Vegas - Mental breaks and a few amazing tables

[RUMIYODIN]

A common issue I notice with many counters is that they forget to take mental breaks. There are a plethora of stories across forums how people table hop incessantly for hours or how they humorously find they forgot to eat for half a day. It seems like common sense not to push yourself to exhaustion, else you make playing errors that result in a losing game. But it's prevalent enough to warrant authors (e.g. Blaine - Blackjack Blueprint) to make a point of it. If you're staying at a hotel, put your criminal resort fees to good use and swim at the pool, hit the gym, go see a show, so long as you give your brain a moment to rest.

While in Vegas, I decided to take a closer look at tables found at pools, day clubs, and nightclubs. The vast majority of them are worthless: 8d, 6:5, no surr, no rsa. But there are a few tables that pay 3:2 and that's all you need, especially in a crowded nightclub. These tables will always be packed with drunks and their dates/entourage. These tables typically have fewer EITS (for what it's worth) compared to the casino floor, lower floorperson presence save the occasional visit, and it’s stupid easy to blend in and backcount in complete peace, while wonging in and out at the very same table repeatedly without even stepping away. Forget whatever you learned about cover play; between the crowds, the drunk players, the blaring music, and low lighting -- you are invisible. If you’re thinking that because your age somehow would make you stand out in a younger crowd, you couldn’t be more wrong. Plenty of people that you wouldn’t expect to find in a nightclub are generally the first ones to sit down at these tables, thanks to higher table minimums.

This is the kind of advantage play lone wolves can only dream of. You get some of the advantages of team play without splitting your winnings. You are your own spotter and big player and no one bats an eye. You get to play in positive counts, wong out and blend back into the crowd, then hop right back in when the advantage again tilts in your favor. The dealers are too busy dealing with the stress of the drunks touching their chips and cards to notice you. None of the drunks themselves or the drunk crowd care since their own cards are hard enough to focus on in a twirling world, and deafening music kills any and all comments they have. If and when they do notice you, it can be a good thing for EV.

To illustrate why, I was playing at a table where I aggressively wonged at TC+2, leaving anytime the count dropped below. Thanks to very unusual positive variance, I generally won anytime I was playing, and the other drunks at the table took notice. They called me their lucky charm and on occasion would throw me tips. Having $5-25 tossed in your direction instead of the dealer more than made up for some of the other poor rules (nDAS, nRSA, nSurr) at the table.

With that said, don’t forget to take breaks. Don’t be foolish either. Go dance a little and enjoy that sweet EV.

[Stealth]

Good post and good advice!

[Three]

This is the kind of advantage play lone wolves can only dream of.

An interesting choice of words to describe a solo counter. I hardly ever hear that one used.

[Sonny]

Very good points. I just have one more thing to consider:

These tables will always be packed with drunks and their dates/entourage.

Exactly. So expect 40-60 hands per hour. That's a huge disadvantage if you're used to getting 150-200 hands per hour. The main benefit of these games is cover. A secondary benefit (or disadvantage of you aren't paying attention!) is dealer mistakes. If you play them appropriately and have realistic expectations, these games can be good to know about. Just make sure you're taking full advantage of them and that you're not missing out on a better game somewhere else.

-Sonny-