jimmtech: Shame on teams!

[jimmtech]

I went to Harrah's Joliet(Chicago) last fall and was surprised to see that they use completely dark and closed containers for the shoes and the discard trays so you can't see how many cards are left to be dealt or even how many cards have been dealt! I went there last month and it's the same. I was told they starting doing this after losing a substantial amount of money to a team. If teams get greedy or blow their cover, it really ruins it for the rest of us!

[Parker]

> I went to Harrah's Joliet(Chicago) last fall and was
> surprised to see that they use completely dark and
> closed containers for the shoes and the discard trays
> so you can't see how many cards are left to be dealt
> or even how many cards have been dealt! I went there
> last month and it's the same. I was told they starting
> doing this after losing a substantial amount of money
> to a team. If teams get greedy or blow their cover, it
> really ruins it for the rest of us!

I would take what they tell you with a grain of salt. These covers have been around for several years, and many properties use them. Dealers hate them, they slow the game down (thus reducing hands/hour and table hold), and it is not difficult for any counter with half a brain to figure out ways around them. Don't blame the teams.

[Ouchez]

> I would take what they tell you with a grain of salt.
> These covers have been around for several years, and
> many properties use them. Dealers hate them, they slow
> the game down (thus reducing hands/hour and table
> hold), and it is not difficult for any counter with
> half a brain to figure out ways around them. Don't
> blame the teams.

OTOH,
Slash and burn tactics *can* cause major problems.

Any casino that employs these useless and off the wall tactics probably offers such a poor game anyhow that it really does not matter.

What counters and teams *can* win does not even compute to what the house takes off the multitude of ignorant players frequenting their poor games.

"Silliness" is a correct statment.

Of course, SWK would say these items were placed there to stop his highly skilled game and that of the former..."Hoosier Hit Men".

Ouchez

[chgobjpro]

> it is not difficult for any counter with
> half a brain to figure out ways around them. Don't
> blame the teams.

19 hands played equals one deck. figure out a way to count the hands and you've beat their ploy.

[Parker]

> 19 hands played equals one deck. figure out a way to
> count the hands and you've beat their ploy.

Alternatively, simply use an unbalanced count in running count mode, such as KO, Red 7, UBZ2, etc.

[SOTSOG]

> I went to Harrah's Joliet(Chicago) last fall and was
> surprised to see that they use completely dark and
> closed containers for the shoes and the discard trays
> so you can't see how many cards are left to be dealt
> or even how many cards have been dealt! I went there
> last month and it's the same. I was told they starting
> doing this after losing a substantial amount of money
> to a team. If teams get greedy or blow their cover, it
> really ruins it for the rest of us!

An unbalanced count eliminates the need to know how many cards have been dealt or remain, or simply devote a team member to do nothing but "count" the number of cards dealt.

Hahahaha! I think the covers aren't there to stop teams.

[Viktor Nacht]

> 19 hands played equals one deck. figure out a way to
> count the hands and you've beat their ploy.

FYI (to the original poster) this approach is described in detail in Las Vegas Blackjack Diary by Stuart Perry on pages 193-194. It is akin to keeping a side count, and (according to Perry) it keeps you within 1/4 deck of accuracy, which is as good or better than most people who eyeball it.

Good Cards,

V

[bfbagain]

The replies above should indicate to you that there are multiple reasons for why a casino will use these shields, but in the end, they really only hurt themselves through their paranoia.

Less hands dealt = less casino profit
Less players playing = less casino profit
Less players winning = less players playing = less casino profit

Now you may ask, "why would they do this" and the time-honored answer is, "this is a Harrahs" - enough said. Harrahs has been a "slot house" for a long time. If they could, they would eliminate ALL table games other than the carny games.

There are better places to play, albeit not by much, in the Chicago area and you'd be much better off, both in time spent and hourly eV, to explore those alternatives.

If you live nearby to Joliet, you can always learn an advanced AP technique and when available, fly way under Harrahs radar. The downside is those are limited opportunities and your overall time is still better spent elsewhere, unless of course, you become part of a dreaded team. :-)

cheers
bfb

[Wildcard]

Long time!

Your Cubs continue the disappointment. After the Yankees sweep in Fenway (oh the pain!), the handwriting was clearly on the wall, too many injuries thereafter.

Hope you and yours are well.

Regards,
WC

[bfbagain]

Thankfully, it's football season and the Bears are looking good.

Back to theCubs....

A-Rod will play in Chicago next year, along with Zito and possibly Sheffield. The question is...on what side of town will they all play. :-)

After all the injuries on the Red Sox, there wasn't much hope there and the five game sweep had to sting. You do, however, also have a fine football team and maybe they'll meet this year in the SB. Who knows.

Hope all's well with you and your family as well.

cheers
bfb
PS Went to a couple of White Sox games this year to see real baseball. I'll be back to visiting more ballparks next season.