Wolverine: Tapped on the shoulder

[Wolverine]

bfb, nice post on Parker's Main page about getting 86'd. I've never received the dreaded tap on the shoulder (knock on wood) and know others who have played longer than I that have not. There has to be something obvious going on, doesn't there?

I recall sitting with a counter in Laughlin that actually sat out hands at the table and then joined back in when he was ready (no cell phone, no bathroom break, just sat there). They obviously didn't care, or they would have asked him to leave. His bets corresponded directly with the count.

Anyone out there in DD not seen the heat coming before they got the axe? Just curious. Could bjplayer be in Griffin already and FRS is getting him before he plays too many hands?

I'm curious because I'm sure I'll get the tap someday, I'd like to learn from the masters what they think happened when they got asked to leave.

If McDuff were around, I'd post this there, but Viktor says that he's having health problems.

[Robert]

> bfb, nice post on Parker's Main page about
> getting 86'd. I've never received the
> dreaded tap on the shoulder (knock on wood)
> and know others who have played longer than
> I that have not. There has to be something
> obvious going on, doesn't there?

> I recall sitting with a counter in Laughlin
> that actually sat out hands at the table and
> then joined back in when he was ready (no
> cell phone, no bathroom break, just sat
> there). They obviously didn't care, or they
> would have asked him to leave. His bets
> corresponded directly with the count.

> Anyone out there in DD not seen the heat
> coming before they got the axe? Just
> curious. Could bjplayer be in Griffin
> already and FRS is getting him before he
> plays too many hands?

> I'm curious because I'm sure I'll get the
> tap someday, I'd like to learn from the
> masters what they think happened when they
> got asked to leave.

> If McDuff were around, I'd post this there,
> but Viktor says that he's having health
> problems.

Funny you should ask. I've been 86'd once.

It was at DD at the Suncoast in LV, summer of 2003, never saw it coming really. DD with 75% penetration. Played about 1.5 hours total. Was up about $300 quickly then began to lose some back. Brother and I chatting/joking with a late 30s pit critter; I was betting one hand of $5 to 2 hands of $35 the whole time, with some tolerance to bet jumping, such as 2 rounds of something in between, but without regard to the winning/losing of hands. Anyway, pit critter leaves, I notice old guy in the pit staring at me a few minutes later, but no different than many other times, before or since.

A few minutes later, younger guy shows up again, he's talking less and no smile anymore. A few minutes later, I go from 2 hands of $5 to 2 hands of $15, he bumps the dealer and pushes those 2 bets back into my stack, and said, "That's it, no more BJ; go enjoy some craps or roulette, but you are done playing BJ." At that point I was up about 140 bucks. I can't say whether they saw me from the sky first or not.

Ever since, per Don's advice, I have been using more cover betting, especially off the top in 2 and 1 deck games. I've done very well since then, both in DD and wonging 6D, but it takes a while to get over the paranoia...actually you'll never get over it. I took it as a complement actually, especially since my brother was able to tell my father, who would never have believed it otherwise.

I think they nailed me 3 reasons....1) I was winning early on, so they paid attention. 2) I was betting 1 or 2 hands of $5 off the top every time. That is very stupid. 3) The younger pit critter got his *ss chewed out by the old guy, because the younger guy was probably in denial and should have spotted me first.

Bryce Carlson covered this issue very well in BJ for Blood, where he stated that most pit critters probably couldn't care less (themselves) about your counting expertise or whether you win or lose, especially for lower stakes, but they don't want it to be caught by their' boss instead of them; i.e., they are worried about looking stupid themselves, because job security in the pit business does not exist. With that in mind, all else being equal, I think a lower stakes player is less likely to get heat from some old guy that's been there forever or a head honcho....even if they know what you are doing. Talking/joking with the pit while playing right under their nose is probably also seen as highly insulting if they go on to figure you out.

Take Care