blending in while scouting

**Bubbles** · 10-07-2016, 04:36 PM

Whenever I walk into a new store, it seems like there is a bright neon sign above my head flashing, "counter, counter, this one's a counter." Or whatever the sign says that makes them watch me intently. I believe it is due to how I appear when I'm lost and looking for a table. If I've been in the store before, no one pays me much mind unless I trip up and say something geeky. I think this is because I know where I'm sitting before I get there. Should I just scout new stores on a shift I don't plan on playing and just scout, not play? Then return a few hours later on a new shift and play? Is there a better way to handle this?

**Freightman** · 10-07-2016, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by Fenix

Whenever I walk into a new store, it seems like there is a bright neon sign above my head flashing, "counter, counter, this one's a counter." Or whatever the sign says that makes them watch me intently. I believe it is due to how I appear when I'm lost and looking for a table. If I've been in the store before, no one pays me much mind unless I trip up and say something geeky. I think this is because I know where I'm sitting before I get there. Should I just scout new stores on a shift I don't plan on playing and just scout, not play? Then return a few hours later on a new shift and play? Is there a better way to handle this?

I don't think there is a set rule, nor would I want one. It's not only scouting tables. Sometimes it's specific dealers. Within a dead zone, there can be bright lights. I'm not referring to holecarding, since virtually all games in my neck of the woods are NHC.

**Bubbles** · 10-07-2016, 05:04 PM

Some dealers are much too slow. Other's give terrible pen or are just really rude. I usually don't figure out if I like a dealer until after I've sat with them.

**Freightman** · 10-07-2016, 05:09 PM

Originally Posted by Fenix

Some dealers are much too slow. Other's give terrible pen or are just really rude. I usually don't figure out if I like a dealer until after I've sat with them.

I don't care if a dealer is rude or polite, though I definitely prefer polite. I do care about game speed and deck pen. That's part of scouting. Another part of scouting is the medium speed dealer who gives 5.5/6 vs 4.5/6. One store I frequent has that exact scenario. Which would you choose? Fast 4.5/6 VS medium 5.5/6?

Or, the dealer who says - if you don't tell anyone what you're doing, neither will i.

**Bubbles** · 10-07-2016, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by Freightman

Which would you choose? Fast 4.5/6 VS medium 5.5/6?

Personally, I'd probably choose medium 5.5/6. I'd need less spread with the deeper pen and I'd have more time to count. The other dealer could generate more EV per hour, but I'd risk looking obvious with my greater spread and concentration on the cards.

**Freightman** · 10-07-2016, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by Fenix

Personally, I'd probably choose medium 5.5/6. I'd need less spread with the deeper pen and I'd have more time to count. The other dealer could generate more EV per hour, but I'd risk looking obvious with my greater spread and concentration on the cards.

A couple of points. Regardless of game speed, you need to look natural. Don't ever discount the EV potential of a deeply dealt game. As you gain experience, you should be able to make off the top fairly close sims, in your head about the shoe that you're playing.

The first question, wheather 4.5/6 or 5.5/6 is - what spread do I need to beat this game. The second question is what spread can I get away with.

There is an obscure off the beaten path honeypot that I occasionally visit. It is the only $5-$100 game that I play. Think of $10 start, dropping to $5, up to 2x table max, with 5.5 pen. Decent rules with pleasant staff. My lifetime EV at this place is exceptional. I think they think that I'm just lucky. And yes, I would choose the 5.5/6, but not for your stated reason.

**Bigdaddy** · 10-07-2016, 06:20 PM

Relax - take on the attitude that you're a regular customer and be yourself.

**stopgambling** · 10-07-2016, 07:59 PM

Be relax and don't give off a guilty look ,posture . Don't look and act like a predator neither. I just don't give a hoot of what they think and be planned out before I walk in. When I go to stores that are unKnown to me , i try to have a good plan before I even enter. I never go straight for the good table right away unless i am very familiar with how the store runs. As someone( forgot who) said don't try too hard unless you know how to act.

**Bubbles** · 10-07-2016, 10:08 PM

So plop for a second at a table while I try my best to look like I'm looking around casually. I have not tried that. There are two stores I purposely play at other tables to get rid of heat. I never thought to do it for scouting.

**BoSox** · 10-08-2016, 12:00 AM

Originally Posted by Fenix

Should I just scout new stores on a shift I don't plan on playing and just scout, not play? Then return a few hours later on a new shift and play? Is there a better way to handle this?

I do not understand the above quote. What the heck are you talking about? The first two lines of your quote contradict each other and the purpose of what you should be doing. Please explain what your trying to accomplish besides just getting a generalized feel of the casino like rules, min/max bets, number of tables and how many are open, betting levels by the ploppies and any signs of sweating by the pit crew of larger bets/heat.

Other than rules of the game no two shifts are run exactly the same way, not even the bet levels are the same, the bosses/dealers are all different people. Unless you have scouted ahead of time the actual shift you plan on playing, what you did learn on the previous shift is of little value. When you get good at doing this you realize that the casino decides when you are going to play, shift wise, not you. That is what scouting is all about. When you do decide to play at a casino and the subsequent cat and mouse game, you will learn all the ends and outs of what you can get away with and what you cannot. Such as the NEED to stay away and not play the same casino to often, and the NEED to play other shifts even when you do not want to, although it helps update your scouting. You might find one of your favorite dealers on another shift.

**Bubbles** · 10-08-2016, 12:20 AM

I'm talking about identifying the tables without CSMs, low table minimums, and 3:2. These generally do not change much between shifts. Ploppy betting levels are easy enough to figure out. Dealers I learn over time, but by then I've been there a time or two so none of this matters. I am only talking about my initial time in the store, as emphasised by my bold text. How on earth am I contradicting myself?

**BoSox** · 10-08-2016, 12:50 AM

Okay Fenix, lets just say you and I have completely different ideas of what scouting means.

**DatabaseGuy** · 10-08-2016, 01:12 AM

You have to be able to play against any type of dealer. Of course the best dealer is the one who remembers you because you tipped little but often and was not a jerk, will welcome you with a smile and give you a 5:6 penetration. This dealer is not a jerk who will play against you, and give nothing in reward for your tokes, as if this was expected. This dealer will thank you by your name, which can be a fake one, of course.

You will sit down, have a couple hands and... See him or her replaced by a jerk of a dealer because it's rotation time.

Conclusion: dealers are a variable in the game, like penetration, count, ploppies, etc...

The only wait to scout is to play, maybe little, then come back later with your BR to hurt them.