Counting in Europe

[Halbruno]

My claim to fame is that I played in Poland two or three years in a row. Thinking about it, that was probably 2005-6. At that time, yeah, there were acceptable rules. I played rooms that had early surrender. The conditions were not bad overall. I typically played heads up or at most with two other players. The best city was Warsaw just for the quantity of places to play. So, you just had to pay for a taxi to get to a casino with good rules if the one you initially chose was not that great. I had one really great short session at one Warsaw casino which offered under/over. It was evening and the place was dead. I had one other guy at my table. A large win in Polish money is a modest one in dollars. So, I was worried the entire time getting back via taxi to my hotel. Polish monthly salaries are at best $500. So, winning $1000 or more in an hour or less is a lot of money there.

Rules definitely changed from the first year to the next. One room I played in Krakow went from ok to a waste of time the next year. Plus, the under/over bet was on its way out as it became more and more difficult to find. Overall, heat was low except for one of the main hotel casinos in Warsaw. The pit supervisor sat in a high chair to watch the game. I went late one night and the supervisor fell asleep while we were playing! lol! So, it is possible to see different parts of the country while playing blackjack part-time. If I remember correctly, I made more than enough my last trip to cover my airfare+. So, it was a fun trip with an extra benefit!

[Grobbelaar]

My claim to fame is that I played in Poland two or three years in a row. Thinking about it, that was probably 2005-6. At that time, yeah, there were acceptable rules. I played rooms that had early surrender. The conditions were not bad overall. I typically played heads up or at most with two other players. The best city was Warsaw just for the quantity of places to play. So, you just had to pay for a taxi to get to a casino with good rules if the one you initially chose was not that great. I had one really great short session at one Warsaw casino which offered under/over. It was evening and the place was dead. I had one other guy at my table. A large win in Polish money is a modest one in dollars. So, I was worried the entire time getting back via taxi to my hotel. Polish monthly salaries are at best $500. So, winning $1000 or more in an hour or less is a lot of money there.

Rules definitely changed from the first year to the next. One room I played in Krakow went from ok to a waste of time the next year. Plus, the under/over bet was on its way out as it became more and more difficult to find. Overall, heat was low except for one of the main hotel casinos in Warsaw. The pit supervisor sat in a high chair to watch the game. I went late one night and the supervisor fell asleep while we were playing! lol! So, it is possible to see different parts of the country while playing blackjack part-time. If I remember correctly, I made more than enough my last trip to cover my airfare+. So, it was a fun trip with an extra benefit!

Thank you for that report!
It was a good read, even being a bit dated!