Top 6 cover play deviations from BS ?

[callipygian]

using what you know in order to improve a pretty crap hand off of a cold shoe

I think you need to be clearer with your terms. If a shoe quickly heads into negative territory, it's not a cold shoe, it's actually a hot shoe. Let's say you're playing a 6-deck shoe and the count goes to -12 over the first two decks. Your true count is now -3, but look at what you've been playing: you've been playing the equivalent of a +6 2-deck slug. Chances are you've been winning a lot. Most ploppies would refer to this as a hot shoe (not realizing that a lot of good cards are used up).

At this point, the best thing you can do is leave. Your future prospects are bleak, and most places will reserve your seat to go to the bathroom, etc. If in doubt, ask the dealer to hold your seat while you go to the bathroom and ask where the closest one is.

Aside from leaving, the second best thing to do is to make strategy adjustments. Note that these are NOT cover plays - cover plays are WRONG moves you make to pretend you're not playing right. When the count is very negative, hitting hard 12 vs. 6 is not the wrong play to make, it is the RIGHT play to make. I'm sure you can find the strategy changes somewhere in the FAQ. Or Google "illustrious 18".

Likewise, making strategy changes as the count goes positive is not cover play - it is the right play to make. Staying on hard 16 vs. 10 when the count is positive is not a cover play. Standing on hard 12 vs. 3 when the count is over +2 is not a cover play. But you can MAKE these cover plays by doing then when you're not supposed to (e.g. standing on 16 vs. 10 at a -1 count or standing on 12 vs. 3 at a +1 count) - and they will be cheap cover plays because when the count is positive and you have big bets out, these will be the right plays.

 

[callipygian]

1) how do you reserve your spot?
2) do you take your chips with you?

At most casinos, you just let the dealer know you're taking a break and leave your chips. Some places will put a "reserved" marker on your betting circle; others won't.

I always do a quick count of my chips before I leave and immediately after I return. I've never had a problem with chip theft, but I'm sure it happens.

 

[UK-21]

callipygian,
Thank you for that. Your comments have reinforced my suspicion as a newby. I'll take a look for any index plays for neg counts, although to date I haven't found any at significant neg counts - hence my posting.

As to reserving a place? Where I play it is usual to have at least three people waiting for a seat at a table during peak times, and I think leaving the table but not allowing anyone to take the slot would be likely to start a riot. There were wailings and nashings of teeth by some waiting when one player continued to play two hands despite a queue of people waiting to join in the game. A friend of mine who plays in another casino has told me that they don't allow multi-hand play when all slots are in use or others are waiting.

Newb99

 

[EasyRhino]

The policy on holding seats or playing two spots during busy times may vary by casino. They might have a time limit on holding seats, or they might increase the required bet to play two spots.

But any of the complainers can just blow it out their ass.

 

[Renzey]

The count goes well neg (TC of -3?), and you pull a 14 against a dealer's 5. Do you stand, as dictated by BS, or hit knowing there is a higher number of 2-6s still to come - and the dealer could well pull one and end up with a made hand. What have you got to lose by hitting?
Newb99.

These days, most of the more extreme negative index numbers have dropped out of a player's repertoire because of the prevalence of multi-deck shoes and Wonging out. Back-in-the-day when hand held games were more popular and "play all" was the norm, hitting with 14 vs. 5 carried an index number of -7 true.

 

[callipygian]

Where I play it is usual to have at least three people waiting for a seat at a table during peak times, and I think leaving the table but not allowing anyone to take the slot would be likely to start a riot.

Yeah, that's a problem, and it's unavoidable. I personally would probably just use that venue as a training ground and look elsewhere for greener pastures. If there are no other accessible options, you'll just have to stick it out and play a larger spread to get the same edge.

 

[UK-21]

Well yes . . . now that I have developed an interest in "gambling" my good lady is itching to get back to Las Vegas to hit the palaces of chance. So I suppose that's an ambition? Until then, it's the rather restrictive conditions of the regional casinos in the UK. I'm sure most visitors to them from the States would find them frustrating places to play.

Newb99
UK

 

[callipygian]

My personal reccommendation is to wait for Vegas. There's a lot of good games there, and you'll get a lot of bang for your buck because of the weak dollar.

Do note (if you haven't already) that American games are slightly different, in that the dealer is dealt both cards, so the basic strategy vs. dealer A is slightly different as are the indices.