Girlfriend for Cover

[Mr. Ed]

So my girlfriend is a responsible “recreational gambler”. She plays the slots, loves going to bingo with her mom, and enjoys the casino “ambiance”.

When we play blackjack together, she sits with me, but doesn’t play. She flirts with the dealer, steals my chips, and we laugh at the craziness that goes on in a casino.

So is this “cover”? What respectable AP would have such a distraction? She always makes the dealer so happy he forgets that he’s actually working. And other players like her as well.

P.s. afterwards, she uses my player card in the slots, for additional cover. I don’t play the slots, but we continue to laugh and joke, until we have enough credits for dinner and gas for the drive home

[bigplayer]

Not very effective, they'll 86 both of you even if she's not playing. Booze is better cover.

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[WA Player]

I play Pai Gow with my wife for cover. What I mean is, I sit at the Pai Gow table for an hour so my wife doesn't tap me on the shoulder and tell me to go home. I'm not that worried about the casino, but if my wife backs me off, then I am in real trouble.

[Norm]

Not very effective, they'll 86 both of you even if she's not playing. Booze is better cover.

Unless she is spectacular and chatty.

But yeah, booze is better cover. Anything that improves the casino comfort level. Like Poker pros, casinos like loose players. And, you can appear to be such with little damage to optimal betting.

[Overkill]

Norm, I was surprised by your assertion that booze is better cover. If the casino has a degree of comfort because the player is drinking, then isn't it true that perhaps the casino's comfort is warranted? That is, alcohol is indeed loosening up the player, which will negatively affect the player's playing and betting decisions. I guess it's all about exactly how much one is drinking, but a player 'nursing' one mixed drink isn't creating much cover, correct? And, a player who is drinking more may easily become cognitively impaired, so she has cover but also is making mistakes- just what the casino wants.

And in my experience, people, especially men, usually overestimate how much alcohol they can tolerate. Further, drinkers, especially those vulnerable to addiction, cannot safely rely on their impaired brain to gauge their level of impairment.

Disclaimer: To be fair, I am a former alcohol and drug counselor (as well as a recovering alcoholic of 21 years), so I recognize I am very biased in my view that little good comes from one's use of alcohol. I also recognize that many will likely disagree with my above 'sobering' views.

[Norm]

The point is more along the lines that casinos like customers who are there to have fun. Casinos consider themselves entertainment and they want customers who are entertained. Gamblers also tend to be drinkers.

Or as Maximus supposedly said: "Are you not entertained?" Or Nirvana: "Entertain us."

[BoSox]

Or as Maximus supposedly said: "Are you not entertained?"

Oh, this guy: Maximus, Maximus the Merciful.

[davethebuilder]

The point is more along the lines that casinos like customers who are there to have fun. Casinos consider themselves entertainment and they want customers who are entertained. Gamblers also tend to be drinkers.

Or as Maximus supposedly said: "Are you not entertained?" Or Nirvana: "Entertain us."

Try playing a low SCORE game with high min. bets on a limited bankroll and then hitting a run of bad luck. Not much fun but the casino calls it entertainment. Actually, it's more like legal robbery and I have seen many folks lose money this way. That's why it's important to do your homework before attacking our games. On top of that the drinks are free for HL players which is an added incentive to stay at the table.

[Mr. Ed]

It’s NOT my goal to make casinos happy. My goal is to maximize my long term profit FROM the casino. If I can do this by increasing casino’s “happiness” WITHOUT significantly reducing my profit, then I will do it. I personally do not like casinos, and certainly have no desire to go out of my way to “make them happy”. Cheers.

[Norm]

The point is to make them comfortable with your presence and less likely to bar you.

[Mr. Ed]

Yes, exactly! That is the source of most of my questions on this forum - How do I make casinos comfortable with my presence, and less likely to bar me? .

[CEO1]

Yes, exactly! That is the source of most of my questions on this forum - How do I make casinos comfortable with my presence, and less likely to bar me? .

Having been playing since the 70's and getting barred everywhere, then coming back and playing again at high stakes over the last 10 years or so and again getting barred nearly everywhere, to me if you are a winning player, especially in the Hi limit rooms, no matter what you are doing, how good your cover is, sooner or later (typically sooner), you will get backed off. I have always watched my spread, played short sessions (45 min), had a great act, used others (wife, sister, etc.) for cover...it doesn't matter in the end...your days are always numbered. When either I have an outstanding shoe and hit the casino hard, or accumulated total winnings at a particular casino, or the casino reviewing their tapes later on, one way or another eventually as a straight lone counter not using other AP tricks, Sooner or later..it is over. If I watch another table or a player sits down, I can pretty quickly tell if they are a counter or not, and it just isn't that hard for the casino to have someone review their tapes and come to the same conclusion.
This doesn't mean you can't have some fun and make some money in the meantime, but eventually it always ends with the "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah....your too good for us etc.

[Mr. Ed]

So CEO1, are you trying to say, “don’t bother” or do you have other advice?