Any way to keep the number of players at the table down (short of splitting tens)?

[21forme]

My favorite time to play is early morning, as the tables are pretty empty. At this time, if I'm not in a wonging-in mood, I try to play heads up or with one other player at a table that does not permit mid-shoe entry. There are usually several nearby tables with one player and empty tables with dealers just standing around waiting for action. However, what tends to happen is the occupied tables fill up and the empty ones stay empty.

Any tips on how to "encourage" people to play elsewhere?

 

[EasyRhino]

Betting big scares off some people, some of the time.

In Beat the Dealer, Ed Thorp wrote of a fat disgusting guy who brought a sack of greasy fried chicken with him and ate at the table. There's always that.

Smoke the most god-awful cigarettes you can find.

But it's a tricky problem, civilians seem to much prefer playing at occupied table. Having Table Lice glom onto my games is one of my nemeses.

 

[Preston]

Invite them in when the count goes negative. They will go broke faster.

Suggest plays like splitting 77 vs a an 8.

Use foul language (but not directly at them.)

It really isn't hard. One of my favorite ploys is to whenever they try to jump in (pending it's neutral or neg count) I sit out. then jump back in when the count is positive, then jump out, jump in, jump out.

It will drive them crazy (most cases.)

 

[Brutus]

Any tips on how to "encourage" people to play elsewhere?

here's a few

scratch and smell your armpits, then state, "I should have bought my dog that flea and tick bath". lots of twitching and scratching. if that doesnt work say, "I wonder if he slept on my shirt?" wouldnt hurt to have a picture of a long-haired dog in your pocket to show.

"saddle tramp"

 

[shadroch]

Stick on A/5 or any other hand that you are entitled to a free hit from,
its half the price of splitting 10s and is just as effective.
Head twitching and aurguing with yourself may help,though I've never tried it myself.
Smoke a big cheap cigar.

 

[MEDITANK]

an even sicker and disgusting one that I have not used yet, but have thought about, is to eat ALOT of bean burritos, green beans and whatever else doesn't agree to well with your disgestive system about 2 hours before going to play? Get my drift? (pun intended):laugh:

 

[Mimosine]

Stick on A/5 or any other hand that you are entitled to a free hit from,
its half the price of splitting 10s and is just as effective.
Head twitching and aurguing with yourself may help,though I've never tried it myself.
Smoke a big cheap cigar.

i'd was going to suggest a really crappy cigar too. or actually even a good cigar because as far as second hand smoke goes they are both ~ equally offensible.

 

[halcyon1234]

If you have a second person at the casino with you, you can reduce the number of players on TWO tables.

Both of you sit down at seperate tables. After the shoe, get a Reserved marker. Then you both switch tables with each other, sitting down beside the Reserved marker. When you leave those tables, you get a Reserver marker. That way, you both have a reserved spot on the other's table, plus you have your own spot. You are effectively taking up 2 spaces without playing 2 hands. You may have to every few shoes switch tables to keep the Reserverd going, but voila.

Three people can tie up three spots on three tables.

 

[person1125]

an even sicker and disgusting one that I have not used yet, but have thought about, is to eat ALOT of bean burritos, green beans and whatever else doesn't agree to well with your disgestive system about 2 hours before going to play? Get my drift? (pun intended):laugh:

i was going to suggest this - fart and burp and be very rude - but I couldn't do it - to0 nasty

 

[Cardcounter]

Go to an empty table!

You said it your self empty tables stay empty while tables with action and players on them get more players until they are full. If you see an empty table why not go there and sit down? That way you don't have to clear the table. Playing stupidly to clear a table is a bad idea the only person you will hurt is your self and your bankroll. By the way staying on Ace-5 is worse than splitting tens. If you make a couple of stupid plays and the dealer busts the ploppies will like you even more. If the dealer starts making hands and starts winning that could clear a table.

 

[Dyepaintball12]

Kevin Blackwood suggests that you spread out as much as possible, possibly placing your jacket on the seat next to you.

This may work when its not very crowded.

 

[21forme]

Thanks for all the comments. I expected some amusing ones!

Regarding me moving to another table, I've done that at times, but this last session I found a dealer who consistently cut very deep and I didn't want to give that up.

 

[Sonny]

Use foul language (but not directly at them.)

Sometimes using foul language in a positive way can be much more effective than cursing angrily to yourself. Be friendly with the new player(s) but constantly use profanity at them. After they win a double down, yell something like “Nice double, you old sonovabitch! You really nailed that f&*ker!” When the dealer draws to 21 say “Oh s&*t! That f$%ker made us look like a$$holes!” When you both bust, say “Man, I guess we’re just a couple of s#@theads, huh?”

If you pretend to be friendly with someone you can get away with calling them all sorts of names. At some point they will not be sure if you are joking or not and they will get very uncomfortable. Or maybe they will just get sick of hearing profanity. In either case, they will leave you alone.

-Sonny-

 

[Kaiser]

You could gain a lot of weight, to the point of being so morbidly obese that you have to stick your thighs out at right angles to each other to accommodate the huge gut hanging down in front of you. This makes it almost impossible for anyone to sit down beside you for two reasons: it is physically impossible to sit close enough to the betting circles to actually reach them, and secondly you can't concentrate on the cards because you are constantly trying to avoid having this smelly overweight sonofabitch touch your leg, while also trying to avoid inhaling any air that might have already been inhaled and exhaled by this hideous lump of disgust who is sweating pure bacon grease and wallowing in a 7 day coating of body odour and its accompanying caked on layers of fecal matter from less-than-perfect ass wiping following chilidog-binge induced explosive diarrhea.

I know it works for a few players at my local casino, anyway.

 

[Preston]

I also thought of this...

you could **** your pants.

It might get you kicked out. It will be very uncomfortable.

But you will have made the ploppy's vacation. They're going to go home and tell their friends about how you really "took a **** at the table."

 

[jimpenn]

No Problem

Just tell the table you have AIDS. If that don't work then blow your nose with your hands and wipe them on your pants.

 

[Brutus]

a good ploy to remove other players is to guess the dealers hole card and then tell the others how to play their hands.
say the dealer has a 5 up, another player has a 13. the idea would be to suggest taking a hit since the dealer "probably" has another 5 or a 6 underneath, (according to your crystal ball or e.s.p.) making it a very vulnerable hand to stand on.

any variation of telling others how to play their hands, and/or guessing the hole card is very annoying.

 

[Automatic Monkey]

Kevin Blackwood suggests that you spread out as much as possible, possibly placing your jacket on the seat next to you.

This may work when its not very crowded.

I do something like that, kind of sitting in between seats so it will be difficult to get to the spot next to me. I do this mostly so I have a spot to spread to if the count gets good.

Here's an aggressive technique: sit at a NMS table, and during the shuffle, put down bets on 3 spots. Once the dealer starts to deal, pick 2 of the bets up. (Or just play them for one hand if you want.) Some NMS tables will allow a seated player to spread during the shoe, just not a new player to enter.

Things I've done to get rid of players- well I have used the profanity, to the point of being reprimanded but never to the point of being asked to leave. (Generally it is words for male or female genitals or ethnic terminology that will get you booted.) Ten splitting too. Here's a fun one: get a book of matches and start striking matches and just holding them and staring at them until they burn out. (Don't set anything afire with the match, not even in an ashtray! You'll get arrested.) It makes you look like a potentially dangerous nut.

Just be aware that driving other players out of the casino hurts the casino more than your counting, so they now have an even better reason to ban you.

 

[iwantblackjack]

Here's an aggressive technique: sit at a NMS table, and during the shuffle, put down bets on 3 spots. Once the dealer starts to deal, pick 2 of the bets up. (Or just play them for one hand if you want.) Some NMS tables will allow a seated player to spread during the shoe, just not a new player to enter.

Some casinos do not allow players to play more than 2 spots. Alternatively, some casinos will allow patrons to side bet your spot; so it may not get rid of players.

Why not just get a large bankroll to support high limits, and request for a "reserved table"?

Another idea: Spill beer or drink on half of the table; enough to close spots because it would wet the cards; but, dont spill excessively or get the cards wet which would close the entire table.

 

[ihate17]

A little off subject

I was in a casino a while ago. Some lights above a table went off and I was told that the eye could not see the hands on the first three betting positions, so they would not let a player play on those. So on a 5 player table only two positions were open for the whole period while I was there and of course I occupied one of those positions in a very very crowded casino for a long period of time.
An interesting thing happened also. This casino will shuffle everytime all the players leave the table (6 decker) and combined with the fact that the average player does not like to play heads up with the dealer, it presented a wonging situation I have not had before.
Play a shoe and it went fairly negative. I color up, walk around the casino (it
was crowded) come back a minute or two later to the same table (dealer now shuffling) and sit down for a new shoe. Figured I could not do this too often, so I did it twice and basically short shoed the house when the count was in their favor.

ihate17