Moving back to sin city (lord help me)

[kemperpoker]

It looks like blackjack wont be for fun anymore.....

Please, if you live in Vegas and count, read to the end I want your input...

My restaurant of 26 years is going to fail, and even though Las Vegas is probable in the top 10 worst areas in the nation right now to look for a job...Well, my expertise is in food and beverage, I did deal craps in the early 80's, and I will be going back to dealers school in case a floor or dealing opportunity comes up...And, not to brag, this is a time to be humble, but I'm a pretty good card counter.

I have logged in 600 hours ( I do keep track) over the last 7 years, mostly K.C. and Vegas, my overall is 26.37 an hour average (was over 35.00 till the last 60 hours...bad breaks) which is about right, my play of choice is DD 25 to 150 spread if I dont feel much heat.

Because of the limited amount of DD in Vegas now I'm practicing Wonging the shoes to a true count of 4 of better with a 100 to 300 spread. I'm not worried about winning as much as how often I can play. This is where I would like your input.

I feel each casino would stand up to 60 to 90 min. every 4 months, every 2 months if it's a large resort with more than 1 major pit, per shift, 30 to 60 min. on graveyard.

I counted 70 casinos that at least have 1 beatable BJ game. This gives me about 800 to 1,000 hours a play a year. Of course this will not support me forever and the goal is to find a nice position, but I do want this to help in the looking phase which could be a while. What do you think of times and frequency in the casinos?

 

[mjbballar23]

my recommendation is to add other games/tricks to your arsenal.

 

[creeping panther]

kemper

It looks like blackjack wont be for fun anymore.....

Please, if you live in Vegas and count, read to the end I want your input...

My restaurant of 26 years is going to fail, and even though Las Vegas is probable in the top 10 worst areas in the nation right now to look for a job...Well, my expertise is in food and beverage, I did deal craps in the early 80's, and I will be going back to dealers school in case a floor or dealing opportunity comes up...And, not to brag, this is a time to be humble, but I'm a pretty good card counter.

I have logged in 600 hours ( I do keep track) over the last 7 years, mostly K.C. and Vegas, my overall is 26.37 an hour average (was over 35.00 till the last 60 hours...bad breaks) which is about right, my play of choice is DD 25 to 150 spread if I dont feel much heat.

Because of the limited amount of DD in Vegas now I'm practicing Wonging the shoes to a true count of 4 of better with a 100 to 300 spread. I'm not worried about winning as much as how often I can play. This is where I would like your input.

I feel each casino would stand up to 60 to 90 min. every 4 months, every 2 months if it's a large resort with more than 1 major pit, per shift, 30 to 60 min. on graveyard.

I counted 70 casinos that at least have 1 beatable BJ game. This gives me about 800 to 1,000 hours a play a year. Of course this will not support me forever and the goal is to find a nice position, but I do want this to help in the looking phase which could be a while. What do you think of times and frequency in the casinos?

read all posts by KewlJason, he has found the formula to crack the golden kernel of Vgas.

CP

 

[prankster]

Kewljason lives near the strip-so if you have any questions regarding the current situation in LV he'd be a great guy to ask. I'm sure he'd be happy to share his knowledge of the current situation with you. Good cards!:joker:

 

[Dyepaintball12]

There's still plenty of DD and SD around Vegas but you gotta look around. Downtown is solid but won't take action for long

 

[blackjack avenger]

Food and Beverage

I would look into the food, beverage, dealer situation before going out. There have been a couple casino closings, plus another getting ready to close. Wouldn't those people be in line for jobs first, because of various unions/experience? It would be a shame to pay to go to dealers school only to find out you are number 100 in line to get a job.

For longevity, that $125 is going to bring you more heat then never betting $100 or more.

 

[kewljason]

Sorry to hear about your situation, kemperpoker. 26 years is a long time to invest, your resources, time and efforts into a business. Hope you got some return.

In correcting my friend, CP, I have not found any secret formula and certainly no golden kernel. Just a working guy plugging along, making ends meet, and so far making a modest living. Although reasonably close, I have yet to even break 6 figures for a year, which with no benefits, probably makes me lower middle class at best. Several much more successful members here, but they aren't as liberal with sharing their experiences. :sad:

Anyway I have 2 concerns. 1.) being born in early 80's, I have no experience playing the games of that era. From everything talked about I wish I had that opportunity. Since you talk about recent play in Vegas, I am assuming you know today's games are more challenging, although as you mentioned, many beatable games exist. Of course beatable games is subjective. Many players don't find games I play worth the effort.

As, Dye said, many beatable SD and DD available. While I encourage players who only visit occasionally to attack these SD games hard, for those of us that live here and play regularly, you won't be able to do so for long. I have found these to be a 'counter trap', monitored closely. Double deck games are a little better. With the spread you suggested $25-$150 and playing short sessions, you will do fine. Plenty of beatable 6 deck games as well, and while your premise of getting out of as many of the negative/neutral counts as possible is a good one, I don't know about your method of wonging in at tc of +4. That will be a lot of walking, scouting and very little play. And while NMSE isn't as prevelant as other areas, it still exists some which will hinder you. Jumping in with black bets will not go unnoticed at many places. I personally, go a different route of playing off the top but exiting in short order on negative counts.

And while I always tell players the advantage of Vegas is 'quantity, not quality', I don't know about 70 casinos with beatable BJ in Vegas? I will have to look harder. Playing stores once every couple months will certainly help keep you under the radar. I play the bigger house several times a week, different shifts of course and have no problem at the level you speak of. Key: short session and play unrated a lot. I have been playing rated more the past few months and it just isn't worth it. Extra scutiny and casinos are offering crap comp wise. I was mainly interested in cashback, free play and matchplays. Things I could turn to cash, but they really are tight right now. Makes it not worth the risk IMO.

Best of luck to ya. Keep us posted.

 

[kewljason]

Geez, I forgot to address my second concern, which is the biggie. (and I haven't even puff-puffed today) :laugh:

2.) Playing 800-1000 hours a year is a far different animal than playing 600 hours over 7 years. Playing fulltime, which I describe as all or the majority of your income, coming from this play, is something you really need to be prepared for, financially and mentally. Even properly bankrolled, the huge wild swings will challenge you in both areas. Especially initially. I guess you get a little more used to it as time goes on. I'll let you know if I ever become really comfortable with it. :laugh:

 

[Thunder]

Kewl, I just wanted to point out that by government standards, you are considered to be upper middle class even with no benefits. I'm not sure if you report your earnings as taxable income but if you don't, you may be able to get state sponsored health insurance. You may want to consider if you haven't already, getting disability insurance heaven forbid you should have a bad accident or something since you obviously need to be somewhat mobile to be playing the games.

 

[kewljason]

Kewl, I just wanted to point out that by government standards, you are considered to be upper middle class even with no benefits. I'm not sure if you report your earnings as taxable income but if you don't, you may be able to get state sponsored health insurance. You may want to consider if you haven't already, getting disability insurance heaven forbid you should have a bad accident or something since you obviously need to be somewhat mobile to be playing the games.

I don't know what the government numbers for middle class are. :laugh: I suppose it's different for different areas, but that's not important. I was just pointing out that someone self employed who doesn't have traditional benefits, probably needs to make 50% more than someone with a tradition paycheck to have the same spending power. The biggie of course is healthcare, but there are other considerations. Retirement. Nothing going to SS, not that it will be there anyway, so you better be planning for that. No vacation. You want time off, it means you don't make money. And that includes sick time. Better plan for that as well.

As per your second point, I do report my earnings and pay taxes. :angel: I have enough to worry about without adding looking over my shoulder. And no I am not really interested in state sponsored medical like medicaid. Should I apply for food stamps as well? :laugh: If an AP, is to the point of considering this, perhaps, he should re-eveluate his situation. :laugh:

Interesting topic though, Thunder and one that I could see a lot of people commenting on. Perhaps we should move to new thread, so as not to hijack the OP's thread, because I know he would like to get addition advice/opinions on his situation.

 

[Thunder]

Alrighty I made a new topic for it in the general section.

 

[zengrifter]

Because of the limited amount of DD in Vegas now I'm practicing Wonging the shoes to a true count of 4 of better with a 100 to 300 spread. I'm not worried about winning as much as how often I can play. This is where I would like your input.

What is your starting BR? zg

 

[shadroch]

Learn all you can about comp hustling and exploiting promotions. Aggressive use of coupons can easily add a few hundred a month to your income.
Casinos give away all sorts of junk. To you it may be worthless but people far from Vegas go batty over promo items. My friend offered lots of ten books of casino matchs on e-Bay starting at $1.00 a lot and they often sold for $5 or more. He banged out an extra buck or two for shipping and it helped get him thru some rough spots. Casinos sell used cards for next to nothing, but on eBay they go for a few bucks. People pay $1 or more for fifty cent casino chips, and coin cups are starting to pick up as they are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. That tshirt you got for signing up at a players club, someone in middle America wants it. Your leftover Bellagio room key- someone somewhere is willing to pay you for it.

 

[kemperpoker]

Thanks for the inputs

All good advice guys, thanks.

I know I'm moving into a **** storm. Where I will look for work is not limited to Vegas, I am single and have no kids, I can move or work anywhere in the world and will spend every day online looking for that position.

I had it all at one time, going broke over the last 4 years has made me simplify my life. And I have learned to enjoy a more simpler lifestyle.

My goal is 50K a year....To do all I want to do is 40k a year....My BR will be about 15 to 20K....If blackjack can bring me 2K a month with my unemployment I have a little over a year to find a position somewhere.

I'm always up for constructive advice.

 

[kewljason]

My goal is 50K a year....To do all I want to do is 40k a year....My BR will be about 15 to 20K....If blackjack can bring me 2K a month with my unemployment I have a little over a year to find a position somewhere.

I'm always up for constructive advice.

Well here is where you are running into trouble. First of all, we don't talk about x amount of dollars per month, because it's not a job with a steady paycheck you can count on. Last year I had an 8 month stretch that I basically made zero, zilch nada. Luckily for me, this 8 month period followed an incredible 2 month stretch were I did extremely well. It was also followed by a 6 week stretch that I had a very strong finishing period. So basically, my years totals came from 14 weeks sandwiched around an 8 month + period of no income. So ya gotta have money set a side for those periods.

In addition, making 50 grand a year of 15-20K bankroll is risky. Not saying it can't be done. But the RoR you would be playing at is much higher than anyone doing so for a living would be comfortable with. Especially if the BR is non-replenishible, which it sounds like yours is. Having outside income like unemployment is a big bonus, but unless you can live and pay your expenses off that unemployment alone, I wouldn't advise trying this. Even then, from the sounds of everything, my advise would be not to go this route. I'll say again, playing full-time is really something you have to be prepared for both financially and mentally.

 

[kemperpoker]

thanks kewljason

I want to be clear on my goals, My goal with a job is 40 to 50. With the current BJ environment and my bankroll 2K a month is all I believe can be expected, and I realize the unsteadiness of it, I had times where I logged 14 hours on a Vegas trip and won 4,000 but in my mind I really only won about 500, the other 3,500 was borrowed money.

BJ is only a way to help make ends meet until a opportunity comes along.

Thanks for reading and responding.

 

[kemperpoker]

thanks shadrock

Shadrock brought up another point that is a concern.

I believe casinos will share info more than they do now. I have a Harrah's card I use for K.C. and when I travel to Vegas (to get a nice room and meals) I never give my name to any other casinos and I dont even show the Harrah's card when I'm at a casino other than the one I'm staying at.

I believe if I'm backed off on one that puts me in harms way at another.

My Harrahs info (website shows for the last 5 years) my profit/loss every year. Each year shows between 3200 and 8600 profit a year. Sure I'm happy with that but if they looked at that (a person winning constantly in a casino) doesnt that put me on the watch list right now.

Thoughts?

 

[moo321]

1. Learn to use coupons
2. Learn poker
3. Back-count extensively
4. Play a lot of hours