Hollywood: Another Question?

[Hollywood]

High count, max bet on the table (12 units).

Dealer has a 6 showing, I have ace 9.

How much heat do you think that double would cause.???

It happened to me a couple of days ago, and the dealer turned over her card without waiting for a signal. She had a 9 in the hole for a 15 total.

I said "what are you doing? "I was thinking about doubling". She said "you have 20"
And immediately got the boss involved.

I thought about it from a heat standpoint and I said, "never mind, your right" Naturally she pulled 21 and it was a $4800.00 swing.
My double card by the way would have been an ace. Giving me 21.

She pulls the ace for 16 and the 5 and the rest as they say is history.

I was 2nd guessing myself all night about that play. I knew damb well the double was the correct play at that count. But, in a split 2nd decision with a pit boss all over this, I refrained from the play.

Would you have done the same????

As a side note, this is one of the few houses where I still play under my own name. Which also prompted my decision.

Hollywood

[scarygary]

Did she call out "doubling down on soft 20" or did she motion him over with a hand signal?

I am just curious as to how big of a deal she made of it.

[MM]

Hey,

I'm glad your back and posting. I play at stakes a lot smaller than yours. My bets are from 25 - 400 dollars but it seems the casinos I play at even sweat this. You sound like you play at much higher stakes but are coasting quite well. Do you have any problems getting the money out of the casino ? I am having some difficulty. Is there any advice that you can give? Do you think an act can make up for winning lets say 6,000 dollars in one sitting ? I am working on my act but still have problems sometimes with PB's.

Also, the casinos I play at would sweat that A,9 double down big time. Hell, I made a camo bet of 4 units off the top of the shoe and they called out checks play---give me a break. Another one called out "doubling for less" when I had that terrible run of cards and ran out of money.

[MM]

I realize I was vague in my post. More specifically:

How long do you wait before you return to a casino possibly as a different name/person ?

When you return do you try to avoid the pit boss whom you encountered the previous time? (I write down names of PB's encountered)

Ever had any problems when using a fake ?

How long do you generally stay at the casino and do you pocket chips secretly if you can?

Do you let them color you up or just take off?

Thanks in advance and if some were too personal then nevermind me.

[Don Schlesinger]

> High count, max bet on the table (12 units).

> Dealer has a 6 showing, I have ace 9.

> How much heat do you think that double would
> cause???

I still make that play. It doesn't come up nearly as often as splitting 10s (which I no longer do), and somehow, I'm still willing to make that double.

> It happened to me a couple of days ago, and
> the dealer turned over her card without
> waiting for a signal. She had a 9 in the
> hole for a 15 total.

> I said "what are you doing? "I was
> thinking about doubling". She said
> "you have 20"
> And immediately got the boss involved.

She would have said to the boss, "He wants to double," and the boss would have said, "Go ahead." You should have been able to double, and given her 15, I'd have been adamant about it.

> I thought about it from a heat standpoint
> and I said, "never mind, your
> right" Naturally she pulled 21 and it
> was a $4800.00 swing.

Are you sure it wasn't a $3,600 swing? Did you not lose $1,200 instead of winning $2,400? See, maybe I made you feel better already! :-)

> My double card by the way would have been an
> ace. Giving me 21.

> She pulls the ace for 16 and the 5 and the
> rest as they say is history.

Yup. Otherwise, you win 21 to 20.

> I was 2nd guessing myself all night about
> that play. I knew damn well the double was
> the correct play at that count. But, in a
> split second decision with a pit boss all over
> this, I refrained from the play.

> Would you have done the same????

Nope. I would have doubled. The boss wasn't "all over you." He was there because of the dealer error. Next time, IMMEDIATELY hold up your hand and say "Wait a minute," and don't let the dealer pass you by. You have to think ahead on these plays, similarly to when you have A,7 and the dealer has 9-A up.

> As a side note, this is one of the few
> houses where I still play under my own name.
> Which also prompted my decision.

Hard to know how the pit would react to such a double. Hard to fault you for being cautious. This time, it just didn't work out.

Don

[HOllywood]

> Did she call out "doubling down on soft
> 20" or did she motion him over with a
> hand signal?

> I am just curious as to how big of a deal
> she made of it.

As soon as i Said, "What are you doing"?

She called out the Pit boses names who was only 3 feet away.

Hollywood

[HOllywood]

> Hey,

> I'm glad your back and posting. I play at
> stakes a lot smaller than yours. My bets are
> from 25 - 400 dollars but it seems the
> casinos I play at even sweat this. You sound
> like you play at much higher stakes but are
> coasting quite well. Do you have any
> problems getting the money out of the casino
> ? I am having some difficulty. Is there any
> advice that you can give? Do you think an
> act can make up for winning lets say 6,000
> dollars in one sitting ? I am working on my
> act but still have problems sometimes with
> PB's.

> Also, the casinos I play at would sweat that
> A,9 double down big time. Hell, I made a
> camo bet of 4 units off the top of the shoe
> and they called out checks play---give me a
> break. Another one called out "doubling
> for less" when I had that terrible run
> of cards and ran out of money.

Thanks for noticing I was not posting, I was sick for a while but 90% back now.

The Casino works very similar to the banks in the United States. They have currency rules.

You are good buying in or out for up to $10,000.00.
$10,000.00 and one penny and by law they must fill out a currency report.

Now how I get around this, (and this is just my way, others do different things)

I don't cash in my chips. When I win in a casino, I take home the chips, so that when I go back I am only bringing 10k in currency and if i go into my pocket after that, it's with chips.

Now whatever your bet state is, it's really the same. Units are units. However, the amount of heat in the high stakes area is much greater.

I do make alot of intentional bad plays to throw them off. But, lately I have been a bit parinoid since I got made by 2 seperate casino's 2 thousand miles apart. It's not fun.

The running joke with my kids, is that DON turned me into a criminal .

If you are having trouble with 6k, as Don and guys used to tell me, It's time you found other places to play. Expand your horizon.

As a note, I think everyone has a problem with an A/9 double.
If it's a place you freequent alot, I would not do it.
As Kenny FucHS told me once.

A TOURIST WOULDN'T DO THAT

Happy Chips
Hollywood

[HOllywood]

> I realize I was vague in my post. More
> specifically:

> How long do you wait before you return to a
> casino possibly as a different name/person ?

> When you return do you try to avoid the pit
> boss whom you encountered the previous time?
> (I write down names of PB's encountered)

> Ever had any problems when using a fake ?

> How long do you generally stay at the casino
> and do you pocket chips secretly if you can?

> Do you let them color you up or just take
> off?

> Thanks in advance and if some were too
> personal then nevermind me.

Nothing in this room is to personal, unless of course you want my underwear size And I would even give you that if it would help you win more.

When I play in a casino in another name, I try to avoid that casino for 1 month and that shift for 3 months. I write down everything I do.

Especially anything unusual, and double any dealers that give good pen. I keep a seperate log for that so I don't foget them. Name and physical description.

I have had numberous problems when using a fake.

I have friends that ask me to play with there cards because I play for big numbers and they get all these crazy offers in the mail, (wild comps, which as you all know is common amoung blackchip people)

However, a friend got his card taken away recently cause they busted me playing with it.

So when a person now asks me to play with there card, I give them the downside.

A close friend of mine recently, (who is a great player) was sitting with his wife playing in another name and they paged him saying he had an emergency call from home. TWICE.

Nobody but he and his wife even knew he was in that casino. That's a real shit thing to do to a person.

The only time I pocket chips secretly is when i'm playing under my own name (ironically, a few let me do that) I try to make it appear that i've lost when I really won.

If i'm playing in my own name then I color out and go to the cage and do all of it by the book.

However, if i'm in a casino in cognito, I always color out, but never go to the cage. I just go out another door and disapear into the crowd.

Always remember, at the cage they get the best frontal photos of you.

I hope some of this helped

Hollywood

[Sun Runner]

> Also, the casinos I play at would sweat that
> A,9 double down big time. Hell, I made a
> camo bet of 4 units off the top of the shoe
> and they called out checks play---give me a
> break. Another one called out "doubling
> for less" when I had that terrible run
> of cards and ran out of money.

Just a point of fact -calling out 'doubling for less' does not mean they are sweating your action. They are just getting on the record you did in fact 'double for less' -in case you win the bet and want to bitch about the short payoff after.

[MM]

> I hope some of this helped

Yes, definitely. This is some of the best real advice that I've seen. So basically you always color out but at your stakes I would think that it would be hard to grab your chips and go. I've done the grab and go thing a few times and sometimes they say something and I keep walking and sometimes they don't say anything at all. A few times, the grab and go has helped me tremendously.

I've been asked for ID a few times at the cage because I never gave them an ID or player's card at the tables. One time I gave them the ID and the other times I said no way.

I think you have helped me tremendously, Hollywood. I have been waiting the month between casino visits but making my visits sometimes on the same shift as last time I was there. I am definitely expanding my horizons, and it is certainly helping me. Are you the Hollywood Dave on Celebrity Blackjack on GSN ? I have to ask this.

[Ouchez]

> High count, max bet on the table (12 units).

> Dealer has a 6 showing, I have ace 9.

> How much heat do you think that double would
> cause.???

> It happened to me a couple of days ago, and
> the dealer turned over her card without
> waiting for a signal. She had a 9 in the
> hole for a 15 total.

> I said "what are you doing? "I was
> thinking about doubling". She said
> "you have 20"
> And immediately got the boss involved.

> I thought about it from a heat standpoint
> and I said, "never mind, your
> right" Naturally she pulled 21 and it
> was a $4800.00 swing.
> My double card by the way would have been an
> ace. Giving me 21.

> She pulls the ace for 16 and the 5 and the
> rest as they say is history.

> I was 2nd guessing myself all night about
> that play. I knew damb well the double was
> the correct play at that count. But, in a
> split 2nd decision with a pit boss all over
> this, I refrained from the play.

> Would you have done the same????

> As a side note, this is one of the few
> houses where I still play under my own name.
> Which also prompted my decision.

> Hollywood

I practice what I call "dealer manipulation" and I often double on Ace-9, never called out on it, rarely even when I split 10's which I also do often. Both moves have been real money makers for me. A dealer properly handled would not call out such a double, I think you had a house dealer. However if you had won with the 20, it would not have bothered you so. I can understand the frustration, it is always a close call anyways. I am really sorry that that had to come down the way it did.

Ouchez.

[HOllywood]

> Yes, definitely. This is some of the best
> real advice that I've seen. So basically you
> always color out but at your stakes I would
> think that it would be hard to grab your
> chips and go. I've done the grab and go
> thing a few times and sometimes they say
> something and I keep walking and sometimes
> they don't say anything at all. A few times,
> the grab and go has helped me tremendously.

> I've been asked for ID a few times at the
> cage because I never gave them an ID or
> player's card at the tables. One time I gave
> them the ID and the other times I said no
> way.

> I think you have helped me tremendously,
> Hollywood. I have been waiting the month
> between casino visits but making my visits
> sometimes on the same shift as last time I
> was there. I am definitely expanding my
> horizons, and it is certainly helping me.
> Are you the Hollywood Dave on Celebrity
> Blackjack on GSN ? I have to ask this.

No, not Hollywood Dave. But you are not the first to ask.

I only post here. I do nothing in other rooms.

I have not ever had one occasion where I didn't get an answer in here. We have an incredible amount of talent from both the posters and the MASTERS.

So, anyway this is it.

good luck,

Hollywood

[Cardkountr]

> A close friend of mine recently, (who is a
> great player) was sitting with his wife
> playing in another name and they paged him
> saying he had an emergency call from home.
> TWICE.

> Nobody but he and his wife even knew he was
> in that casino. That's a real shit thing to
> do to a person.

First let me say that as you are a good friend I know you were being vague to protect my identity, but as you know I am persona non grata in all the casinos in that state and am only able to play when not recognized, therefore I don't see any harm in telling the whole story.

In addition to what you mentioned above concerning the incident it should also be noted that I was playing with a comp card under an assumed name,dob and address and wearing a disquise that my next door neighbor would have had a hard time knowing it was me.

After about two hours of play 3 add'l suits appeared in the high limit pit, standing off to my side but within earshot so I could pick up bits and pieces what they were saying. One of them was holding a photograph and was telling the other two "I'm telling you it's him"......the other two are arguing saying no it can't be.......not even a close resemblence. Then they move closer to me and one of them is almost in my face looking at me and the picture......I calmly turned towards him introduced myself under my phony name and asked if I could help him.He then walks back to the other two but they continue staring at me.

I surmise that since they're not absolutely sure I was me lol, that I should hang around a bit more and keep them guessing rather than immediately leave and confirm their suspicion. I act oblivious to them being huddled in a group all looking my way while one of them is on the phone. A few min's later I hear a page for me under my real name saying there's an emergency phone call from home. Since both my wife and I have been thru this routine and much worse numerous times, neither one of us so much as flinches...a couple min's more pass and there's another page this time saying there's an extreme emergency at home, again we show no emotion. I finished out the shoe, colored up and tipped the dealer as any player would do after a good win and left without cashing at the cage. Once outside and in my car my wife busted out laughing hysterically and reminded me that when we get home I was taking her shopping for a new car courtesy of that casino.

I don't think my play tipped them off as I was under what I believe to be their pain threshold, and I really don't think a pit critter was able to recognize me given the disquise I was wearing so I made some inquries afterwards and was told that they got me thru the biometric system they use, whether true or not I don't know for sure but it does cause me to wonder how sophisticated their technology is becoming.

Card.