Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 13 of 23

Thread: holla1time: running a table

  1. #1
    holla1time
    Guest

    holla1time: running a table

    Me and my friend ran a blackjack table at our frat house last year for 3 nites.

    It was an absolute disaster. We were out about 500 bucks after about 15 hours of dealing before we closed shop forever. (And no one ever risked more than 10$) Min bet was 50 cents, the max anyone ever put down was 15 bucks or so.

    I have never seen anything like that. I busted about 20 consecutive times, guys were doubling on 6's and winning.

    A year later we want to try again, we are convinced it was a fluke.

    The thing is we can only do it a couple of nights. Is it plausible? Or are the swings to great?

    We are going to change every rule in our favor (the boys will play anyway): ties on 17 go to dealer, no double after split, hit soft 17, etc.

    What do you guys think? Will it work? Or are we doomed again.

  2. #2
    Dancer
    Guest

    Dancer: I'd take that bet

    > Me and my friend ran a blackjack table at
    > our frat house last year for 3 nites.

    > It was an absolute disaster. We were out
    > about 500 bucks after about 15 hours of
    > dealing before we closed shop forever. (And
    > no one ever risked more than 10$) Min bet
    > was 50 cents, the max anyone ever put down
    > was 15 bucks or so.

    > I have never seen anything like that. I
    > busted about 20 consecutive times, guys were
    > doubling on 6's and winning.

    > A year later we want to try again, we are
    > convinced it was a fluke.

    > The thing is we can only do it a couple of
    > nights. Is it plausible? Or are the swings
    > to great?

    > We are going to change every rule in our
    > favor (the boys will play anyway): ties on
    > 17 go to dealer, no double after split, hit
    > soft 17, etc.

    > What do you guys think? Will it work? Or are
    > we doomed again.

    In the extreme short run (15 hours in your case), anything can happen. It could have been worse -- much worse. You have a huge advantage (particularly with those rules against a bunch of intoxicated frat bro's), but that doesn't guarantee anything.

    The best advice I can give is to do what the casinos do -- arm yourself with lots of cash and keep playing. If they could get away with robbing their customers like that, they'd do it all day long.

    On second thought, you could reduce your risk to 0 by having me host the game for you...

    Go for it!!

  3. #3
    SOTSOG
    Guest

    SOTSOG: Re: running a table

    I think I would keep the double and split rules. The boys don't know what they are doing and it allows them to put more money on the table to lose. Especially if they are going to be doubling on 6.

    Maybe one of the frat 'brothers' wasn't as drunk as you thought, and managed to walk off with half your till in his pocket.

    Remember, most of casino security isn't really concerned with counters. They are more worried about sticky fingers, dealers colluding with players, and players passing the Ace of Spades amongst themselves under the table.

    Also, dealers have a lot of training and follow certain proper procedures, to reduce things like bet capping, misdeals, and mispays, pushes paid as winners, losers pushed, losers paid, and bets not collected.

    Even with all this experience, the eye is still watching and sees a lot of bad pays to customers.


  4. #4
    Coug Fan
    Guest

    Coug Fan: Rule Set

    SOTSOG's advice is right on as usual.

    I would suggest the following rules if the players are truly clueless.

    1. Dealer wins all ties.

    2. You have to beat the dealer by 2, otherwise it is a push (This and rule #1 should minimize your chances of a loss).

    3. Blackjacks pay 2:3, rounded down.

    4. Insurance pays 100:1, but is only offered when the dealers up card is NOT a ten value or Ace (2-9 only) - If anyone takes this bet, just have them hand over all their cash up front to simplify the process.

    5. Surrender returns ALL of the players bet, but is only available when the player has 20 or 21 against a dealer 5 or 6 up. Special bonus, player can surrender any number of cards as long as these player and dealer totals hold true.

    6. Deck is specially modified by removing 4 face cards and inserting 1 extra 3,4,5 and 6.

    7. Players pay a commission equal to 25% of their bet for the privilege of playing.

    8. Double only allowed when players have a hard 7 or less. Again, players can double on more than 2 cards, as long as their total is hard 7 or less.

    9. Dealer BJ pays 2:1, meaning that the player has to forfeit another bet.

    I could go on, but hopefully this list will get you thinking.

  5. #5
    Norm Wattenberger
    Guest

    Norm Wattenberger: Don't give the casinos any ideas:) *NM*


  6. #6
    holla1time
    Guest

    holla1time: Re: running a table

    No one was all that drunk but there was definitely no shady activity going on, these are my friends and I know for sure. The only funny thing (for them) was me busting 78% of the time.

    Unfortunately I can only get about 15 hours of dealing in, so I can't wait for the extreme long run.

    This obviously was too risky with our previous rule set, but with new rules (some from that post hahaha) I'm hoping 15 hours will be long enough to take us to the promised land.

    I'm also thinking 5 dollar minimum bet, 15 dollar maximum. They were surprisingly disciplined bettors, they'd get up 20 bucks and bet 50 cents for the next 5 hours just to hang out.

    I plan on leaving doubles and splits, but restricting doubles to 11 only. Or should I let them double anything and hope they make dumb doubles. Some were clueless, others had a grasp on basic strat.

    Thanks for all your suggestions. I'll let you know how it goes.

    > I think I would keep the double and split
    > rules. The boys don't know what they are
    > doing and it allows them to put more money
    > on the table to lose. Especially if they are
    > going to be doubling on 6.

    > Maybe one of the frat 'brothers' wasn't as
    > drunk as you thought, and managed to walk
    > off with half your till in his pocket.

    > Remember, most of casino security isn't
    > really concerned with counters. They are
    > more worried about sticky fingers, dealers
    > colluding with players, and players passing
    > the Ace of Spades amongst themselves under
    > the table.

    > Also, dealers have a lot of training and
    > follow certain proper procedures, to reduce
    > things like bet capping, misdeals, and
    > mispays, pushes paid as winners, losers
    > pushed, losers paid, and bets not collected.

    > Even with all this experience, the eye is
    > still watching and sees a lot of bad pays to
    > customers.

  7. #7
    Magician
    Guest

    Magician: Re: running a table

    > I plan on leaving doubles and splits, but
    > restricting doubles to 11 only. Or should I
    > let them double anything and hope they make
    > dumb doubles. Some were clueless, others had
    > a grasp on basic strat.

    More important than increasing your edge in the short run is reducing your variance and getting in as many hands as possible. You can do this by allowing late surrender, restricting splits and not allowing DAS. Stick to a simple shuffle and deal as many of the cards as you think is safe.

  8. #8
    humble
    Guest

    humble: Re: running a table

    >> Some were clueless, others had a grasp on basic strat. <<

    But they all know how to work the www, and once they've stumbled upon this website and your thread overhere ....

  9. #9
    Shaggy18vw
    Guest

    Shaggy18vw: Re: running a table

    I have hosted a few Blackjack parties and banked the game. I too was dealing with my friends. I have on occasion won some money and lost it. I think all the advice that has been presented is valid (even the tough rules Coug Fan gave). But the key as already mentioned is to get as many hands in as you can. If you are dealing from a shoe, make it an eight decker. If you are not dealing from a shoe, get a shoe and deal from it. Deal deep because with your min/max they won't be able to take much advantage, if any from the penetration. raising your table min is good. I have had similar situations where people get ahead early and practically stop betting so I never have a chance to get it back.

    Also, you can have BJ's pay even money so its easier to pay out (haha).

  10. #10
    John Lewis
    Guest

    John Lewis: Re: running a table

    I'd say just use old Vegas Strip rules so that you are running a standard and inarguably fair game.

    Use low mins and maximums so everybody can play a lot and the table stays full as long as you want to deal. Low maximums will markedly decrease your swings.

    Your big advantage will be that none of these guys will know how to play. But if you have favorable rules they'll win enough to have fun, spend all their money, and run around scrounging for quarters (low limits).

    Use your initial bad luck swing to remind people that you (the house) can lose and have lost just like they can (and will).

    Drink and play all night (weekends) and HAVE FUN.

    And do your schoolwork during the week if you ever want to have enough money to enjoy playing blackjack in Vegas with disposable cash.

  11. #11
    holla1time
    Guest

    holla1time: Re: running a table

    Guys, thanks for all the advice, me and my buddy have decided to go for it not this thursday, but the next and hopefully through fri-sat and sun.

    -All ties go to the dealer
    -No DAS
    -5$min/15$max
    -Hit on soft 17
    -And all the other rules that give us a slight edge

    Most are unaware of what a huge edge the ties to the dealer gives us, we are pretty sure everyone is willing to play anyway. After how much money we dumped last time they've been hounding us to run a table again ever since. If we wipe them out too quickly with these rules, then we already told them we'll loosen them up after we have a little security.

    They understand why we need the harder rules after what happened to us last time, they are still dying to play.

    Thanks for all the tips, I'll let you guys know how it goes. It's pay back time!

    > I'd say just use old Vegas Strip rules so
    > that you are running a standard and
    > inarguably fair game.

    > Use low mins and maximums so everybody can
    > play a lot and the table stays full as long
    > as you want to deal. Low maximums will
    > markedly decrease your swings.

    > Your big advantage will be that none of
    > these guys will know how to play. But if you
    > have favorable rules they'll win enough to
    > have fun, spend all their money, and run
    > around scrounging for quarters (low limits).

    > Use your initial bad luck swing to remind
    > people that you (the house) can lose and
    > have lost just like they can (and will).

    > Drink and play all night (weekends) and HAVE
    > FUN.

    > And do your schoolwork during the week if
    > you ever want to have enough money to enjoy
    > playing blackjack in Vegas with disposable
    > cash.

  12. #12
    Coug Fan
    Guest

    Coug Fan: I was only kidding

    > Guys, thanks for all the advice, me and my
    > buddy have decided to go for it not this
    > thursday, but the next and hopefully through
    > fri-sat and sun.

    > -All ties go to the dealer
    > -No DAS
    > -5$min/15$max
    > -Hit on soft 17
    > -And all the other rules that give us a
    > slight edge

    The ties going to the dealer will give you a huge edge. Hopefully, you don't get too carried away with the other rules, for the players sake. Or, if you do, then hopefully you are only playing with small guys who don't own firearms (think philosophy majors, instead of football players).

  13. #13
    Geoff Hall
    Guest

    Geoff Hall: Re: running a table

    > Guys, thanks for all the advice, me and my
    > buddy have decided to go for it not this
    > thursday, but the next and hopefully through
    > fri-sat and sun.

    > -All ties go to the dealer
    > -No DAS
    > -5$min/15$max
    > -Hit on soft 17
    > -And all the other rules that give us a
    > slight edge

    It's situations like this that highlight the reasons that unfavourable rules have been deployed by the casinos in Las Vegas, namely the 'Blackjacks 6/5' rule.

    Simply put - if players are prepared to play a bad game then why give them a good game ?

    Why take the risk of having a losing night when you can guarantee that the casino will win every night with the 6/5 rule. Added bonus - card counters will stay well clear. Double whammy !!!

    Unfortunately, unless the average player wises up, or the casinos become more competitive with their table games, then the higher house edge games are here to stay.

    I once witnessed a casino that had a single zero roulette table with a double zero table next to it. Both tables had the same number of players playing at it !!! I suppose to a gambler that the wheel, ball and table were similar so there isn't much difference (I mean, how often does 00 come up :-) ).

    Holla1time - how about running a roulette table at the same time but also add '000', '0000' and '00000' - you never know :-)

    Best,

    Geoff

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

About Blackjack: The Forum

BJTF is an advantage player site based on the principles of comity. That is, civil and considerate behavior for the mutual benefit of all involved. The goal of advantage play is the legal extraction of funds from gaming establishments by gaining a mathematic advantage and developing the skills required to use that advantage. To maximize our success, it is important to understand that we are all on the same side. Personal conflicts simply get in the way of our goals.