First counting experience

[Talmadge]

Hi all, i generally dont post very much as my knowledge and experience pales in comparison to a lot of the other members here. I'm from Australia and as some of you may know the bj here is practically unplayable with CSM's littered all across the main gaming floors and very average rules and conditions in the HL rooms hence i have never had the opportunity to count in a live environment. I have on occasion visited my local casino just to practice counting the csm tables, even though i dont place any bets just to see if i can keep up with the dealer speed which has been no problem. I have been practicing counting at home for some time now with real cards/ discard tray, chips and doing deck estimations etc. I have been using hilo and about 30 indices or so. I have also been using cvbj. I'm heading to vegas soon for 2 week. I'm hoping to get some advice and some local knowledge would be great. I will be mostly playing off strip, mainly 6D shoes. I have this months copy of cbjn and i am currently in the middle of trying to map out different casino's to play each day within my limits so i have some kind of roster instead of just arriving not knowing where any of them are wasting time driving around and less playing time. I have a hire car already booked. CBJN is good for all the rules etc and will help with mapping, but i am not sure about what will attract heat in vegas besides the temperture haha I was wondering if this spread would attract any heat on the $10 6D tables? TC1 $20, TC2 $60, TC3 $120 and maxing out at TC4 with $160. I will be exiting at TC-1 I will actually jump my bet up to $20 at just over TC1 I was thinking by increasing it then that it may help the jump up to $60 less noticable I have plenty more questions but i had better leave it at that for now otherwise this message will turn into a short novel haha If anyone has some tips on good casino's to play within my limits that would be great. All the advice and local knowledge is greatly appreciated. Thanks all

 

[Talmadge]

I forgot to ask if it is easy to get onto the $10 tables with no more than 2 or 3 players tops? thanks again

 

[Splittingten's]

You have the right idea by playing off the strip because the rules tend to be better off strip. I suggest getting a list of all the casino's you plan to be visiting or that you may be visiting so that you know the rules of all of their BJ games and you can run their rules through a house edge calculator. This will help you steer clear of any crap casino's that only have 6 to 5 tables for their low limit players. It's usually pretty easy to get the rules for their game, just call the casino, ask the receptionist and she will transfer you to the pit boss on the gaming floor. Make sure to call early morning so that it's not busy and they have time to answer your questions. You should have your ROR calculated, in an ideal world of course, you should know how much your BR is going to be and what your expected expenses are going to be on the trip. You may have difficulty getting in to a table, let alone wonging if it's a 5 dollar table, or even 10 but you can get around this. Try going early in the morning, like 8 in the morning, this will be the casino's slowest time. That means you're more likely to get lower limit tables, and have less player's at the table. This is awesome because it results in you getting more hands per hour.
Good luck

 

[Talmadge]

Thanks Splittingten's I will try and play during quieter times for less crowded tables and more hands per hour as you mentioned. I have purchased this months cbjn and used excel to weed out all the 6/5 garbage games etc Looks like i have a decent amount to try over the 2 weeks. I am wondering playing these lower limit tables with a top bet of $150 or so, whether i will go unnoticed by the pit. I wont be staying too long in each casino i visit. Other members thoughts? Thanks all