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Thread: Vegas still a great place

  1. #1


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    Vegas still a great place

    I made my first visit to Las Vegas for five years with great trepidation, having read that conditions had deteriorated greatly and am happy to report that it was nowhere so bad as anticipated.
    The doom and gloom merchants had spoken of a paucity of decent, beatable blackjack but I found 24 casinos that offered worthwhile games.
    There were games to suit the $10 bettor as well as those whose starting bet is $25 or higher. It is true, however, that for lower stakes most of the best blackjack is off the Strip.
    I'm not going to give a list of all the places to go to but only a little work is required to find them.
    There are plenty of opportunities for a player such as myself with a bank of $30,000-$50,000 making a three-week visit. It should be quite possible to generate an ev of at least $10,000 over the course of the trip.
    The most important advice I could give to anyone planning to make an elongated visit to Vegas is get a hire car. You can get a perfectly serviceable car for around $25 a day and that's well worth the money given the increased accessibility and amount of time it saves.
    Since my last visit prices for hotel rooms are much inflated with the ubiquitous resort fees now tacked on while food also costs more (if you can't get it comped) but Vegas with its myriad of opportunities for an ap still offers tremendous value.
    There may be better games in other parts of the US and abroad but if they are crowded and there is nowhere else nearby you may be left twiddling your thumbs for several hours. In Vegas there is almost always another opportunity a few minutes away and it is quite possible for a committed ap to get in seven to eight hours of play per day.
    I, for one, will definitely be returning to Vegas in the near future.

  2. #2


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    Yeah, well, that's just like your opinion man

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by jacquesblack View Post
    " ... bank of $30,000-$50,000 ... three-week visit ...
    quite possible to generate an
    ev of at least $10,000.
    Let's take a look at this statement. jacquesblack is speaking about a three-week "trip"
    and playing daily for, let's say, 18 days for maybe six hours per day, rounded to 108 hrs.

    Assuming decent skills and smarts, a player betting light green with a polite spread should
    have an e.v. of perhaps $60/hr. for 108 hrs. generating an expectation of about $6,100.

    What you NEED to address is your Risk of Ruin. The amounts of cash you mentioned above
    may be sufficient. Increasing your bank by extreme amounts in three weeks is very unlikely.

    That is a markedly positive outlook (understatement) and the inherently evil left tail
    of the bloody
    variance curve is vicious in extremis over a series of 10,000 or so results.


  4. #4
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    No poll is needed. I feel that I speak for other (actual) Pro Players.

    The age of blackjack transmogrification has yet to decline to its nadir.

    The long ugly plunge to the bottom is subjective, but Las Vegas has

    transformed itself into a plethora of corrupt capitalistic enterprises that

    are no longer fueled by frenzied gamblers, but by "millennials" who buy

    "bottle service", show tickets, and gourmet meals; providing the casino

    owners with the majority of their collective revenue. [Fact: as stated]

    Mid-20th century Las Vegas casinos made over 100% of their revenue via

    gambling. I say "over" as a way of illustrating that the hotels, restaurants,

    shows, etc. were 'all-but-free', operating at a continual loss. The greatest

    "loss leader", "bait and switch" operations of all time.






    Last edited by ZenMaster_Flash; 12-06-2017 at 03:19 PM.

  5. #5


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    Well it is a subjective opinion i assume based on actual experience, unless being exaggerated. I was in Vegas in August and made some money too. This was my fourth occasion being there as a 'tourist'...even though i am a small timer.
    Nonetheless I could manage to generate some positive EV by playing on 8 deckers (Excalibur Casino) and 6 deckers (Tropicana)by wonging. But to be honest nobody gave a shit whether you were spreading or not.
    Drunken people from all around the world throwing their money in and talking some third world country language -that the dealer and Pit Bosses would have no idea about- win and lose huge amounts of money. So who cares you spread?
    I agree It is a toilet. A big loo in the back yard. But you can make money clearly.
    And i am also certain that Vegas used to be an awesome place before...

  6. #6


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    Quote Originally Posted by ferenc11 View Post
    Nonetheless I could manage to generate some positive EV by playing on 8 deckers (Excalibur Casino) and 6 deckers (Tropicana)by wonging. But to be honest nobody gave a shit whether you were spreading or not.
    Drunken people from all around the world throwing their money in and talking some third world country language -that the dealer and Pit Bosses would have no idea about- win and lose huge amounts of money. So who cares you spread?
    Trust me, they care. If they seemed like they didn’t care, it’s because you weren’t betting enough to warrant their attention. I’ve been 86’d in Vegas playing mediocre 8D games.

  7. #7


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    It is true you can still win in Vegas, but you have to really play on your belly and be ready to go to casinos off the strip. I was there in July for a week and managed to get about $4400 out. I'd like to think I am a genius, but I just hit some excellent variance and got out fast. I had no major losses at any one place. Unfortunately, I have not won since and am on a terrible downward spiral. I've had to readjust my betting with good ole Kelly in the driver's seat.
    Last edited by marriedputter; 12-07-2017 at 06:17 AM.

  8. #8


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    Quote Originally Posted by ferenc11 View Post
    Well it is a subjective opinion i assume based on actual experience, unless being exaggerated. I was in Vegas in August and made some money too. This was my fourth occasion being there as a 'tourist'...even though i am a small timer.
    Nonetheless I could manage to generate some positive EV by playing on 8 deckers (Excalibur Casino) and 6 deckers (Tropicana)by wonging. But to be honest nobody gave a shit whether you were spreading or not.
    Drunken people from all around the world throwing their money in and talking some third world country language -that the dealer and Pit Bosses would have no idea about- win and lose huge amounts of money. So who cares you spread?
    I agree It is a toilet. A big loo in the back yard. But you can make money clearly.
    And i am also certain that Vegas used to be an awesome place before...
    I can echo Ryemo's remarks. They most certainly do care. On my trip last summer I was backed of at a casino on the strip. The casino was the one where something terrible occurred in October. It was my only back off and was within 45 minutes.
    Last edited by marriedputter; 12-07-2017 at 06:32 AM.

  9. #9


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    Sent you an email, Married Putter.
    Last edited by Ryemo; 12-07-2017 at 06:32 AM.

  10. #10


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    I guess you guys are green bettors. I wish i had a big bankroll like that. Unfortunately i just started playing blackjack 3 years ago and only do it part-time in Europe. My best friend lives in Colorado Springs that's why i'd like to travel over the pond.
    Actually i find it very strange that i always win in US. Awesome rules and playable conditions.
    Moron Europeans fucked up the game big time here. Such a shame.

  11. #11


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    Quote Originally Posted by ZenMaster_Flash View Post
    Let's take a look at this statement. jacquesblack is speaking about a three-week "trip"
    and playing daily for, let's say, 18 days for maybe six hours per day, rounded to 108 hrs.

    Assuming decent skills and smarts, a player betting light green with a polite spread should
    have an e.v. of perhaps $60/hr. for 108 hrs. generating an expectation of about $6,100.

    What you NEED to address is your Risk of Ruin. The amounts of cash you mentioned above
    may be sufficient. Increasing your bank by extreme amounts in three weeks is very unlikely.

    That is a markedly positive outlook (understatement) and the inherently evil left tail
    of the bloody
    variance curve is vicious in extremis over a series of 10,000 or so results.

    Thanks for your reply Zen Master and you were close to getting the figures right.
    In the three-week trip, my target number of hours was about 150 - and that's almost seven hours per day for 19 days with two days off. I reckon my ev averages out at around $66 per hour and that gives the figure of $10,000 for the trip. To achieve this target I concentrated on double-deck games with no worse than 35 cards cut-off (of which I found plenty) and six-deck games with late surrender (penetration varying between 1.0 and 1.5 cut off). I was careful never to hang around in double-deck games for more than 20 minutes and can think of only one occasion throughout the whole trip when I attracted heat.
    I take your point that in a three-week trip I could easily suffer a huge negative variance but this is applicable to any casino venue and my point was that Vegas still has plenty to offer. I agree with you that Vegas is nowhere near as good as it used to be and has become more a tourist destination than a gambling destination. But for an ap such as myself the city still offers more opportunities than anywhere else in the world.

  12. #12


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    Thanks very much Moses! I will go for the opportunity to have a pint with you. Thanks very much for the invitation. I'll definitely travel next year to U.s.
    Do you have an email address Moses?

  13. #13


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    Quote Originally Posted by ferenc11 View Post
    Actually i find it very strange that i always win in US. Awesome rules and playable conditions.
    Moron Europeans fucked up the game big time here. Such a shame.
    Hi ferenc.
    I dont understand these both lines (maybe because english is not my primitive language).
    Do you mean the rules are better in Europe ?
    Also do you mean than european AP have killed the game in Europe ?
    I am an european player so i am curious.

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