Full article from Barfarkel
No problem. Henry kindly granted permission to repost the entire article here.
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Here's Barfarkel's article from this month, July 2006:
LAS VEGAS TRIP REPORT (May 2006)
by Barfarkel (a.k.a., LV Pro)
Barfarkel is a serious recreational player who started with basic strategy in 1996 and learned the Silver Fox count by the end of 1998. He has been counting since early 1999, starting with a $2K bankroll and slowly trying to build it to $10K. Barfarkel’s book, You’ve Got Heat, contains the details of his playing trips to Las Vegas over a 4-year period. The book is now available as an e-book. For details, go to www.youvegotheat.com. You can also listen to a taped radio interview of Barfarkel that occurred on the American Radio Network by going to www.youvegotheat.com.
The gas tank was full, the windows washed and the car was packed. Once again the time had come to drive from my house in Los Angeles across the desert to Las Vegas for a weeklong card counting vacation. My last trip had been a $1,300 loser, so I was starting again with a $10,000 bankroll. The latter was my goal several years ago as I describe in my book You’ve Got Heat. (which was published about 1.5 years ago) Since then, I increased my bankroll to a high of $17k in mid-2005. Then in subsequent trips in late 2005, I experienced a $2k loss and then a $6k loss, which plunged me back down under the $10k benchmark. In December 2005, I had a winning trip and netted $2,100. But my last trip I lost $1,300, leaving me with a $9,800 bankroll. I haven’t done this in a long time, but I added another $200 to the bankroll to make it an even $10k so it would be easier on the accounting of my session wins and losses. It felt like I had been treading water for the last year-and-a-half, so I was anxious to re-build the bankroll back up to its All-Time-High and beyond.
On this trip, I took the drive a bit slower than usual because I observed some motorists being pulled over and getting ticketed from the California Highway Patrol. There were also a few minor 55 mile-per-hour construction zones, but they didn’t affect my drive time much and I still made it to my hotel in less than four hours.
After checking in and unpacking, I strolled through the casino. The Plaza had moved their lone $25 double-deck table across the pit to what used to be the Royal Twenties table. However, that side bet was long gone. The Royal Match side bet had replaced it with the 2.5 to 1 and 25 to 1 payoffs. Oh well…the Royal Twenties was a lucrative side bet while it lasted and I missed it. (After this trip was over, I heard that they had installed a continuous shuffling machine on this table.) It seems that the once outstanding Plaza double-deck game is deteriorating at an alarming rate.
I played that table with one other guy, who soon busted out and left, leaving me a head’s-up game. The key to my $300 win was consecutive blackjacks with $60 and $75 bets out in a mildly plus count. Okay – a good start to the trip.
Next I checked out the Vegas Club, but the short, bald, bespeckled floorman, who had backed me off last trip, was there, so I made an abrupt about-face and hustled out of there before he could spot me. Whew, close call!
I wound up in the high limit room at the Golden Nugget with two other players. It was a $25 minimum two-decker. I lost back the $300 I had won at the Plaza and called it a night around 4:30 a.m.
My Plaza host had given me three comped nights and I’d have to pay $119 for Saturday night. However, a buddy of mine had an extra comped room at Caesars for the weekend, so I planned to check out of the Plaza on Friday, and spend the weekend on the Strip. That would save me $119. Then I planned to move to Terrible’s at the beginning of following week, where I had two comped nights and a third night at a $39 casino rate. As it turned out, all I had to pay for seven Vegas room nights was $42.50. A sweet deal!
I awoke early after a few hours sleep and then I played a head’s-up game again at the Plaza $25 table. In for $300, then $200 more, and then another $300, I managed to win back $400 of my $800 buy-ins. I could have quit but the count was still positive, so I played on. One thing led to another and I lost some high count bets and kept playing to an eventual disastrous conclusion: I lost $1,300 in two-and-a-half hours to put me in a real deep hole to have to dig out of. Damn! I hate having to play just to get back to even.
I met Slick at Caesars, where he checked in and put me down as a second occupant and handed me the room keys, asking only that I do not charge anything to the room since it would affect his airfare reimbursement. Then I met Chip P, Johnny Bravo, Psybj and his teammate for a buffet lunch. While there, I became faint, as if my blood sugar had dropped, even though I had never had any diabetic or blood pressure problems before. Chip and Johnny brought me back to Caesars and purchased some orange juice for me. I gulped it down and started to feel better. They were worried about me. It must have been the exhaustion of the long drive from LA and the lack of sleep from the many consecutive days I had to work leading up to my trip. I felt a nap would do me right so I took the elevator up to my room at Caesars. I hadn’t moved my gear here yet, but just crashed out on the big bed and slept for a good few hours. When I awoke, I felt much better. Still, I felt bad about putting my buddies through so much trouble and worry. I called them to tell them I had recovered fully and thanked them for shepherding me back to safety.
That evening I went to a dinner (tacos) with my buddy Stu and his family. Back at his place, we watched the newest Harry Potter flick: the Goblet of Fire. It was decent, but not my fave Potter movie. When I left, I arranged to meet up with another beginning counter who hangs out at Ken Smith’s website www.blackjackinfo.com, and calls himself E-Town-Guy. He got my email from The Grifter and had emailed me asking if we could meet so I could sign his copy of my book, You’ve Got Heat. We met at Boulder Station, where I was positive that the recent reports of great double-deck pen in Wong’s Current Blackjack News and Fine Tuner’s casino ratings list would prove to be exaggerated. Every time I’ve been there, I’ve seen nothing but 55% cuts and I just didn’t expect it to be any different. To my surprise, the pen had improved, but only to 65% - a decent game, but not worth going out of your way for. I liked the fact that I could play two hands for as little as $10 each and still be in a good position to take advantage of the Lucky Ladies side bet on both spots. I had one hand in a huge count when I got twenties on both my $100 bets, and won all four wagers for a net $400 win on the hand, yet still managed to lose $300 overall. There was no heat at all during this marathon session that started at 11:30 p.m. and lasted until 3:00 a.m. After E-Town-Guy and I went in for a comped breakfast, I drove him back to his hotel and called it a night I was down $1,600 for the trip.
I awoke later than I had planned, but still made it over to Wynn by 9:00 a.m. There was only one idle table with a $100 minimum sign, but fortunately the floorman okayed me to play quarters and get the table action started. Spreading $25 to $150, I played for an hour, mostly head’s-up except for one other player joining briefly. I won $200, getting the usual excellent 70% penetration. Now down $1,400 for the trip, I drove to Terrible’s.
I lost $120 in the hour that I played their $10 double-deck game. My nemesis - the tall, husky, black-haired floorman was in the pit but ignored me, probably because I reduced my spread to $15 - $100. I was a bit nervous during this session because twice in the past he had told the dealers to start cutting the pack in half on me. During the hour I played, I made only two Lucky Ladies bets and lost both of them.
I won back the $120 at New York New York. The cut at my two-deck table on the main floor was only about 60%, so when a fourth player joined, I quit. Now where should I play? I decided to take a drive out Charleston Blvd. to the new Red Rock casino. It turned out to be a spiffy new place with beautiful décor reminiscent of Green Valley Ranch. Even better, the cuts from all dealers were around 70% on the double-deckers.
I played here for ninety minutes, slowly building my stack of chips. I finally quit with a $600 win and got a coffee shop comp for two. At one point, during a wong-out, I strolled past another table where a familiar face was playing. It was my old buddy Bootlegger. I leaned across the table, without acknowledging him, and asked the dealer where the coffee shop was, mentioning that my comp was for two, and I hated to waste half of its value by eating alone. Boot caught the hint and colored out. I met him at the coffee shop entrance and we enjoyed our comped lunch together. Bootlegger had a fruit plate while I ordered the prime rib dip sandwich with coleslaw and a chocolate shake. We compared impressions of the Red Rock, agreeing that it had an outstanding double-deck game with very little heat – at least for green spreaders like ourselves. I imagine they scrutinize black chip players more closely.
Then I hit the sack for an afternoon nap. I showered and packed up my gear and checked out of the Plaza, driving to Caesars to check in for the weekend. On the way out, I played a final short session, winning $100. I was feeling pretty good when I saw the room in the newer Augustus tower. After all, I had cut the trip deficit in half and was now down only $700. The room was actually a large mini-suite with nicely appointed sofas and wet bar. The bathroom was huge and the large glassed-in shower looked inviting.
At Caesars, I surprisingly found a $25 shoe table with only two others on this busy Friday night, so I played a quick session, wonging out once in a negative count and won $70. I went to dinner at their main coffee shop, the Augustus Café. I used my $25 in comp credits that the kiosk showed I had accumulated, and paid the difference in cash. Had a salad, shrimp cocktail and a main course of sea bass. Then I snoozed from midnight until about 4:30 am and went out again to play.
I arrived at Wynn at 5:00 a.m. There were two $25 double-deck tables open. I started out okay, but then started losing. In for $300, then another $200, then another. I was in for $770 and down to my last $100 in chips when things finally turned around for me. For a change, the dealer started busting her stiffs and now my hit cards were finally giving me pat totals. The key hand was a blackjack on a $150 bet in a plus five true count. Too bad that all it did was get me back to even, but I was glad to have dug out. I decided to save the Terrace Point Café comp for later and got my car back from the valet.
I strolled through Terrible’s, still searching vainly for those two elusive deep-dealing grave shift dealers that Zengrifter had described to me. However, another dealer was giving a decent 65% cut, so I bought in. Again I started out losing. In for $460, I finally won it back. I colored out with $140 net profit, to put me at a trip deficit of minus $500.
Next I stopped in at Casino Royale for my monthly coupons. For one of the few times I can remember, I wasn’t able to hit a quad with my 400 credits on a quarter 8:5 Bonus Poker machine. I took my "BJ’s pay 2-1" coupon to the 6:5 table and flat bet greenies waiting for blackjack. I was in for $200, then another $200. By the time I finally hit the snapper, I was down another $50, so I had lost a total of $150.
Now hungry, I drove back to Wynn for breakfast. I had my favorite appetizer – the seasonal berries with sour cream dip, along with their baked French toast with pecans, Eggs Benedict, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Everything was yummy as usual. I just love the Terrace Point Café. I think it’s one of the best coffee shops in town.
Tired and yawning, I went back to my room and took a nap. After I awoke, I decided to check out the Caesars pool. Lots of good-looking gals sunning and swimming. I read my current Ellroy book White Jazz, while reclining on a chaise lounge as I sipped my bottled water and soaked up some rays. Back in the room, I finally had a chance to experience that inviting-looking shower. I hate it when the shower spray is weak, so this strong stream was an exhilarating improvement over what I was used to. Plus I loved the better quality shampoo and conditioner.
I had dinner with some old friends and decided to head out to Red Rock again. I figured that maybe since this place was so new, that it hadn’t yet built up a clientele of regulars who would make the tables too crowded to play. Man, was I wrong - the place was packed! Every table was busy and it was hard to find a seat, much less at an uncrowded table. The crowds were wall-to-wall and it was difficult even to pass through the aisles. And even if I did find a sparsely populated table, it would remain unoccupied for a very short time, as there were plenty of players roaming around and looking for seats. A floorman told me this was a "normal" Saturday night for them. Guess I’ll have to cross this place off my list as my new Saturday night "go-to" casino.
Anyway, I found a seat with three other players. Luckily, one of their girlfriends was occupying the fifth seat and not playing, so it would be a bit too awkward for another would-be player to ask her to move. In for $500, I won back all but $30 of it and got a coffee shop comp. Had a bacon-chili-cheeseburger with fresh orange juice, chocolate mousse pie and coffee. I decided to call it an early night. I was still down $680 for the trip and planned to move over to Terrible’s tomorrow.
I woke up around 7:30 a.m, and made it to Wynn by 8:00 a.m., but all double-deck tables on the main floor were at least $100 minimum with players seated and the fourth table was reserved. I called Fat Texan, another of Wong’s Green Chippers, whom I’ve talked to during the BJ21.com Tuesday night chats. He had been after me to sign his copy of You’ve Got Heat. I had promised to call him while in town, so I asked him to meet me at Terrible’s instead of Wynn. I found a dealer going 70% and bought in, treating this $10 table as if it was a $25 minimum and betting accordingly, only dropping down to $10 and $15 bets in super-negative counts. My strategy blew up in my face – I couldn’t win a hand. Even though I hit one Lucky Ladies bet for a 4-1 payoff, I wound up losing $500 here to plunge my trip deficit back down to minus $1,180. Fats was at the adjoining table, betting about the same spread as me.
We had breakfast at the buffet. He called Worldtraveler, another Green Chipper, who soon joined us. Worldtraveler is a sales rep that works for a company, which allows him to travel a lot, and lets him to get to Vegas often. He was faddishly concerned with his diet, eating only fruits and vegetables as a method to combat the onset of cancer. Fat Texan is a retired earth scientist and a long time Green Chip member. I had scrambled eggs, bacon and fruit with coffee.
I accompanied Fats out to his car, where he produced his copy of my book. I signed it for him and we decided to caravan over to the Las Vegas Hilton for some double-deck action. We said our goodbyes to Worldtraveler and hit the road.
At the Hilton, I kept saying to myself, "don’t forget to surrender" because I’m not used to having this option on most of the pitch games I’ve been playing. Wouldn’t you know it? I had a max bet out and got a sixteen vs. a nine in a high count and promptly stood (my index number for this play is plus five) instead of surrendering. That mistake cost me $75, as I lost the hand to a pat twenty. My action helped Fat Texan win his big bet – small consolation for me though. Despite this error, I won $380 in the hour we played. It was getting near check-out time, so I bid Fats goodbye, and headed back to Caesars to pack – still down $800 for the trip at the halfway point.
Part 2 of the trip report will appear in the August issue of BJI.
