waiting around for good shoes

[Midwestern]

So I just came back from Vegas where i played games at the Bellagio, MGM, Aria, Cosmopolitan, Palace Station, El Cortez, Mirage, Mandalay Bay, and Caesars. Basically All over.

Mostly, i played 6d S17, but at Palace Station, Cosmo, and EC i played DD.

These tables were $25 min, so i would buy in for $100 or $200, which gave me 8 bets at the most. I would sit around for 5-6 hands off the top of the deck to see if a count got juicy or not. If not, i would just stand up with my remaining 4-5 chips and walk to a new table. If the count was good, i would stick around and buy chips to spread appropriately.

My biggest problem was that i could NOT find a decent shoe. i.e. no count worth sitting around for and spreading 1-12 (shoe game) or 1-8 (DD).

I was afraid that i was standing out like a sore thumb by wonging out after 1 deck over and over, and so i started to do a negative EV play-all strategy to blend in, which was dumb because it was a waste of my time and money. I was also hit with bad variance when the count got good late in these shoes.

Therefore, i ended my vegas trip down about $2000 . If i ever won a nice amount in one shoe, it usually was just enough to bring me back to even for that particular Store, and i typically leave a store after a big shoe for heat reasons.

It wasn't that much bad luck, it was just ugly.

what do you guys do in this situation? Play a max of 5 shoes per casino and move on? Stick around like I did? or give up and get drunk :grin:

any coaching would be appreciated so i can do better on my next trip.

 

[The Suburbs]

You do realize that "the good counts" happen towards the END of shoes, not in the first deck, right? If you're only playing the first deck in a 6 deck shoe after a shuffle to determine whether to stick around, you're going to lose a LOT of money. Deservedly so. It's not that common that you'll get a TC > 1 after 5-6 hands in a shoe game.

Either backcount and wong-in in TC >1 situations, or play-all with a more aggressive spread.

 

[Dyepaintball12]

You do realize that "the good counts" happen towards the END of shoes, not in the first deck, right? If you're only playing the first deck in a 6 deck shoe after a shuffle to determine whether to stick around, you're going to lose a LOT of money. Deservedly so. It's not that common that you'll get a TC > 1 after 5-6 hands in a shoe game.

Either backcount and wong-in in TC >1 situations, or play-all with a more aggressive spread.

Agreed. 5-6 hands in a 6-deck game? Not enough!

Yeah you could leave if the RC shot down to like -20, but if it's only slightly negative it's worth sticking around.

 

[Midwestern]

maybe 5-6 hands was an exaggeration, but i usually wong out of a shoe if the TC is not positive after 1 deck is dealt out.

 

[winnawinna]

maybe 5-6 hands was an exaggeration, but i usually wong out of a shoe if the TC is not positive after 1 deck is dealt out.

I "play-all" with a spread of 1-10+ for 6 decks. I wong out if the TC<-2 and stick around to see if the count goes back up. Then I will come back into the shoe.

 

[bjcardcounter]

Folks , 1-10 , 1-12 spread - Is this enough to beat a 6D game?

 

[FLASH1296]

bjcardcounter,

That all depends on pertinent issues e.g.:

• the rule set in effect
  
• the level of penetration
  
• the count employed
  
• the density of players