Recent content by joeblackjack

They have a card reading shoe that tracks every card dispensed, and they track every single bet. The system can flag you as a counter independently, without human analysis or intervention. While surveillance may look at it before backing you off after you're flagged to verify it, they really...

Single deck is still pretty close to ubiquitous in Reno.

Were they waiting until the marker was printed and signed? Normally, when a player first asks for a marker, it may take a minute for the pit to look up their available credit. But after that, they know how much is available, and they'll mark it up immediately with plastic markers reflecting...

This was a long time ago - long before I even thought about actually trying to become an AP. I just happened to be a lucky plop that weekend. Using nothing but perfect basic strategy, turned a $10K marker into over $200K. It was one of a very few winning trips, and by that time I was already...

Not to scare anyone, but if I were a casino, in every promotional email or hotel confirmation email I sent, I'd send down a cookie with every image in the email from server X that is unique to the recipient. Since I know who I am sending emails to, I can associate each cookie with a specific...

You, sir, have won. I had completely forgotten about those places.....most of them start at roughly a -5% EV before you even look at the game.

You are correct that all chips in places that use RFID generally have the chips in them. I've just never had larger places in vegas bother putting amounts under $5k on the pad. One cashier at Aria was so busy looking at my playing history in the computer that she forgot to put a $25,000 chip...

I've only seen one place (an Indian casino) use a button. Never seen it in Vegas. If it happens, it doesn't happen on the strip. Easiest way to tell if RFID is in active use is to go to the cage and look for a mouse-pad type thing on the counter in front of each cashier. You'll see this at...

I'm aware that it's only worth that much if it's one of the first 2 cards...my original post was assuming that you were playing 6 spots, and thus an ace would appear in someone's first 2 cards (though possibly in the dealer's first two cards as well). You bring up an interesting point. If you...

I was in Reno not very long ago trying to hone my counting skills. There is exactly 1 playable table at Harrah's Reno, and it's not even that great. SD, D 10/11 only, H17. All the rest are horrible - restricted doubling on double deck (8-11 only, no DAS), and 6:5 SD, etc. They even had the...

I'm really curious what's with the surgical gloves he's wearing while dealing cards. He must be planning some serial killing for later. Really the whole thing is just bizarre and sad all around. This guy is mildly retarded and looking to make food money by selling a system that he may well...

Actually Bellagio has grey chips in both normal and Baccarat size. They are grey with red stripes on the sides. They are $100,000 denomination. I've actually had one of the normal sized ones in my hands....for about a day. Went to the cage and asked to color up some $25K chips for it. They...

Martingale + the worst possible playing strategy ever devised. Why didn't I think of that?

http://youtu.be/dLfGVuy7Ehs?t=8m45s - "I'm loving that we're losing....I'm loving that we're losing!" A few seconds later at 9:15 in the same video, "Now, I have a 14, I'm gonna stay, especially against an 8....oh, I lose another hand. Isn't that amazing". This guy is comedy gold. Just...

Someone I know was trespassed from the Aladdin several years ago. A few months later, the property was sold and the name was changed to Planet Hollywood. It has since been sold once again to Harrahs. Would the trespass still be in effect today, even given that both the name and ownership...