Better game or less sweat?

[Ivan Denisovitch]

Hi,
I'm a fairly new counter. I live in Reno, so there are some good single deck games for me to choose from. Most of my play so far has been at a casino with single deck H17, no RSA, D10,11 only, one card on split aces and about 60% penetration. I know that the rules aren't all that great, but I wasn't catching any heat at all from the PBs, even though it must have been obvious I was counting. They never even gave me a second glance until I'd been there for about three hours. I'd pull big bets back before the shuffle, jump from $5-25 in one hand, and my lips were probably moving as I added up the count. All very amateurish I know, but I had no trouble getting away with spreading $5-$40. I think one of the dealers knew what I was doing, but he didn't seem to care.

Anyhow, would I be better off staying at this D10,11 game and spreading 1-8 or scouting around for a different casino with a single deck DOA game where I'd only be able to spread 1-4 or 1-5 without catching heat? I'm working on learning the index numbers, so DOA might help me quite a bit.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[FLASH1296]

Note: The value of DOA is very high.

You are playing WAY too long. Short sessions. "Hit & Run"

Develop "camouflage" — the ability to SEEM like you are gambling and not counting cards.

Greed Kills. Never more so than in blackjack.

Play the better game but never exceed a 100% increase ~ or ~ a 50% decrement in your bet.

Do NOT bet $5 "off the top." Bet $10 and go down to $5 if the True Count "tanks."

 

[johnnyb]

Hi,
I'm a fairly new counter. I live in Reno, so there are some good single deck games for me to choose from. Most of my play so far has been at a casino with single deck H17, no RSA, D10,11 only, one card on split aces and about 60% penetration. I know that the rules aren't all that great, but I wasn't catching any heat at all from the PBs, even though it must have been obvious I was counting. They never even gave me a second glance until I'd been there for about three hours. I'd pull big bets back before the shuffle, jump from $5-25 in one hand, and my lips were probably moving as I added up the count. All very amateurish I know, but I had no trouble getting away with spreading $5-$40. I think one of the dealers knew what I was doing, but he didn't seem to care.

Anyhow, would I be better off staying at this D10,11 game and spreading 1-8 or scouting around for a different casino with a single deck DOA game where I'd only be able to spread 1-4 or 1-5 without catching heat? I'm working on learning the index numbers, so DOA might help me quite a bit.
Thanks for any advice.

If you notice little to no heat whatsoever, then keep your spread where you feel comfortable. If a 1-8 bet spread works, then work with it. Some of the AP's on this forum like to overexaggerate heat and things of that nature. I play with a 1-10 bet spread and have never came into action with any PB or casino employee ever. I play every couple of days for 5-6 hours and don't even bother making cover plays. When I wong out I rarely use the "cellphone call" technique. Instead, I just pull my chips out of the betting area and sit back while telling the dealer I feel as if the flow of cards aren't working out in my favor.

Find better rules!

 

[tthree]

The value of the great games are more than just a higher EV.

You should try to find the best rules and particularly pen you can. These excellent games tend to be more sweaty by necessity. When you play them you need to factor that into your play. You want to earn X/hr. Play a crappy game and you need a bigger spread with huge variance to earn your hourly. Find a great game a very modest spread earns the same hourly and has a much much smaller variance. Don't get greedy causing yourself to loose the game and you have a much more stable increase to your bankroll as you keep going back year after year. The shortsighted AP forces himself into a much higher variance situation and then tells you about these horrible and lengthy downswings. If he could still play at the better games he would be singing a different tune.