I confess to a superstition

[ihate17]

Many of you know my opinions about progressions, The Mystical Magical Flow, and all sorts of blackjack superstitions but today I feel like admitting to the only superstition that I have. His name, that I gave him, is Kill of Death or KOD.
There is a casino that I have played in perhaps 12 days a year for 10 years, have made quite a bit of money there and my act has seemed to work very well since they have never backed me off.
There is also one person who has been at that casino nearly every time I have and plays at the same bet level that I do, KOD.
I had probably played at the same table as him dozens of times and always lost. If I was up a ton when he sat down, I would start giving it back. If I was down it just got worse. My record is perfect, if Kiss of Death is at the table, I lose. If I get a 20, the dealer will draw 21 or if I am lucky we push. Mostly I just get 15 and 16, need to hit and bust.
I know this makes no sense whatsover and so I posted it here in the place reserved for posts that make no sense, but since I began leaving when he comes in I am making more money there.

I still am victim to my own belief in the the math though. If he comes in during a nicely positive shoe I play it out, lose my money and then color up at the shuffle or when the count tanks.

Beware KOD might be in the house!

ihate17

 

[bjcount]

Many of you know my opinions about progressions, The Mystical Magical Flow, and all sorts of blackjack superstitions but today I feel like admitting to the only superstition that I have. His name, that I gave him, is Kill of Death or KOD.
There is a casino that I have played in perhaps 12 days a year for 10 years, have made quite a bit of money there and my act has seemed to work very well since they have never backed me off.
There is also one person who has been at that casino nearly every time I have and plays at the same bet level that I do, KOD.
I had probably played at the same table as him dozens of times and always lost. If I was up a ton when he sat down, I would start giving it back. If I was down it just got worse. My record is perfect, if Kiss of Death is at the table, I lose. If I get a 20, the dealer will draw 21 or if I am lucky we push. Mostly I just get 15 and 16, need to hit and bust.
I know this makes no sense whatsover and so I posted it here in the place reserved for posts that make no sense, but since I began leaving when he comes in I am making more money there.

I still am victim to my own belief in the the math though. If he comes in during a nicely positive shoe I play it out, lose my money and then color up at the shuffle or when the count tanks.

Beware KOD might be in the house!

ihate17

The Store has a real life COOLER?

My wife says I'm the KOD when I walk by her slot machine.... she stops winning :laugh:.

Come to think of it she hasn't won in three months :cry: and I haven't walked past her once.

BJC

 

[Katweezel]

Many of you know my opinions about progressions, The Mystical Magical Flow, and all sorts of blackjack superstitions but today I feel like admitting to the only superstition that I have. His name, that I gave him, is Kill of Death or KOD.
There is a casino that I have played in perhaps 12 days a year for 10 years, have made quite a bit of money there and my act has seemed to work very well since they have never backed me off.
There is also one person who has been at that casino nearly every time I have and plays at the same bet level that I do, KOD.
I had probably played at the same table as him dozens of times and always lost. If I was up a ton when he sat down, I would start giving it back. If I was down it just got worse. My record is perfect, if Kiss of Death is at the table, I lose. If I get a 20, the dealer will draw 21 or if I am lucky we push. Mostly I just get 15 and 16, need to hit and bust.
I know this makes no sense whatsover and so I posted it here in the place reserved for posts that make no sense, but since I began leaving when he comes in I am making more money there.

I still am victim to my own belief in the the math though. If he comes in during a nicely positive shoe I play it out, lose my money and then color up at the shuffle or when the count tanks.

Beware KOD might be in the house!

ihate17

17, I have some special KOD feathers mate, plucked out of the arse of a male peacock, while in full bloom, at full moon. (That is the only time ripe for luck-plucking.)
All you do is, when you spot KOD nearby, you get out your feather, (which you have ready, shoved up your shirt or jumper,) and brush the back and top of his head, in a waving motion. You can say stuff like "this will bring YOU good luck mate", if he wants to know what the hell you are up to. These feathers were designed specifically to ward off Kisses of Deaths; as there is a lot of them out there.

Each feather is good for 10 KODs. Price on application. Guaranteed satisfaction or your money back. Only while stocks last. Postage and handling, add $98.

PS As a special new customer bonus, for this month only, these feathers will also work on any ornery pitcritters. Just wave it on their scalps.

 

[bjcount]

17, I have some special KOD feathers mate, plucked out of the arse of a male peacock, while in full bloom, at full moon. (That is the only time ripe for luck-plucking.)
All you do is, when you spot KOD nearby, you get out your feather, (which you have ready, shoved up your shirt or jumper,) and brush the back and top of his head, in a waving motion. You can say stuff like "this will bring YOU good luck mate", if he wants to know what the hell you are up to. These feathers were designed specifically to ward off Kisses of Deaths; as there is a lot of them out there.

Each feather is good for 10 KODs. Price on application. Guaranteed satisfaction or your money back. Only while stocks last. Postage and handling, add $98.

PS As a special new customer bonus, for this month only, these feathers will also work on any ornery pitcritters. Just wave it on their scalps.

Hey K
You always got something to sell..

I'll take one of them feather things.

Where do I send the money, you take IOU's?

BJC

 

[Katweezel]

Peacocks, hard to catch

:cat:

Hey K
You always got something to sell..

I'll take one of them feather things.

Where do I send the money, you take IOU's?

BJC

Sorry BJC, Sold out quick mate. Ihate17 snapped em all up at a discount as he really wants to get rid of the pest that has been plaguing him like... well, the plague. Next week I go peacock chasing again, at full moon. The buggers are hard to catch, but. I'll let you know if I catch one. :cat:

 

[Tarzan]

I've seen that in action also!

I have seen the exact same thing. You have to chalk it up to "strange coincidence" though. Remember in that gangster movie, "Goodfellas" in which Robert Deniro and gang is all at the horsetrack and see the guy that has never won a bet of any kind...EVER... near them and is rooting for the same horse who happens to be in the lead at that moment and upon realizing that this guy is rooting for the same horse, Robert Deniro gets this pissed off look on his face, rips his ticket in pieces and throws it up on the air before the race is even over? Then some freak thing happens and of course the horse loses... YOU WERE SITTING NEXT TO THAT GUY!!!hahahahaaaaaaaa

I have had one of those K.O.D. Players that actually followed me to the next table. I know that player to my right error is just as likely to help me as it is hurt me statistically but a bad count along with selective memory of this clown that played poorly, lost every hand, etc....I left the table. It went on for a good long while before I left, though...he would do stuff like stay on 15 against the dealer 10 (and no he was not counting to have a TC4 or better), I have the 11 for the double and defiantly and laughingly announce (in my best imitation of a boisterous three ring circus carnival guy sort of voice),"Here comes your 6 and I'll take side bets that the card after that is 10!". Sure as hell, that's exactly how it went down but at least it was low stakes. The shock was seeing him plop down at the next table with me! I didn't play much longer as I was worn down for the day anyway.

 

[Katweezel]

Call of the wild, jungle

I have seen the exact same thing. You have to chalk it up to "strange coincidence" though. Remember in that gangster movie, "Goodfellas" in which Robert Deniro and gang is all at the horsetrack and see the guy that has never won a bet of any kind...EVER... near them and is rooting for the same horse who happens to be in the lead at that moment and upon realizing that this guy is rooting for the same horse, Robert Deniro gets this pissed off look on his face, rips his ticket in pieces and throws it up on the air before the race is even over? Then some freak thing happens and of course the horse loses... YOU WERE SITTING NEXT TO THAT GUY!!!hahahahaaaaaaaa

I have had one of those K.O.D. Players that actually followed me to the next table. I know that player to my right error is just as likely to help me as it is hurt me statistically but a bad count along with selective memory of this clown that played poorly, lost every hand, etc....I left the table. It went on for a good long while before I left, though...do stuff like stay on 15 against the dealer 10, I have the 11 for the double and defiantly and laughingly announce (in my best imitation of a boisterous three ring circus carnival guy sort of voice),"Here comes your 6 and I'll take side bets that the card after that is 10!". Sure as hell, that's exactly how it went down but at least it was low stakes. The shock was seeing him plop down at the next table with me! I didn't play much longer as I was worn down for the day anyway.

Maybe these KOD players are attracted by your after-shave lotion. Or, more likely, by the sheer sexual animal magnetism of the jungle man who swings through the trees. :cat:

 

[bjcount]

:cat:
Sorry BJC, Sold out quick mate. Ihate17 snapped em all up at a discount as he really wants to get rid of the pest that has been plaguing him like... well, the plague. Next week I go peacock chasing again, at full moon. The buggers are hard to catch, but. I'll let you know if I catch one. :cat:

Great! Now I will have to pay Ihate17 some exorbitant amount to get my hands on one of them.

BJC

 

[blackchipjim]

Kod or Sob

I have run across a few people that have an uncanny ability to bust the tables to shreds shortly after sitting down. I use to think they were table busters but they are just the most negative people with the worst karma in the world. Laugh if you want to but if they sit down at my table I'm outta there. There is not many of them but if they do sit down I wait then leave at the first chance ( exit point). I tried to rehabilitate one of them and was fairly sucessfull but he fell back into the sea of dispair the next time I saw him. blackchipjim

 

[Thunder]

I have run across a few people that have an uncanny ability to bust the tables to shreds shortly after sitting down. I use to think they were table busters but they are just the most negative people with the worst karma in the world. Laugh if you want to but if they sit down at my table I'm outta there. There is not many of them but if they do sit down I wait then leave at the first chance ( exit point). I tried to rehabilitate one of them and was fairly sucessfull but he fell back into the sea of dispair the next time I saw him. blackchipjim

I agree. There are those people who are always depressed and obviously have psychological issues and when they sit at your table, they moan and groan and complain how they've lost thousands of dollars and don't get the slightest bit happy when they get bj. I hate being next to them. I think several months ago I wrote a post on this very type of player which I'm sure some of you found disturbing.

 

[ihate17]

Arrived air express today

17, I have some special KOD feathers mate, plucked out of the arse of a male peacock, while in full bloom, at full moon. (That is the only time ripe for luck-plucking.)
All you do is, when you spot KOD nearby, you get out your feather, (which you have ready, shoved up your shirt or jumper,) and brush the back and top of his head, in a waving motion. You can say stuff like "this will bring YOU good luck mate", if he wants to know what the hell you are up to. These feathers were designed specifically to ward off Kisses of Deaths; as there is a lot of them out there.

Each feather is good for 10 KODs. Price on application. Guaranteed satisfaction or your money back. Only while stocks last. Postage and handling, add $98.

PS As a special new customer bonus, for this month only, these feathers will also work on any ornery pitcritters. Just wave it on their scalps.

Katweezel
The magic featers arrived today by air express. Since I plan to go to that casino tomorrow I will put one into play if KOD is in the house and he always seems to be.

KOD does not play all that terribly and sometimes everyone at the table will win when he is there but me. He is not a universal kiss of death in my opinion, he is just mine.
Thanks for the double my losses back guarantee on the deal. If I lose please air express my check:grin:

ihate17

 

[Mr. T]

Come on admit it

The majority of you here are superstitious.

If you are a regular gambler and playing for some years you cannot be but be superstitious. First thing is you realise you are lucky or unlucky. Then you associate this to something or other. You get paranoid about it. And you think of crazy things then. I admit I may be slowly going down this road.

 

[Katweezel]

BJ Gurus

The majority of you here are superstitious.

If you are a regular gambler and playing for some years you cannot be but be superstitious. First thing is you realise you are lucky or unlucky. Then you associate this to something or other. You get paranoid about it. And you think of crazy things then. I admit I may be slowly going down this road.

Yeah, Mr T, I admit it. I blame some of the BJ Gurus who have written books which contain great math, illustrious stuff, indices, charts etc.; all great for APs who rely on math, reason, logic and science, in the casino reality-world.

However, the Gurus all left something out. They apparently, (like Ihate17 and Tarzan do,) never got pestered or followed around by any Kisses of Death, or never saw a performance (like for a whole shift) of a Dealer from Hell. As great as Arnold and Don may be with math, casino reality goes somewhat beyond their math, on occasions. It's probably a lot easier writing a book...

Dealing with such negative realities, math and science is at a loss. I have one pet irk, it's when a mumbler sits next to me and never stops mumbling to themselves. Mumblers, Kisses of Death, Dealers from Hell; not one solitary clue did Arnold or Don give us on how to deal with them. Thank the blackjack gods for free voodoo expression. Here we can discuss it like true scientists. :cat:

 

[Bojack1]

The majority of you here are superstitious.

If you are a regular gambler and playing for some years you cannot be but be superstitious. First thing is you realise you are lucky or unlucky. Then you associate this to something or other. You get paranoid about it. And you think of crazy things then. I admit I may be slowly going down this road.

I agree if you are a regular gambler you have to be superstitious, you have nothing else to rely on. I disagree with superstition for real AP's. I get the idea that if you play long enough that coincidence may seem habitual in certain cases, but I do not buy into it. My reasons for my lack of superstition are simple:

1- I don't care or even notice too much the factors that don't concern my game. Once I have my game plan for the venue I'm at, win or lose I don't give anything else much attention. This may sound cold, but when I sit at a table to play, I do not view anyone else at the table as anything but pieces of furniture. Sure I will interact with them as needed, but I don't view any as consequential to my job at hand, because they're not. Unless of course I use them for my gains, then they become my tools of the trade. I don't make real friends or enemies at a casino while I'm working.

2- Very rarely am I in one spot long enough to experience outcomes relative to the people that are playing. Meaning, either with team play, or wonging, I develop less of a repoire with the clientele even if they are regulars at the places I play. I will remember faces if I see them enough, but they're as relevant to me as the faces in the crowd as I watch a ballgame on T.V.

3- Meticulous bookeeping removes superstition from the equation. The fact of the whole matter is good books will truly give you the bottomline much better than how your memory serves you. In time, it will also reveal that maybe superstition is just an excuse for a poor game, or even poor play.

What it comes down to is, the only people getting into my thought process at all when I play are those that can relly hurt my game, the casino employees. I keep myself very aware of them as they can truly have an effect on my results if I'm not wary of them. As far as anyone else, I may have a KOD out there, but as long as I know its not myself, and I am oblivious to who it is otherwise, I am just fine with it. As a matter of fact, who knows maybe I am somebody's KOD and I don't even know it. But I'll leave that up to them to worry about.

 

[Katweezel]

Good luck mate

I agree if you are a regular gambler you have to be superstitious, you have nothing else to rely on. I disagree with superstition for real AP's. I get the idea that if you play long enough that coincidence may seem habitual in certain cases, but I do not buy into it. My reasons for my lack of superstition are simple:

1- I don't care or even notice too much the factors that don't concern my game. Once I have my game plan for the venue I'm at, win or lose I don't give anything else much attention. This may sound cold, but when I sit at a table to play, I do not view anyone else at the table as anything but pieces of furniture. Sure I will interact with them as needed, but I don't view any as consequential to my job at hand, because they're not. Unless of course I use them for my gains, then they become my tools of the trade. I don't make real friends or enemies at a casino while I'm working.

2- Very rarely am I in one spot long enough to experience outcomes relative to the people that are playing. Meaning, either with team play, or wonging, I develop less of a repoire with the clientele even if they are regulars at the places I play. I will remember faces if I see them enough, but they're as relevant to me as the faces in the crowd as I watch a ballgame on T.V.

3- Meticulous bookeeping removes superstition from the equation. The fact of the whole matter is good books will truly give you the bottomline much better than how your memory serves you. In time, it will also reveal that maybe superstition is just an excuse for a poor game, or even poor play.

What it comes down to is, the only people getting into my thought process at all when I play are those that can relly hurt my game, the casino employees. I keep myself very aware of them as they can truly have an effect on my results if I'm not wary of them. As far as anyone else, I may have a KOD out there, but as long as I know its not myself, and I am oblivious to who it is otherwise, I am just fine with it. As a matter of fact, who knows maybe I am somebody's KOD and I don't even know it. But I'll leave that up to them to worry about.

Nice of you to briefly visit voodooland, Bojack1, with your meticulous bookeeping. I appreciate your efforts in trying to recruit some habituals out of ingrained voodoo habits but they can run deep, even to the very core of existence. To illustrate, here is Jim Jones' famous quote:
"A man gotta make at least one bet a day, else he could be walking around lucky and never know it."

And from Minesota Fats, 1966: "Fear can make a sucker do some of the most drastic things you ever imagined... like taking a job."
And while I'm running hot, from Amarillo Slim: "I don't believe in hunches. Hunches are for dogs making love." And finally, from Hubert Phillips, 1960: "Mathematics are a good servant but a bad master."

As for the math Gurus I mentioned, I believe one devotes most of his time these days to playing poker. The other spends time answering questions on other sites. Hmmm.

Fortunately, your scientific, meticulous, robotic style is successful for you. Congratulations. But frankly mate, I suggest you stay upstairs in the math/science department, where you will obviously be more at home, rather than risking catching some rampant superstition virus down here.

By the way, I see you have only one concern, pitcritters. I'm glad you mentioned that as I have some peacock feathers for sale right now, brand new. You just wave it on the scalp of a pitcritter and Bob's your uncle... no more heat from him or her for the rest of your session. But they're not cheap.
Don swears by them. :cat:

 

[ihate17]

A non update on KOD

I went to said casino but KOD was not in the house or if he was I did not see him.
I had a fair win and wonder if the magic featers purchased from Katweezel had the power to barr KOD from the joint while I am there.

ihate17

 

[Katweezel]

Kod

I went to said casino but KOD was not in the house or if he was I did not see him.
I had a fair win and wonder if the magic featers purchased from Katweezel had the power to barr KOD from the joint while I am there.

ihate17

Yep, that's how they work, mate. KOD had a sudden impulse to go see a movie, or go play some night golf or go to the Western or something, for a change. Were you expecting to see that KOD face show up any minute? Betcha were... Also, I forgot to tell ya, be wary of waving a feather on bald-headed pitcritters, as some of them can tend to be a bit over-sensitive, if you know what I mean. Glad you finally ditched the Western. :cat:

 

[blackchipjim]

Kods

I have used the Kods showing up at my table as an excuse to leave. I color up and tell and tell the dealer quietly I'm not sticking around for the results of this guy's play. It is laughable to say the least but draws a confirmation from the dealer as to it being a good move. blackchipjim

 

[bjcount]

I have used the Kods showing up at my table as an excuse to leave. I color up and tell and tell the dealer quietly I'm not sticking around for the results of this guy's play. It is laughable to say the least but draws a confirmation from the dealer as to it being a good move. blackchipjim

A few weeks back someone took out a Little bit of Luck's picture, set it next to his chips, and started to chant, "With a little bit of luck, with a little bit of luck...".

It didn't too well for him but he had the PC's rolling.

BJC

 

[Cardcounter]

Thorp talked about cheating dealers!

Back in the old days there where crooked dealers who would cheat for the house. So maybe this could be there cheating dealer. If you are cheated on 2% of your hands you will lose. The best advice I could give you is move tables when the Kiss of death is your dealer. The dealer doesn't have the ability to follow you.