third base and there are 6 other players, on a $50 min, $2K max table. I always liked third base as it gave me a chance to not take the dealer bust card, and to play the big shot occasionally, you know, all that bullshit. This one stayed in my selective memory. (You there Flash?)

There are plenty of black on the table this particular round and I get 10-2 V dealer 10. Of course BS says to hit, but an impulse makes me wave off, and there is a pause as a few big bettors say, you sure? The dealer waits. I play the big shot who knows what he is doing. "It's MY decision, guys." I wave off the dealer and stand on my 12 V 10. There are a couple of exasperated groans.

Next card out is for the dealer. It's a 2. Now HE is drawing to a 12. Next card is a 10 for a magic dealer bust and everyone wins! I am feted like a magician. The biggest groaner asked: "How did you know not to take that 2, the dealer bust card?" :laugh:

 

[fredperson]

Dumb Plays...

How about the guys that always split 10s but only if it's a true pair.
They will split a pair of jacks, or queens, but never split a jack/queen.
I have run into this several times over the years, and no amount of grumbling
by other players can convince them of their folly.