Backed off.

[sagefr0g]

Teach her to play poker. It's not hard to learn enough to break even at a $3-6 game, and then she won't be a drain on you.

do you have a book recomendation that hopefully isn't real complicated?
there are so many variations of poker and the rules per casino seem complex.

 

[EasyRhino]

To y surprise, she was still playing with the first $20 bill she stuck in VP.

Well, if she can play perfect VP and you guys can find good paytables, then it's a lot like a perfect BS player at blackjack (with a lot more volatility).

But the casino is going to love the dollar slot player way more than the green chip card player, for good reason.

 

[moo321]

do you have a book recomendation that hopefully isn't real complicated?
there are so many variations of poker and the rules per casino seem complex.

No, actually. I'd try and find some books on limit hold'em. I have probably read 50+ books on hold'em, and I honestly can't recommend a single one for beginners. SuperSystem is good for more advanced players, because you learn so much insight from learning how to think about different games. I don't recommend anything by Sklansky or the 2+2 guys, though, because I totally disagree with them.

Just find something that focuses on playing only good starting hands, betting good hands, folding bad ones, and calling with draws. Fold half your hands preflop, bet your good hands, call your draws, and fold everything else, and you can probably break even at a $3-6 game.

 

[mdlbj]

Amen, use someone elses card...

I know in Vegas if you are backed off at one MGM property, you are backed off at all their Vegas properties. I would guess their computer would show your backoff wherever you go with MGM.
So you need to play unrated. If your bet level is below $25 min in Vegas, they do not rate you anyway so just play. If your bet is above $25 min, then you need to create another ID, find a card at a slot, or play unrated. If your bets, with spread, get into the couple of hundred range and you are unrated, leave the place in 45 minutes to an hour. Putting a couple of blacks on the table and not being interested in comps is a suspicious signal to them and they will evaluate you from the eye. This takes a minimum of three shoes for them to do.

Because of being aware of the information sharing and because MGM offers some of the best games in Vegas at higher bet levels, I play their games very often but very carefully. Rated or unrated, win or lose, I am out the door in less than an hour every time. If I just completed a session at MGM grand as a rated player and I now go to NYNY and play, I will be unrated or use an alternative ID for that session. Doing these things has so far kept the MGM doors open for me.

Alternative example of what not to do:
Had a friend who I tutored in some AP methods, including session length and determining if a rare camp out will work or not.
He hits a bad run of variance at the MGM Grand and decides to camp out and get his money back by spreading more aggressively. After his backoff he told me he never seemed to get any heat from the pit and he even received some fake symphaty when he lost a few big bets. He forgot that generally the pit will call the eye and then either befriend or ignore you while the eye does the work. Moral: You stand just as good of a chance of getting your money back in other casinos and less of a chance of a backoff, so do not camp out.

ihate17

 

[Elhombre]

Risk of been backed off in your area

Since the discussion about backing off in your area, I have a question.

I live in Europe and predict aces in a casino with the
special opportunities.

here are the results of the last two days, that's the level I can hit
the aces usually.

1.What is the highest level that I could bet 2 boxes about 2 times an hour
with my hit rate ? $ 100, or 150, or 200 ? not to get heat ? in your area, I would prefer Las Vegas.
In the waiting time I would bet only min. or wong in.

2. where in the US area ?


1.box ------- ,2nd box

1. T + 1,5 BJ
2. V -1 ------ TT +1 +1
3. V+1 ------ V-1
4. V+1 ------ T+1,5 BJ
5. V+1 ------ T+1,5 BJ
6. TT +2 ------ V-1
7. V-1 ------ V 0
8. TT +2 ------ V+1
9. V-1 ------ T -1
10. V+1 ------ V-1
-------------------------------------result + 8,5 units ,5 hours of play


1. V-1
2. V-2 ------- V-1
3. V+1 ------- V+1
4. V+1
5. V-1
6. T+1,5
7. V-1 ------- V-1
8. V+1
9. V-1 ------ V-1
10. V+1 ------ V-1
11. T+1 ------ V-1
12. T+1 ------ V+1
13. V+1 ------ T+1,5
14. TT-2 ------ V-1

15. V-1 ------- T-1
16. V-1 ------- T-1
17. V-2 ------- TT-1 +1
18. V+1,5 ------ T+1

19. V+1 -------- V+1
20. T+1,5 ------ T+1
21. V-1 ------ V+1
----------------------------------------result -0,5 units 9 hours of play

T, means, I hit the ace, V, I didn't hit an ace

OK variance is there too, but I come rather fast out of the hole.

regards rainer

 

[Doofus]

I live in Europe and predict aces in a casino with the
special opportunities.

Rainier, I will leave it to wiser minds to give you an answer to your mathematics question, but I can answer that in my opinion, you will not see significant heat at your bet level at any of the big Las Vegas Strip casinos.

I have a question for you - in European blackjack, can you tell us about some good casinos that do not use Constant Shuffling Machines, or better yet, casinos that have Single Deck or Double Deck games? Information about European blackjack is hard to locate.

 

[Elhombre]

hand shuffled games in Europe

@ Doofus the latest news from BJT
I read books and from web finding information. For example, I read from "Gambler's Guide to the World" about Curacao and went. I also got valuable informtion about --Greece(Corfu Island)----, Peru(Joker game) and -----Cyprus -----and went. I learned ----Macedonia--- game from a Greek CC I chatted at internet and went. I went to Africa after changing informtion with a Japanese CC at---- Prague, cheating !!!--- I met a Romania restaurant owner at Macau BJ table. he invited me and I stayed at his place at ----Bucharest----. I went to Cairo before and didn't like it. a CC went finding casinos there changed rules to full ES .

In Europe are many handshuffled games like in Southern Germany, or at
the German Czech border, or Slowenia.
Before 3 years I was in Slowenia at the Casino Perla and an other nearby Casino, where I found the only 2 deckers, I have seen in Europe.

regards rainer

 

[EasyRhino]

Today's las vegas advisor has a somewhat timely "Question of the Day" about information sharing among casino surveillance:

http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/qod.cfm

This is the rare occasion when the Question of the Day isn’t exactly a question, but rather an Explanation of the Day. It comes courtesy of our deep-throat casino manager, (a k a) Arnie Rothstein, who has gone to the trouble to qualify the statement about surveillance departments sharing information.
Take it, Arnie.

The big chain-casino surveillance departments do share information. In fact, they share all their internal reports, plus photographs of suspects and big players. The danger in such practices has bitten these big casino chains in the butt more than once.

It’s not unusual for casino surveillance to "misdiagnose" merely good solid basic strategy players as card counters and have them removed from the pit (and banned from all that corporation’s casinos). In some instances, these players are even evicted immediately from their rooms.

Though I have no axe to grind with surveillance personnel, it’s a well-known fact within casino-industry upper management that a good percentage of these employees are not properly trained. Thus, they lack the skills to make a judgment as to whether a player is merely lucky or is a professional card counter or advantage player.

Casino customers should understand that the casino property’s general manager does not manage the surveillance department. Instead, it’s wholly operated by a surveillance director. And this is where the lack of control comes into play. The surveillance-department head is forced to rely on and react to information he or she receives from outside sources, such as the Surveillance Information Network (SIN), Tourist Information Alerts, International Casino Surveillance Network (ICSN), the famous Vegas-based detective agency, the biometric facial-recognition programs (that our nation’s armed forces, airport security, FBI, etc. don’t use because … well, you figure it out), surveillance employees with little or no experience, and internal/inter-office reports disseminated via intranet connection to all corporate properties. No matter where the information comes from and who signed off on the report, everything is shared (often against the surveillance director’s wishes) with other properties' casino surveillance departments, due to the friend-of-a-friend syndrome.

Almost every casino surveillance department has some sort of list with photos that was compiled using questionable information due to the actions of a zealous surveillance employee, who either truly believed in what he reported or was just looking for a pat on the back from his supervisor. It’s my belief that the "famous detective agency" has recently, whether by sanction or common sense, reached out to some of its more trusted sources in order to verify that a large portion of the information it once peddled and considered factual is just that: factual. I predict that the so-called "black books" of this detective agency will be getting much thinner as many questionable entries, who were misdiagnosed (by inexperienced surveillance employees) or convicted by association (playing on a table that was merely visited by a suspected advantage player or leaving the casino via the same exit of a suspected advantage player), are weeded out.

That said, I feel compelled to add that most surveillance employees are honest and decent people who work in less-than-human conditions (dark, dingy, and cramped rooms) and are the most underpaid and least respected people on the casino payroll. Most surveillance employees come to the department with casino experience from working in other departments, such as slots, security, engineering, etc., and bring something of value to the surveillance-employee pool. It’s the lack of adequate training that bedevils the surveillance systems.

Most casino general managers don’t give the surveillance department much respect. For this reason, surveillance directors don’t get their requested annual budgets approved and therefore can’t afford to train their employees. This forces the surveillance employees to fend for themselves and to seek training on their own time. It’s hard to work eight hours a day, then take two- to four-hour classes, while also trying to raise a family. And then there’s the cost of the schooling, books, gas, etc.

I’ve only skimmed the surface here (due to space constrictions), but here’s a parting summation: All information and photographs gathered by a casino’s surveillance department are (sooner than later) shared with every casino, both nationally and internationally.

 

[BiloxiSurveillance]

I was just backed off for the first time in nearly a YEAR AND A HALF! So that's good news.

I was backed off from Gold Strike in Tunica, MS for "Playing blackjack at a skill level that makes the casino uncomfortable with my playing it" and from what I gathered there must have been a surveillance photo of me in the pit because when I came back there later that day (about 8 hours later passing through to go to Horseshoe next door) all the pit bosses watched me like a hawk.

I wasn't ejected but I was told I could play anything but blackjack.

I didn't put up a fight but when they said I was too skilled a player my response was "Huh?"

I was wondering if I should be worried about using my players club card at any other MGM properties. I certainly won't be using when I go back there (to Gold Strike) in a few months.

I use to work in the surveillance room at GS

 

[ras]

how long were you playing there that day before you got backed off?