Seminole Hard Rock in Miami Florida..CSM's are not fun

RJMNYC

Active Member
#1
I arrived in Miami yesterday and immediately went to the casino. There were about 30 tables if I remember correctly. Only 2 tables were $10, some were $15 and most were $25 minimum. I lost $200 in 10 minutes at a $25 table which was the only place I could find a seat. I have never seen a CSM and even though I am not a card counter I never want to see one again. I noticed the dealer removed the cards from the discard tray and fed them to the csm after about 2 hands. One by one, everyone at my table got up and left because they were losing so badly, I was the last one to go. Part of me wants to go back and recover what I lost but I really feel this is a bad place to play. Has anyone else played here or played with a CSM? Did I just have a bad night and should I return? or should I stay away and save my money for my next stop which is Puerto Rico which uses a shuffle machine but not a continuous shuffler (I always do well in PR).
thanks for your advice.
 

GeorgeD

Well-Known Member
#2
RJMNYC said:
I arrived in Miami yesterday and immediately went to the casino. There were about 30 tables if I remember correctly. Only 2 tables were $10, some were $15 and most were $25 minimum. I lost $200 in 10 minutes at a $25 table which was the only place I could find a seat. I have never seen a CSM and even though I am not a card counter I never want to see one again. I noticed the dealer removed the cards from the discard tray and fed them to the csm after about 2 hands. One by one, everyone at my table got up and left because they were losing so badly, I was the last one to go. Part of me wants to go back and recover what I lost but I really feel this is a bad place to play. Has anyone else played here or played with a CSM? Did I just have a bad night and should I return? or should I stay away and save my money for my next stop which is Puerto Rico which uses a shuffle machine but not a continuous shuffler (I always do well in PR).
thanks for your advice.
I think you just had a bad streak of luck. Losing 8 bets in ten minutes is a lot, but I doubt the machine was rigged. It happens.

I don't like CSM's on principles, but will play them sometimes. I'd say I do about the same as any table when not counting.

Going to "get your money back" is not wise. You will always be playing against a house advantage.
 
#3
RJMNYC said:
I arrived in Miami yesterday and immediately went to the casino. There were about 30 tables if I remember correctly. Only 2 tables were $10, some were $15 and most were $25 minimum. I lost $200 in 10 minutes at a $25 table which was the only place I could find a seat. I have never seen a CSM and even though I am not a card counter I never want to see one again. I noticed the dealer removed the cards from the discard tray and fed them to the csm after about 2 hands. One by one, everyone at my table got up and left because they were losing so badly, I was the last one to go. Part of me wants to go back and recover what I lost but I really feel this is a bad place to play. Has anyone else played here or played with a CSM? Did I just have a bad night and should I return? or should I stay away and save my money for my next stop which is Puerto Rico which uses a shuffle machine but not a continuous shuffler (I always do well in PR).
thanks for your advice.
Do you know basic strategy? zg
 

cardcounter0

Well-Known Member
#5
Go to the poker room. They spread 1/2 NL with a $100 cap. The players regularly push all-in with any part of the flop, and will call an all-in bet (along with several others) with top pair-no kicker. After posting $3 in blinds, you should be able to shove in all your chips with two pair or better and recoup your $200 plus some in about 15 minutes.
:grin:
 

RJMNYC

Active Member
#6
Yes, I do know bs. I practice using the hit or stand strategy player and always score 100%, I read the Renzy book "blackjack blue book II", and I own six decks of cards that I practice with. My most recent winnings in Atlantic City were $2,700 playing at 2 different casinos and 4 different tables over the course of 7 hours. I have averaged about $200 in winnings each time I have played over the past 10 years with a buy in of $100 at 5-10 dollars per bet. AC was the first place I ever started placing larger $25-$100 bets. I am not used to losing at blackjack, and I say that knowing some of you will find that hard to believe. Call it luck, call it skill, call it what you want, but I have done well. I guess I need to get there early enough to get to the $10 tables, since that will give me more than double the bets I could place at a $25 table for $100. As usual, you guys have been really helpful. Thanks.
 

RJMNYC

Active Member
#7
Update

I got to the casino at 6:30am and the only $10 table as full. I waited 10 minutes and a few seats opened up. I sat down and played for 5 minutes and won a few hands. Most of the players were losing, and within 5 more minutes the remaining players had lost their money and had gone, I was alone. I changed seates and sat in front of the dealer. I received 2 blackjacks in a row. Two more hands were dealt and I got another blackjack. The dealer asked if I counted cards. I answered "how could you against that?" as I pointed to the machine labeled "One2Six". Then I started to lose and I continued losing until I had no more money. On the way out I spoke with someone about the CSMs, he won $1,000 that night and commented that he hated them and would never play at a table that used them. He told me there were ordinary shufflers (non-continous) at the $50 tables and that was where he won his money. I have a few more weeks here in Florida before I head to San Juan. I will spend that time doing everything except playing blackjack. In San Juan there are $3 tables at the Intercontinental hotel in Isla Verde. There are shuffling machines but not the continous kind.
Oh, and there was some shouting at the table next to mine. The guy was furious that an employee spoke to him in the middle of a hand and asked if he would like a drink. He ranted and cursed for a few minutes and called the girl stupid. There are some really cool people on this board but I could not help but be reminded of some of the not so cool people here and I was sure he was one of them.
 
Last edited:

EasyRhino

Well-Known Member
#8
RJMNYC said:
Call it luck.
done!

a) It does indeed sound like flat-betting $25 is just too expensive, and unlucky streaks will ruin your trip bankroll.

b) CSMs are like playing right after the shuffle, all the time. So from a basic strategy perspective, they're no big deal, except the games usually go faster because there's no shuffle breaks. So that makes it more expensive.
 
#9
RJMNYC said:
I got to the casino at 6:30am and the only $10 table as full. I waited 10 minutes and a few seats opened up. I sat down and played for 5 minutes and won a few hands. Most of the players were losing, and within 5 more minutes the remaining players had lost their money and had gone, I was alone. I changed seates and sat in front of the dealer. I received 2 blackjacks in a row. Two more hands were dealt and I got another blackjack. The dealer asked if I counted cards. I answered "how could you against that?" as I pointed to the machine labeled "One2Six". Then I started to lose and I continued losing until I had no more money. On the way out I spoke with someone about the CSMs, he won $1,000 that night and commented that he hated them and would never play at a table that used them. He told me there were ordinary shufflers (non-continous) at the $50 tables and that was where he won his money. I have a few more weeks here in Florida before I head to San Juan. I will spend that time doing everything except playing blackjack. In San Juan there are $3 tables at the Intercontinental hotel in Isla Verde. There are shuffling machines but not the continous kind.
Oh, and there was some shouting at the table next to mine. The guy was furious that an employee spoke to him in the middle of a hand and asked if he would like a drink. He ranted and cursed for a few minutes and called the girl stupid. There are some really cool people on this board but I could not help but be reminded of some of the not so cool people here and I was sure he was one of them.

Instead of playing against the CSM get yourself a hooker and party on down. What's worse lose all you money or get aids or a STD?
 
#11
RJMNYC said:
LOL....I think I'll just not play until I can get to San Juan. Then I can play and win, and have plenty of money for hookers. :whip:

Playing at a $3.00 table won't buy you much in the hooker trade. You are going to have to step it on up if you want a first class hoe.
 

bigbjfan

Well-Known Member
#12
I'll comment a little on CSM's. My experience has been that the CSM does a rather bad job of shuffling. I've observed many times a table that just opens up for play. The shuffling of the new decks done by the dealer before inserting into the CSM has been, in my observation, pretty poor. There is still some pretty heavy clumping due to this poor shuffling. It takes that CSM quite a while to shuffle all those decks up sufficiently. If I ever sit down at a table w/ a CSM, I first make sure that the table has been open and played for a good hour or so before I sit down - either by watching or asking.
 

HockeXpert

Well-Known Member
#13
Bingo-Luck!

RJMNYC said:
Call it luck, call it skill, call it what you want
I want to call it sheer luck. Your time to be "unlucky" is now. You have had one hell of a lucky streak up til now. Your losses have nothing to do with csm's asm's or atm's :grin:. Seminole Hardrock's rules are pretty fair, the house edge is reasonable and probably better than what you usually play, with the exception of San Juan.
 
#14
ER: CSMs are like playing right after the shuffle, all the time.

Isnt the CSM a disadvantage over a manual shoe, b/c if always being dealt from a new shoe, the house adv always is there. Whereas w/the manual shoe, there is a down/up streaks.

Also, don't the online BJ games always reshuffle after every hand? I tried it for practice over few days and kept having down rounds.

Tx.
 
#15
though I am not a card counter

RM: I dont count cards but not as lucky as you - mostly $management issue I believe.

Since you dont count, what do you do? Do you vary your bets; tend follow; and especially how to stop the down treands.

Tx bud.
 

FLASH1296

Well-Known Member
#16
listen up

I just put in a week and a half at The Seminole Hard Rock Casino.

There is only one pit of C.S.M. tables.

There are two other pits with an A.S.M. on every table.

Those are automatic shuffle machines. They are not continuous.

If you are a Card Counter the A.S.M. are fine. The C.S.M.'s aren't.

If you are a Basic Strategy player it matters not.

Just play on off hours and avoid weekends and you will find $10 tables available.

Incidentally the $15 tables OUT OF DOORS by the Poker Room are HAND SHUFFLED, but they do not open until after Noon on most days. They stay active until very late.
 
Top