TheApprentice
Well-Known Member
Here's a noob story about how I 'got heat' before I ever counted cards.
I've played BJ since a child, but BS and CC are newer endeavours. I, like many, used to believe counting meant memorizing all the played cards, etc. However, I had always played with a personal strategy that was a crude approximation of counting; I'd keep a running estimate in my head of the last 2-3 rounds, estimating a ratio of high/low cards. Several rounds where my guesses were >=75% low cards, and I'd bet higher for a few rounds, until the situation reversed itself. Never had a BR (still don't, but at least now there's potential and a source).
Since I am not in the know, I often would make plays that were NOT BS, using hunches or my high/low ratio estimating technique to guide me. From what I've learned since, I had some pretty horrible moves, and, worse, was making moves and bets (I also have always rat-holed, almost instinctively!) that were getting me what I now realize was mild Heat. Mostly it was a situation where a pit boss would come and engage me in conversation or just hang out nearby and watch for no apparent reason.
So I'm playing at an Indian Casino with 6D, ASM. H17, nDAS, $10min and doing not bad. I'm sitting at 3rd base, and the table is a friendly mix of age/race/gender. This was one of those nights where I'd already generated a little attention from a pitter and a dealer who kept making comments like "Hmmm, that's not basic strategy..." Keep in mind, I'm NOT even counting.
A new player sits done at 1st base and within only a few hands he's making comments about the play decisions I'm making and how it's my responsibility to hold up the position of 3rd base. I respond that what I do has no effect on how he plays his hand, and I've always got reasons for doing what I do. (If I was a counter back then, would've been a cover-blowing statement I know). A few more comments from him about taking the dealer's bust card, and now even the dealer is telling this guy to pipe down. He raises his voice enough to get a couple of suits from the pit over, and one starts talking to the guy and one comes to me.
"this guys's always being told not to coach other players, and he's been asked to leave before," he tells me. The guy is told to find another table, and meantime two of three other players have gotten up and left the table saying they dont need the hassle. The dealer's saying that a hotter headed person may come to blows with this character one of these times, and the Pitter gives me a free drink coupon and apoligizes.
I'm perturbed and off my game for several rounds, and think I'll have to end the session down $400, but through sheer determination I play out the rest of my night and end up +$275 (Thank you, Variance!)
Now that I'm a little more knowledgable, I've gone over the scenario many times in my head, and believe that if not for Grumpy 1st Base Man, I may have made a lot more $ that day out of luck with my primitive system, and experienced much more negative attention from the PCrew thatn I ended up getting.
Hope this has been an amusing moment. Thanks for coming to story time. Snacks and naps to follow.
I've played BJ since a child, but BS and CC are newer endeavours. I, like many, used to believe counting meant memorizing all the played cards, etc. However, I had always played with a personal strategy that was a crude approximation of counting; I'd keep a running estimate in my head of the last 2-3 rounds, estimating a ratio of high/low cards. Several rounds where my guesses were >=75% low cards, and I'd bet higher for a few rounds, until the situation reversed itself. Never had a BR (still don't, but at least now there's potential and a source).
Since I am not in the know, I often would make plays that were NOT BS, using hunches or my high/low ratio estimating technique to guide me. From what I've learned since, I had some pretty horrible moves, and, worse, was making moves and bets (I also have always rat-holed, almost instinctively!) that were getting me what I now realize was mild Heat. Mostly it was a situation where a pit boss would come and engage me in conversation or just hang out nearby and watch for no apparent reason.
So I'm playing at an Indian Casino with 6D, ASM. H17, nDAS, $10min and doing not bad. I'm sitting at 3rd base, and the table is a friendly mix of age/race/gender. This was one of those nights where I'd already generated a little attention from a pitter and a dealer who kept making comments like "Hmmm, that's not basic strategy..." Keep in mind, I'm NOT even counting.
A new player sits done at 1st base and within only a few hands he's making comments about the play decisions I'm making and how it's my responsibility to hold up the position of 3rd base. I respond that what I do has no effect on how he plays his hand, and I've always got reasons for doing what I do. (If I was a counter back then, would've been a cover-blowing statement I know). A few more comments from him about taking the dealer's bust card, and now even the dealer is telling this guy to pipe down. He raises his voice enough to get a couple of suits from the pit over, and one starts talking to the guy and one comes to me.
"this guys's always being told not to coach other players, and he's been asked to leave before," he tells me. The guy is told to find another table, and meantime two of three other players have gotten up and left the table saying they dont need the hassle. The dealer's saying that a hotter headed person may come to blows with this character one of these times, and the Pitter gives me a free drink coupon and apoligizes.
I'm perturbed and off my game for several rounds, and think I'll have to end the session down $400, but through sheer determination I play out the rest of my night and end up +$275 (Thank you, Variance!)
Now that I'm a little more knowledgable, I've gone over the scenario many times in my head, and believe that if not for Grumpy 1st Base Man, I may have made a lot more $ that day out of luck with my primitive system, and experienced much more negative attention from the PCrew thatn I ended up getting.
Hope this has been an amusing moment. Thanks for coming to story time. Snacks and naps to follow.
