A Counter Trap
- Thread starter The Mayor
- Start date
What would a casino gain by deliberately advertizing a counting trap? I can see having one table like that, with the reasoning that "if card counters come here, they'll be drawn to this game and we can bar them," but what would a casino have to gain by spending advertising to attract counters, then bar them when they go there?
palms today...
3 dd games, h17, no mid deck entry, $25 min., didn't play so i didn't notice if the game offered double after split. one table of superfun; all lower minimum games were shoes. penetration on the dd games appeared to be 50% though i didn't count the cards. usually, as another "side count", i count the cards dealt for a few decks to ascertain/differentiate "house rule" from, "dealer dependent" cut offs. the 3 dd games each had no more than 2 players, occasionally only one. all the shoe games were mostly full. even the carnival games had at least half the seats occupied. while i have a "book" on many lv pitstiffs, the couple in this pit were new to me so i can't accurately comment on their abilities. as usual, i saw no skilled play; the several players i observed weren't wagering or altering playing decisions based on the count; each made basic strategy errors. the dealers i saw were fairly well trained and unless a punter were in a wheel chair, likely couldn't be "flash"/hole carded.
3 dd games, h17, no mid deck entry, $25 min., didn't play so i didn't notice if the game offered double after split. one table of superfun; all lower minimum games were shoes. penetration on the dd games appeared to be 50% though i didn't count the cards. usually, as another "side count", i count the cards dealt for a few decks to ascertain/differentiate "house rule" from, "dealer dependent" cut offs. the 3 dd games each had no more than 2 players, occasionally only one. all the shoe games were mostly full. even the carnival games had at least half the seats occupied. while i have a "book" on many lv pitstiffs, the couple in this pit were new to me so i can't accurately comment on their abilities. as usual, i saw no skilled play; the several players i observed weren't wagering or altering playing decisions based on the count; each made basic strategy errors. the dealers i saw were fairly well trained and unless a punter were in a wheel chair, likely couldn't be "flash"/hole carded.
I know where this casino is, but I won't tell since Eliot doesn't want to.
I think the ad came from my conversation with the owner about 2 weeks earlier. According to the owner their DD was losing money so they tightened the rules to doubling 10 and 11 only. I complained and pointed out they weren't getting anybody to play. Maybe if they loosened their rules and got more players they could make money since they still had a house advantage.
I suggested the pen since they are currently at a one deck cutoff. they know I count, but since they have $15-$100 limits and you can't spread to more hands during the shoe, they don't sweat it.
The bad news....they got a new CM who didn't like the idea so they aren't honoring this ad. they have their DD game just the way it was, one deck pen and double on 10 and 11 only.
I think the ad came from my conversation with the owner about 2 weeks earlier. According to the owner their DD was losing money so they tightened the rules to doubling 10 and 11 only. I complained and pointed out they weren't getting anybody to play. Maybe if they loosened their rules and got more players they could make money since they still had a house advantage.
I suggested the pen since they are currently at a one deck cutoff. they know I count, but since they have $15-$100 limits and you can't spread to more hands during the shoe, they don't sweat it.
The bad news....they got a new CM who didn't like the idea so they aren't honoring this ad. they have their DD game just the way it was, one deck pen and double on 10 and 11 only.
Exactly right!! I too saw this ad and went to this casino as well. It was a classic bait and switch!! They said the ad was supposed to refer to the 6 deck and not the double deck, even though it said double deck four times in the ad. I couldnt believe anybody would place an ad with the word penetration in it. By the way, this casino used to be counter central as they would simply tolerate counters. A few months ago, they booted out most of them and changed the rules on the double deck to D10 50% pen. 1 3/4 pen on 6 deck, not exactly a game to write home about!!!
Re: Why the tease?
The point of the original post, it seems to me, wasn't to tell us the location, rather, it was to bring to our attention that sometimes, things aren't always as good as it seems. Think about it, even if he told us, what are the chances you would make money there? If you're a low-money player, you'd waste your earnings just getting there (assuming we all know the games within our area and since you've never heard of this, it's probably not in your area) and if you're a high-money player, they'd kick you out in an instant.
The point of the original post, it seems to me, wasn't to tell us the location, rather, it was to bring to our attention that sometimes, things aren't always as good as it seems. Think about it, even if he told us, what are the chances you would make money there? If you're a low-money player, you'd waste your earnings just getting there (assuming we all know the games within our area and since you've never heard of this, it's probably not in your area) and if you're a high-money player, they'd kick you out in an instant.
Actually...
I had seen the ad in the poker magazine the night before he posted it. I circled the ad and brought the mag home. There is also an ad for a single deck game at another joint. It is about 500 miles from my house and no, it wasn't enough to entice me to go. There are much better games closer to home. However, when Emerald Downs Race Track opens, I might just cruise up the coast hitting a few other joints along the way.
I had seen the ad in the poker magazine the night before he posted it. I circled the ad and brought the mag home. There is also an ad for a single deck game at another joint. It is about 500 miles from my house and no, it wasn't enough to entice me to go. There are much better games closer to home. However, when Emerald Downs Race Track opens, I might just cruise up the coast hitting a few other joints along the way.