Session advice

[Mr. E]

I've recently been somewhat frequenting a place near me with decent rules/pen. I usually play double deck with a 1-8, $25-200 spread, where $25 is the min bet. My normal rule of thumb is too not play any longer than 2 hrs at a time and to leave after being either up or down 30 units. My main goal with this place in particular is to be able to play for as long as possible with it being as close as it is to me(1 HR away).

My last session, yesterday, I only played through 2 shoes (heads-up) for a total of approx. 15 min. I had thought I had hit my 30 unit rule and left after 2nd shoe had ended, but I had forgot I had to buy in for an additional $200 to make a double. So with that mistake, I left after that time up $625, instead of the min 30 units ($750).

I had originally thought that leaving at 30 units was a decent plan (suggested by someone), but now I was wondering on everyone's thought of leaving after only15 min of play and being up $625. Do you think it draws more attention leaving that quickly rather than staying and playing for longer? I understand that the normal objective is to get in as many hours as possible, but as mentioned, I'd like to try to keep this place available to me as long as possible.

All answers and advice is welcomed. Thanks in advance!

[BackCounter]

Ploppies frequently sit down, play briefly, then leave. (Of course, they usually lose.) I don’t leave after a fixed number of units; it’s more the overall size of the pile, and the amount of attention I have gotten from the pit and other players. That “miracle shoe” that has everyone looking at you should be the last.

[UNCBear4SJ]

No one can really answer that without more information. Some places will tolerate that level, some places would probably already have you on a watch list (since you say it's become frequent). As BackCounter mentioned, you're really going to need to be cognizant of the attention you're getting (without obviously looking for it). If you can make the economics work with the travel involved, I'd recommend being satisfied with smaller targets and narrower spread -- or at least mask the changes in units spread by playing like a "flow" player. And honestly, you're always going to need to be watchful of how much you (and others) are being watched. It takes one change in a key position for a casino's tolerance to change. Example: Where I used to live I'd go fairly regularly to a Caesars' affiliated casino. For years with the level of general business they got it seemed they really didn't care much about spread or correlation -- then out of the blue I saw 3 players 86'd in a month.

[Zach Black]

If you are limiting yourself to a total buy in of 30 units, you will have to walk away from some high counts when you loose multiple hands with a max bet out. If you keep chips from the previous sessions, you can avoid the attention of having to keep re-buying after a string of losses.

As UNCBear said above it's about tolerance. I burnt out my local very tolerant joint after 7 years of weekly play including hundreds of hours of DD with a 15-1 spread. One day something changed, and I was asked not to come back.

I've been to other places that have shown be the door after a 15 minute session on the first day with a more polite spread.

You can extend your playing local career by rotating shifts. Maybe play before and after shift change and take a break to eat during shift change to reduce the amount travel time.

[moo321]

I had originally thought that leaving at 30 units was a decent plan (suggested by someone)

Be VERY careful blindly listening to advice from random people on here. People will post the absolute stupidest things imaginable, someone else will repeat it, and then it starts getting reposted as "the common wisdom is X."


This is not the worst advice I've seen, but it's pretty stupid. It's a rare casino that's offering $25 minimum games that's going to start heavily sweating if you get up $750. And any casino that sweaty probably shouldn't be played at all, because they're going to be hawking the games for other reasons, too.


There are some very smart people posting on these boards, including Blackjack Hall of Fame members, professional mathematicians, pros that have won millions of dollars, etc. And there are buffoons that can't keep the running count or play basic strategy.

[moo321]

I burnt out my local very tolerant joint after 7 years of weekly play including hundreds of hours of DD with a 15-1 spread.

I keep telling people that there are casinos out there that literally don't watch their games. Or don't watch until you hit certain thresholds. Like, they only watch high limit, or black chip action. People don't believe me, but it is a very real thing.

[UNCBear4SJ]

... someone else will repeat it, and then it starts getting reposted as "the common wisdom is X."

then

I keep telling people that there are casinos out there that literally don't watch their games. ...

So, its common wisdom? :-)
Sorry, couldn't resist.

But I do absolutely agree. I've witnessed the change happen. Don't usually identify the "trigger", but I usually discreetly leave when something happens that indicates an elevated level of scrutiny.