A. P. Rating System

[Rob McGarvey]

Tipping Your Edge Away *LINK* *PIC*

http://webhome.idirect.com/~blakjack/novadollar.htm

As I gave a $1US tip to a waitress in Veradero I thought about the concept of tipping. My entire trip was covered by the US money I had made by playing onLine casinos. I thought of each tip like I was tipping some gorgeously hot Latina dealer for a win on a split/double down bet. I can dream can't I? Caliente!

I enjoyed relaxing and playing in the sea and pool with wife and two children, and felt that we had just touched a bit of paradise. A $1US tip means a lot to these people. Before they started using the Convertible Peso, you could get black market Pesos at the rate of 30 to 40 to one USD. At the hotels, they proudly treated their worthless Peso as they did the USD, so you could bring them back to the hotel and use them just like you could use the USD. The Convertible Peso looks like a real coin but is more like a metal casino chip that equals the same amount in USD. It didn't take long for the Cuban Government to stuff a sock into that opportunity.

OnLand the average counter has an advantage of around 1-2%. If you play undisturbed for an hour and can get 100 hands in with an average bet of $50, your total action is 5K and your long run expectation around $50-$100. You could be up or down by $500 from this expectation due to variance (what ploppies call "luck"), but the math speaks the truth. OnLine I can put in 400 hands an hour and make 5 cents with each dollar played with less variance than a T bill has, but that is another story.

When I tip the dealer I do so when I am winning, and when the count calls for a larger bet. This means that if I am playing every hand (which I seldom due in 8deckville Ontario) half the time I am not winning, and there will be no tips. Sorry. Bad day. When I do tip, I normally place a $1 chip on the edge of the betting circle and play it for the dealer. The dealer has a chance of getting a $2 win, and it keeps my tip in action longer so the pit and eye can catch it. Counters don't tip right? Yeah, sure.

We don't owe anyone a living, but we do have the responsibility that goes with being a winner. We are expected to tip 10% to 15% for a nice dinner on the town. We can't tip like that at a blackjack table or we will give our edge away. A single dollar can go a long way for you and the person you give it to. In fact, the next time someone begs you for your spare change, look them in the eye and tell them you don't have any spare change and hand them a dollar bill. Your smile will be as wide as Texas, and their amazement will be worth every Lincoln cent of it!

 

[Victoria]

Re: a minor disagreement

Seems to me that as in any other field, we have contributors who have varied levels of expertise and ability. I understand those masters of this craft who maximize their edge and do not plan to give any of it back willingly by toking. I toke very sparingly, for cover and atmosphere. For instance, if the whole table is hot and happy and every other player is tipping generously, being perhaps the one player on the table who in a few hands went from $50 to $250 bets, winning, and did not put a single silver out for the dealer, just might make you stand out a little more than the ploppy who is doing a parlay luckily at the right time.
I am far from an expert. I have never been barred and perhaps when that day comes, I will also declare total war against the casinos and their employees. At the same time I still have fun playing, though I am sure I could win more than I currently do, there would be a price paid for that.
Anyway, the great thing about these kinds of message boards is that we can get all sorts of discussion going.

 

[Count Luckula]

Re: Tipping Your Edge Away

Rob,
I agree whole-heartedly. I don't think you should tip because you're trying to get something out of the person, I think you should do it to show your appreciation. As Rob points out, this applies inside the casino as well as outside of it.

"Counters don't tip right? Yeah, sure."

Never underestimate acting like one of the ploppies. It's so much easier to make play deviations when you're one of them. When the dealer suggests that you hit that 12 or 13 v. a bust card, or stay on that 15 or 16 v. a face, you're just following her advice, right?? It can be dangerous to make a lot of play variations. You're either really good, or really bad. I'd rather they think I'm the latter, and am just getting lucky.

I had an experience recently where my two silvers went a hell of a long way. Instead of placing it at the edge of the circle, she put it on my stack because "she likes being on top." She kept taking some and letting some ride, as we proceeded to win every hand up to the shuffle in a 2D game in decent counts. Was it worth it? You betcha. It was a small, out of the way place, where they don't get a whole lot of action, and I probably made her day. Would it have been the same at a mega-casino on the strip? Not a chance.

 

[learning to count]

Re: a minor disagreement

Vicky whatever you do is alright in my book. My vision of you is that you must be a hottie and a dangerous women at the BJ table. I cant argue with that.! You go girl!