Trip report: 06/15/2003 -- the blackjack.

[The Mayor]

Played mainly LL side bet and Poker on this trip. I really got the feeling for the bet, it is tough to make 15 of them in a row (at $25 each) with a 10%+ edge over the house and not see a single 20. But I hit quite a few 4-1 and 9-1 payoffs, and one 25-1 payoff. At one point I was at a TC of 9 for my system, needing a TC of 10 to make the bet, and the QH-QH pair fell on my hand. Oooohhh Piss!!! My final results: made the LL bet 74 times, won the bet 9 times out of the 74 for 25+9+9+9+9+4+4+4+4 = 77x$25 bet. Lost 65 times for -65x$25. Net result: +12x$25 = +$300 on LL. But, when you only hit the bet 1/8 (or less, in the long run) times you play it, it is really a struggle to put down the bet. I actually was playing with a friend and when the count justified it we put down 4 LL bets between us all over the board. He got hammered -- I am sure he went through a 0/20 streak on the bet. Then again, he hit the QH-QH pair two trips ago. Another thing that kept coming up was that it felt very awkward to flat bet $5 on a square for an hour, then suddenly drop $100 on the board in 4 spots for the LL. I got some weird looks, but in the end was accepted for this play without heat.

Also I was with a newbie who will no doubt be a big player once his bankroll catches up to his intelligence. He is gifted and excited, and it was a pleasure mentoring him on the trip. He just needs to sell a book or movie, and score a 10k bankroll so that he can play more than a max bet of 2x$10. Then you better watch out!

For the trip I won 141 units.

--Mayor

 

[Coug It]

LL Side Bet

Was playing a shoe game three weeks ago, two hands per round. Didn't touch the LL side bet (couldn't recall the Mayor's indices for making the play, +7TC?) until I got up a bunch. Was carrying on and acting goofy w/ my BP for cover and decided "what the hell"....

so i played the side bet on both hands and was dealt two 20's (one suited). Never played the LL side bet prior to that (or since then). Lucky ladies, indeed!

 

[The Mayor]

Re: LL Side Bet

Using a normal count like hi-lo is VERY weak for the LL bet, and even weaker on a shoe game. Your earnings are about $3 per hour in this situation.

I have a specialized count I developed (not published, and no, you can't have it).

The game I played had an EV of about $50 per hour using LL.

--Mayor

 

[learning to count]

Wow your freind got hammered huh? Too bad. If I was him I would save up all the those bottle returns, have a couple of yard sales, and stop betting over his bankroll. He was probably betting a 14% ror. You have to watch betting aggressively at those high counts even at a 30% edge! If I was him I would plan to come back in the fall and keep on counting.

 

[The Mayor]

Yeah, who knows, someday he may even win a LL bet or two. I think it's the mojo -- he doesn't understand the flow.

--Mayor

 

[Hinoon]

Sounds like what you should have done is let the rookie play a few rounds heads-up in the negative and low-positive counts to absorb all the non-faces. Nothing wrong with letting the new guy pay his dues. Particularly if he's getting the good fortune to learn first-hand from serious AP players.

 

[The Mayor]

That's it!

It's all part of the mojo.

Honestly, it is incredibly rude to stick a fellow AP at the table with the crappy cards. If there are 3 of you at the table and you are all friends, and one wants to wong out, propriety dictates you only leave for that bathroom break at a HIGH count!

But, if he's a rookie -- make him pay!

--Mayor

 

[Coug It]

Re: LL Side Bet

<<I have a specialized count I developed (not published, and no, you can't have it). >>

Why would I want your "specialized count" when my method works 100% of the time?!

 

[The Mayor]

Re: LL Side Bet

You're right, forgive me for being so presumptous!

--Mayor

 

[Coug It]

Re: LL Side Bet

OH BOY! How I LOVE to be right. Now, where are those lotto tickets I left lying around. I need to see if my new system will work for tonight's drawing!

 

[learning to count]

Whats even worse is doing all the hard work of counting down the decks and signaling the advantage and watching the rooky get all the BJ's while you get a stiff after stiff! Now that is frustration! HiNoon is that a western like the Good The Bad and the Ugly? WHo was the ugly guy?????

 

[Hinoon]

Yeah LTC, that WOULD suck. Providence is a harsh mistress, they say. But if history is any indicator of future patterns, the Gods of Variance will always be out there, looking for smug rookies wearing their chips on their shoulders.

As far as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly goes...if memory serves me rightly, "The Ugly", aka Tuco Ramirez - the Mexican bandit/hero, was played by the inimitable Eli Wallach; easily the best role in the movie.

- Hinoon