Code words in Team Play
- Thread starter ssm_arts
- Start date
Sure. A simple way to do it is just ask your partner how he's doing. "I'm up 150" means the RC is +15. "I'm down 30" means the RC is -3. Perfectly natural casino talk. And being people lie about their wins and losses all the time, if the PB hears this and sees the player has won or lost something other than that it won't strike him as suspicious either.
My buddy and I talk hockey constantly while we're playing. We both know older player's jersey numbers so it's super easy to just talk about a fight that Neil Sheehy got into or how Messier hammered some guy into the boards. I'm pretty sure most dealers aren't going to know what the hell we're doing. :grin:
There are so many things right with this post that I don't know where to begin.
(1) DON'T ever take a signal system from a movie or a book or the Internet or anything that's remotely obvious. Casino employees may be the enemy, but they are not stupid. They've read Bringing Down the House and watched 21 and they probably read these boards too.
(2) DO play with a team that you have enough history with so that you know more about the other person than their blackjack skills.
(3) DO use a signal system which uses inside jokes, unique information, or is otherwise uncrackable, even by other counters.
(4) DO work all your information into stories or otherwise natural venues of conversation.
BAD:
"Hey Bob, how are you feeling today?"
"Pretty good, I'd give myself a +5 out of 5!"
GOOD:
"How's the table?"
"It's up and down." (referring to the time in college where you passed out drunk in an elevator and ended up riding it up and down until you ended up on the 5th floor)
(1) DON'T ever take a signal system from a movie or a book or the Internet or anything that's remotely obvious. Casino employees may be the enemy, but they are not stupid. They've read Bringing Down the House and watched 21 and they probably read these boards too.
(2) DO play with a team that you have enough history with so that you know more about the other person than their blackjack skills.
(3) DO use a signal system which uses inside jokes, unique information, or is otherwise uncrackable, even by other counters.
(4) DO work all your information into stories or otherwise natural venues of conversation.
BAD:
"Hey Bob, how are you feeling today?"
"Pretty good, I'd give myself a +5 out of 5!"
GOOD:
"How's the table?"
"It's up and down." (referring to the time in college where you passed out drunk in an elevator and ended up riding it up and down until you ended up on the 5th floor)
This is the key. If you observe the people sitting at blackjack tables playing, you will see dozens of repeated physical characteristics that just about every single player does. If you listen to conversations at the tables, you will also hear many of the same things repeated over and over again without fail. Its a case of being exactly like everyone else to hide in the open.
For example, I'm walking by a table that seems full, I notice someone is coloring up so I slow up to possibly take their place. The person leaving pushes their chips towards the dealer, looks at their watch, makes a comment on how his wife is going to kill him for being late to meet her, he chugs whats left of his drink leaves the glass on the table, wishes the table good luck and leaves exiting from the left of his seat. Since I see an opening at the table I ask the rhetorical question, anybody mind if I take this spot? Usually everyone either agrees or doesn't care as it will keep the flow the same, but it doesn't really matter I plan on playing regardless. Anyway when I sit down I now know everything I need to play this shoe and even the next. Care to take a guess on what happened? This is by far not a typical situation, but an example how you can get a load of info without doing anything different from anyone else playing this game. By the way, these signals are not used currently by us so I am giving no secrets away.
For example, I'm walking by a table that seems full, I notice someone is coloring up so I slow up to possibly take their place. The person leaving pushes their chips towards the dealer, looks at their watch, makes a comment on how his wife is going to kill him for being late to meet her, he chugs whats left of his drink leaves the glass on the table, wishes the table good luck and leaves exiting from the left of his seat. Since I see an opening at the table I ask the rhetorical question, anybody mind if I take this spot? Usually everyone either agrees or doesn't care as it will keep the flow the same, but it doesn't really matter I plan on playing regardless. Anyway when I sit down I now know everything I need to play this shoe and even the next. Care to take a guess on what happened? This is by far not a typical situation, but an example how you can get a load of info without doing anything different from anyone else playing this game. By the way, these signals are not used currently by us so I am giving no secrets away.
I suppose there are a million ways to signal. Leaving to the left or right could signal whether the count is negative or positive. The position of the glass left behind, or the amount of liquid left in it, could signal by how much.
When a friend is at the table I signal him when to raise his bet by where I position my chips in the betting circle. I do this because sometimes I bet higher just to mix it up as a masking technique and I don't want my friend to get carried away and bet the farm at the wrong time.
If my friend is onto counting, I might use something on the table or my person (I won't tell what I use) to signal exactly what the count is. Chips, coins, drinks, napkins, club cards, swissle sticks, fingers, you name it, can all be used to signal. Otherwise he can just follow your lead. Just remember that everything you do is recorded on film, so you shouldn't engage in anything that requires unnatural motion or obvious placement.
When a friend is at the table I signal him when to raise his bet by where I position my chips in the betting circle. I do this because sometimes I bet higher just to mix it up as a masking technique and I don't want my friend to get carried away and bet the farm at the wrong time.
If my friend is onto counting, I might use something on the table or my person (I won't tell what I use) to signal exactly what the count is. Chips, coins, drinks, napkins, club cards, swissle sticks, fingers, you name it, can all be used to signal. Otherwise he can just follow your lead. Just remember that everything you do is recorded on film, so you shouldn't engage in anything that requires unnatural motion or obvious placement.
In the example I gave the exact RC was given, as was look for a packet to shuffletrack next shuffle with a location and strength of it. There should be no reason to signal for positive or negative count for the shoe being played as there should never be a call in to a negative shoe. How a spotter leaves his seat can be valuable in the fact they can block potential other players from taking what is to be a BP's spot. Although a good BP should never let that happen anyway. I would be very wary of using chips or other table props that can be figured as pattern forming.
No no you don't want to get involved with a scrotum electrode in a casino for something as simple as telling someone what the count is. Just say the damned number and don't use any movements or intonations that would make you look sneaky. People say numbers all the time in casinos.
If you feel you need to disguise a number, you can add an offset to it. Synchronize watches before you go out and add the second minutes digit to the number you speak. (E.g if the time is 6:45 and you wanted to relate the number +7, you'd say "Twelve.") To a person hearing this it would sound like a random number, even if they were counting too and using the same count.
If you feel you need to disguise a number, you can add an offset to it. Synchronize watches before you go out and add the second minutes digit to the number you speak. (E.g if the time is 6:45 and you wanted to relate the number +7, you'd say "Twelve.") To a person hearing this it would sound like a random number, even if they were counting too and using the same count.
Having known one of the greatest card mechanics of all time (I don't condone it) I know that signals can be right in front of your face and you'll never see them. I doubt if anyone could figure out your signals from the clues, but I was willing to take a stab anyway. Yes, I agree that one should avoid any pattern forming routine, although some are so subtle that I doubt even an expert studying a film would detect them. Language is a favorite way to communicate--I'll leave it at that.
