CHECKS PLAY!

[Stealth Bomber]

Anybody ever ask a dealer; "What does 'checks play' mean"? I tried this a few times and usually got no response. However, recently while in a pissy mood I said; "What the hell does that mean". D said, "Because you upped your bet." I said, "Hmmmmm, so what are you saying....do you guys want us to lower our bets? The sign says we can bet anything from ten to a thousand bucks!??" No response from the D. I went on to say, "Soooo..... right now if I put out $500 you would assume that maybe I'm somehow cheating?" D says, "Well....maybe. Maybe your counting the cards." I respond, "Counting the cards? ... in a 6 deck shoe. Are you kidding me?" I looked at the other players and said, "Apparently they're worried about 1 person in a million who can somehow do this." About now the PC steps up and says to all the players, "It's all just a ridicules formality and we have to do this to satisfy my boss. You guys....just bet any amount you want to. I'm running the show today." Hmmmm, I'm thinking now what, is this a trap for me? I decided it was'nt a trap and that I was going to pick it up quite a bit during the next set of opportunities. I played about another 8 - 10 shoes so pissed because the big ones came off the top every time and I never got anything better than 2TC. I ran out of time. What a pisser!

I'm going to try and go back again during the same shift.

 

[BradRod]

it is kind of a silly trigger. yesterday i was playing at a $50 table when i put down a hundred bet the dealer called out "checks play" i could not fathom the point. at a $10 dollar table i could understand.

 

[Abraham de Moivre]

There are other reasons.

"Checks Play" merely alerts the pit that larger amounts are being bet.

It doesn't matter if you are a clueless ploppy or a sharp counter:
if the dealer makes a mistake on a payout or misdeal--the casino is out $100 instead of $5.

Then when the all important black chip inventory is taken (and a rack comes up a black chip short) -- Is it in the dealer's pocket? Did some one steal it?
Oh, wait a minute! I remember that checks play call a while back -- did that player win?

It doesn't matter if you are jumping your bets for $1 to $100, or $75 to $100 == they want to know where those black chips are going and also to be alert in case of a mistake ("checks play" mistakes being that much more expensive than others).

That they can pick up on a counter regularly spreading is just an extra bonus.

 

[Stealth Bomber]

Re: There are other reasons.

Okay, but I have noticed often if the C builds slowly along with my bet, then they don't seem to have such a problem with me eventually betting max. I don't here the "checks play" or "black action" call. Maybe the D assumes the PC is aware of the gradual increase. I don't back off too quickly either. It sure goes against my grain though, starting a new shoe sometimes with 50% of max.

 

[All-time high]

My response to 'Checks Played !!"

Invariably you lose one or more of these $200, $300 dollar bets and thats when I shout out "Checks Lost !" or "Checks Lost Again !!" to lighten up the situation and shame the dealer into just shutting up...

 

[toddler]

Re: Cheques Lost!

ATH,

That is truly funny. I will try that on my next venture. Although, my level doesn't get a "cheques play" call.

In my limited experience, I have always heard "Cheques Play" called when different chip denominations are stacked together for a single bet. There were times when I would stack a green, red and a $1 token in the circle, call the PC over and say, "Look, cheques play." After a while, they got tired of my incessant requests and usually left the entire table alone and ignored the dealer's call of cheques play. Nothing like making the PCs want to stay away from your table.

On another note, when I've seen bets moving from green to black or larger, I usually hear "Black Action", "Purple Action" or something similar.

 

[phantom007]

Or BLACK ACTION.....

Checques play at many casinos. Black action common in Tunica. Orange action common at Cesears.

Seems like a good ACLU Lawsuit! Let's say you are of Chekoslavakian (sp?) decent...you make a bet..."Checks play". Everyone scrutinizes your play. Kind of discriminatory, NO?

phantom007.

 

[Automatic Monkey]

Re: Or BLACK ACTION.....

That's true! I should learn how to complain in Czech when I hear the cheques play call. A while back I posted an observation that some dealers seem a little bit bashful about yelling "black action" when there is a Black guy at the table. This is an age when Southwest Airlines was sued because a stewardess said "Eenie meenie minie mo, grab a seat we have to go" over the intercom, because when our grandparents recited that rhyme, it contained a racial epithet. She didn't say that word, and few people under 50 have ever heard it recited with the racial epithet. But it is very fashionable among some groups to be or pretend to be offended and to try to translate that offense into an easy score against someone with deep pockets. Sort of like what we do, but at least we sweat for our money and we don't blame anyone but ourselves when we lose.